Universal Joints | Intelligence Report

Strategic Sourcing Guide to Universal Joints Procurement

Overview

The market for Engineering Components and its sub-segments such as Universal Joints are at an interesting intersection. Suppliers of Universal Joints are moving up the value chain - both organically as well as through M&As. Their portfolios are increasingly being diversified with the objective of offering integrated solutions that go beyond just Universal Joints. Even buyers are engaging vendors who can act as a one-stop solution provider across their geographic footprint. Such strategic engagements can help buyers with savings associated with economies of scale and management of a much smaller supplier base.

Procurement costs for Universal Joints are highly impacted by an increase in the costs associated with the value chain of Universal Joints, such as logistics, labor cost and energy. Additionally, outdated assets are also increasing the cost for suppliers.

Technology is improving productivity and creating fresh demand. Convergence of data science, automation tools, 3D printing, robotics, AI and big data has opened up multiple possibilities to better serve customers at a lower operational cost.

Trends like these and many others discussed in this report are necessitating a relook at the way Universal Joints is procured and the procurement cost saving opportunities that exist.

Universal Joints Procurement Best Practices

Sometimes, procurement functions are unable to timely alter their practices while responding to market conditions. Industry experts acknowledge that periodically reviewing procurement best practices and adopting learnings from across procurement categories can help procurement teams respond to market needs in a more agile way. This report combines our experience of other categories with Universal Joints procurement insights and hand picks best practices that can work for category managers delving in this market.

For example, Buyers should assess the level of adoption of the latest technologies by suppliers to assess cost-saving opportunities and quality that can be provided by the latter. For instance, the adoption of technologies such as cloud computing will enable suppliers to reduce their internal computing hardware requirements for operations such as CAD and CAM. This can, in turn, enable them to reduce their operating costs, thereby suppliers can offer products at lower rates to buyers.

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 repurchase used products at fair market value. This assists buyers to dispose of used products in a convenient manner. Also, during such repurchases, suppliers provide credits to buyers for future purchases. This reduces overall procurement costs for buyers.

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Risks in Universal Joints procurement

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

Procurement without consulting the actual users of Universal Joints may result in a mismatch in expectations of the buyer's internal stakeholders versus the actual contract executed
When requirements of the buyers are not absolutely clear or usage patterns are not stable or predictable, suppliers often build in \"cost buffers\" for unforeseen risks due to a lack of complete understanding on buyer's requirements. This increases the risk of overspending on Universal Joints
Crude oil is one of the major factors that determines the risks associated with the category as fuel costs account for a major portion of the suppliers' cost structure. Volatility in the prices of crude oil significantly impacts the overall costs incurred in the category

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Who should read this report

The report is intended to serve as a one-stop reference guide for Universal Joints procurement strategy and offers a perfect blend of category basics with deep-dive category data and insights. Therefore, it is ideal for category beginners looking for “Universal Joints: Procurement Report 101” as well as for category experts actively tracking the global Universal Joints procurement market.

You may have just initiated your research to design a winning Universal Joints procurement strategy, or you may be a category expert looking for strategic insights and updated data.Either ways, the report has your requirements covered.

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Key questions on Universal Joints procurement answered by this report

Procurement decisions can prove to be costly in the absence of careful deliberation and evaluation of every available option. In fact, more than 90% of the decision makers we work with acknowledge that timely availability of up-to-date category intelligence can help them make better purchasing decisions. More than 80% of them believe that in-house category intelligence needs to be updated periodically to achieve full benefits. If you have read so far, we are quite sure you agree!!

The Universal Joints procurement report helps take more informed decisions by placing all the critical information and advice at the fingertips of a decision maker. It also specifically answers some of the key questions that we have been routinely asked during our industry outreach initiatives:

What is the spend potential in the Universal Joints market?
What is the correct price to pay for Universal Joints? What are the key trends and factors that influence current and future pricing?
Which selection criteria are the most important for Universal Joints Suppliers Market?
Who are the top Universal Joints suppliers? What are their cost structures?
Which negotiation levers can reduce Universal Joints procurement cost ?
What are supplier margins in Universal Joints market?
What are the best practices for Universal Joints procurement and what are the potential risks?

SpendEdge Insights has helped procurement professionals and sourcing teams manage multiple spend areas and achieve more than $2 billion in savings. Activate your free account today!

Universal Joints Category Insights: What is inside

The Universal Joints market report offers a complete picture of the supply market and analyzes the category from the perspective of both buyers and suppliers. Analysis of the category trends, procurement best practices, negotiation levers and overall category management strategy advisory are interspersed with in-depth data and commentary on spend outlook, pricing ecosystem and supplier landscape drilled down to a region-level coverage.

Data

A key highlight of this report is the in-depth outlook created on Universal Joints procurement spend and pricing trends. The report further delves deep into the aspects of cost structure, total cost of ownership and supplier margins for Universal Joints. A dedicated section to supplier profiles and evaluation helps decision makers cast a wider procurement net and identify gaps in existing relationships.

Insights

Along with specific category and supplier intelligence, the publication also includes curated insights on Universal Joints market trends, price influencers and inherent risks. These insights help the decision makers prepare for market shaping trends in advance and create alternative strategies for changes in the market conditions.

Advisory

Additionally, the report also advises on the best practices and strategies to manage the Universal Joints category efficiently. Negotiation levers and opportunities are explained in detail along with quantification of their potential. Benchmark KPIs for supplier and buyer performance management are also aggregated to better organize the category objectives. Other themes of advisory include ideal procurement organization structure, enablers to achieve KPIs or category objectives and ideal SLAs to have with suppliers.

Category Ecosystem

Buyer and supplier ecosystem
Competitiveness index
Buyer and supplier power
Threat of new entrants and substitutes

Global and Regional Sourcing Insights

Category spend
Spend growth
Dynamics
Opportunities

Pricing and Cost Analysis

Pricing outlook and data
Drivers of pricing
Cost structure and inputs cost
Total cost of ownership
Pricing models and margins

Cost Saving Opportunities & Negotiation Strategies

Buyer and supplier side levers
Quantified cost saving opportunities
Negotiation strategies and quantified outcome

Procurement Best Practices, Strategy and Enablers

Procurement excellence
Sustainability and innovation
KPIs and category enablers
Risk management and outsourcing

Vendor Analysis

RFx essentials and selection criteria
SLAs
Supplier evaluation metrics
Detailed supplier profiles

Our research is complex, but our reports are easy to digest. Quantitative analysis and exhaustive commentary is placed in an easy to read format that gives you an in-depth knowledge on the category without spending hours to figure out “what does it mean for my company?”

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Category Research Framework

SpendEdge presents a detailed picture of Universal Joints procurement solutions by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. The analysts have presented the various facets of the market with a particular focus on identifying the key category influencers. The data thus presented is comprehensive, reliable, and the result of extensive research, both primary and secondary.