Sockets & Wedges Market Procurement Intelligence Report

Several macro changes in the dynamics of overall Engineering Components as well as Sockets & Wedges procurement trends are poised to change the business practices and procurement thumb rules. Customers are expecting service and experience levels which are at par with what ecommerce and consumer sectors of today offer. Moreover, competition keeps intensifying and demand and supply dynamics keep shifting.

Markets across the globe are reeling under shortage of professionals and workforce that have relevant skills and training. Minimum wages and stringent regulations are compelling suppliers to increase their employee expenses which are expected to have an inflationary impact on buyers' procurement cost.

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.

Category managers need to take note of the potential of these developments and reassess the changes required in their procurement practices.

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 Sockets & Wedges. To help quick decision making, this report advises on several procurement best practices that have worked well for category managers.

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.

Buyers should engage with suppliers that have adopted a global delivery model as it reduces buyers' risk. In this model, any disaster/emergency at any operating facility of supplier will result in the work being transferred to a different facility, thereby ensuring continuity of the project and reduced risk for buyers. This model also provides buyers access to skilled labor from across the globe, thereby improving the quality of engineering products provided by the supplier.

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.

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