Lighters & Matches Market Procurement Intelligence Report

Promotion market around the world is undergoing rapid transitions that have a massive potential to influence the way companies strategize for Lighters & Matches procurement and the cost they have to incur. An intense competition in the supply market owing to new entrants is expected to provide more procurement options to buyers for Lighters & Matches and offer significant negotiation leverage.

In recent years, the market has witnessed a significant number of strategic collaborations, mergers, and acquisitions. Such developments have enabled the suppliers to expand their portfolio of offerings, geographic presence, and value chain. Moreover, suppliers have also gained access to new technologies and resources.

In the broader industry, automated tools and advanced technology is making inroads and even replacing some of the non-core workforce of suppliers. As a result, overall cost structure of suppliers has become more favorable across the industry and buyers of Lighters & Matches can expect to benefit from lower costs of suppliers once they break even with their investments in technology.

It has become imperative for category managers to remain as agile as possible in terms of their procurement practices. However, it is not always easy to quickly spot and implement alternative practices in a category like Lighters & Matches. To help quick decision making, this report advises on several procurement best practices that have worked well for category managers.

For example, Buyers should engage with service providers that can consolidate multiple marketing, advertising and communications disciplines such as SEO, SEM, social media management, and traditional advertising. Such consolidation increases cost savings, convenience, and facilitates supplier performance benchmarking.

It is customary for service provider to charge buyers on a project basis. The project costs are often based on payroll costs incurred by service providers on the various levels of personnel involved in the project. In a bid to derive higher profits, service providers may allocate more senior staff than required. Therefore, buyers must scrutinize the staffing needs of the project and limit the presence of senior staff to not more than 30% of the total allocated staff. This, in turn, providers buyers' advantages such as enhanced cost savings, streamlined execution, and faster delivery time.

Buyers should engage with service providers that provide services through an hourly based pricing model. Within an hourly based pricing model, buyers would have a fair idea of the exact time required for the work done by service provider. Consequently, billing rates will be implemented accordingly.

Lighters & Matches procurement managers also need to proactively identify and mitigate potential risks that can arise in the supply chain or contracts for Lighters & Matches procurement. Some examples include: