Polyurethane Synthetic (PU) Leather Market Procurement Intelligence Report

The market for Clothing and Textiles and its sub-segments such as Polyurethane Synthetic (PU) Leather are at an interesting intersection. Many suppliers are trying to enhance the efficiencies and productivity within their operations through investment in new technologies and an overhaul of processes. Some of these initiatives are likely to influence their cost structure adversely till the time they recover their investments. However, a successful implementation of these programs can benefit them with a better cost proposition in the longer run.

Several factors in the value chain of Polyurethane Synthetic (PU) Leather, such as labor cost, logistics, and energy costs are driving up the procurement costs. Additionally, engagement of suppliers who are still operating with outdated assets, technologies and processes is also increasing the cost for buyers.

Regulatory changes are taking place more frequently and the changes impact multiple functions within an organization. Alignment of procurement practices and decisions with all the new regulations has now become highly challenging, especially when category managers are responsible to centrally procure for multiple regions with different regulations.

Trends like these and many others discussed in this report are necessitating a relook at the way Polyurethane Synthetic (PU) Leather is procured and the procurement cost saving opportunities that exist.

Polyurethane Synthetic (PU) Leather procurement best practices are moving towards a level of sophistication which is typically seen in traditional procurement categories. Category managers now have an attractive opportunity to adapt the best practices seen within this category as well as those being leveraged in other non-related categories. This report summarizes the best practices picked from across multiple categories that could work well for category managers involved with Polyurethane Synthetic (PU) Leather procurement strategy.

For example, Strong R&D focus is the sign of a supplier committed to enhancing the quality and cost proposition of its solutions. Buyers should collaborate with such suppliers for development of low-cost but highly efficiency products that can bring their OPEX down.

Buyers should engage with suppliers that can repurchase the used products at fair market value or can offer recycling capability. This assists buyers to dispose of used products in a convenient manner and honor their sustainability practices. Also, suppliers provide credits to buyers for future purchases. This reduces overall procurement costs for buyers.

Buyers need to evaluate the in-depth expertise of suppliers in the Polyurethane Synthetic (PU) Leather industry. This can be assessed by considering factors such as the years of experience, number of resources that have multi-year experience of working in the same industry and at least 3 to 5 credentials for the supplier.

Polyurethane Synthetic (PU) Leather procurement managers also need to proactively identify and mitigate potential risks that can arise in the supply chain or contracts for Polyurethane Synthetic (PU) Leather procurement. Some examples include: