为价格而战(1)

1、Anewkindofprofessionalpurchaserbentongettingrock-bottomcoststhreatenssuppliersofbasicmaterials.Butthesecompaniescansavethemselvesbytakingupthepurchasers?weaponsThereisakillerontheloosenearthestartofthevaluechain.Suppliersofbasicmaterials1haveseentoughtimesastheirownsuppliersconsolidatedandcustomerssqueezedtheirmargins.Nowsomeofthosecustomersareusingakindofsophisticatedprofessionalpurchaser,knownasasourcer,whothreatenstoruboutthemeagermarginsthatremain.Armedwithadetailedknowledgeofthesuppliers?e。

2、conomics,thesourcerspurnsthetraditionalapproachofbuildingcloserelationshipsinfavorofextractingthemostvalueatthelowestpossiblecost.Somesuppliersmaynotsurvivetheassault.Indeed,thismismatchcandestroyvaluequickly.Oneglobalproducerofspecialtylubricantsrecentlyacquiredseveralservicebusinessesinanefforttodistinguishitselffromcompetitors.Theinitialstrategywassound.Butthensourcersdemandedthatthesupplierbundleitsnewserviceswiththelubricantsatnoextracharge.Topreservesalesvolumes,thesupplieracquiesced.Inthe。

3、end,whathadstartedasasensibleefforttocombineachemicalbusinessthathada5percentreturnonsaleswithservicebusinessesthathada15percentROSgavethecompanyanoverallROSoflessthan5percent.Somesuppliershavesufferedsomuchfromthesourcers?attacksthatcounteringthem,ratherthanpassivelywatchingmarginserodefurther,mustnowbeastrategicpriority.Afirststepisforsupplierstounderstandhowsourcershaveshiftedtheoddsagainstthem.Thesecondistousethatunderstandingbyfightingbackthroughinternalimprovementsandbytakingadvantageofthe。

4、mentalityofthesourcerstocreatevalueforboththemandthesuppliers.Andsuppliersmusttakeamuchtoughernegotiatingstand梚fnecessary,reducingtheirservicestocustomersorevenabandoningcustomers,howeverlong-standing,thathavebecometooexpensivetoserve.SMARTSTUFFProfessionalsourcersfirstappearedabouttenyearsago.Initially,theytargetedretailersanddistributors;latertheymovedupthevaluechaintoincludesuppliersofbasicmaterials.Insteadoflookingforsuppliersthatofferthelowestunitpriceforproducts,sourcersconcentrateonreduci。

5、ngtheircompanies?totalcostofowningtheproductsinquestion.Thetotalcostofownership(TCO)includesallexpensesincurredingettingandusingproducts梟otonlyinvoiceprices,butalsocostssuchasdelivery,storage,andthedisposalofpackagingmaterialsandby-products.Sourcersstartbyusingtheirvolumetosqueezeasmuchvalueoutofasupplieraspossible.Thisapproachisn抰new,buttheywinadditionalvaluebyshiftingcostsandriskstosuppliers.Sourcersdon抰careabouttheeffectthislineofattackmighthaveonrelationships:thegoalistograbvalue.Knowledgeis。

6、thesecondimportantweaponofthesourcers,whounderstandtheirowneconomicsandthetotalcostofusingproductsorservicesand,nolessimportant,theeconomicsandofferingsoftheirkeysuppliers梠ftenbetterthanthesuppliersdo.Why?Becausesourcerssystematicallyaggregatealloftheavailableinformationfromtheirownorganizations,othersuppliers,trademagazines,othercustomers(legally,throughconsortiums),industryexperts,andthelike.Meanwhile,theinformationthatsuppliershaveaboutthemselvesliesinvariousfunctionsandITsystemsandusuallyhas。

7、n抰beenpulledtogether.Sourcersthereforehaveintimateknowledgeoftheeconomicimpactoftheiroptions(forexample,thecostofswitchingsuppliers),sotheycangenerallydecideontheirsourcingstrategiesandpinpointacceptabletrade-offsbeforetheyevenstartdiscussionswithsuppliers.Sourcers,forexample,typicallyshiftcostssuchasfreight,storage,andfinancingtosellersbyhavingsalescontractsspecifydeliveredratherthanplant-departureprices,therebyexcludingthecostandriskofgettinggoodsfromthesupplier抯totheuser抯plant.Anothertacticis。

8、toshiftrisktothesupplierbyusingfixed-pricecontracts,2whichforceittoabsorbunexpectedpricehikesforrawmaterials.Sincethemid-1990s,pulpandpapermanufacturers,forexample,havedemandedfixedpricesforhydrogenperoxideoncontractswithtermsofuptoayear.Becauseofthispricecap,manyhydrogenperoxidemakerspostedreturnswellbelowtheircostofcapitalin2001,whenasharpriseinnatural-gaspricespusheduptheircosts.Intheory,suppliersbenefitfromfixed-pricecontractsifraw-materialspricesfall.Inreality,whenthathappens,suppliersbento。

9、npreservingrelationshipswiththeircustomersoftenletsourcers,whowatchupstreampricescarefullyforsuchopportunities,cutpricesbyrenegotiatingcontractsprematurely.Costsinmostbasic-materialsindustriesarerisingbecauseconsolidationamongtheirownsuppliershaspushedupthepriceofrawmaterialsandbecauseadriveforhigh-tech,efficientproductionhasforcedthemtomakelargecapitalinvestments.Meanwhile,strongcompetitionandthecommoditizationofformerlydifferentiatedproductsareholdingdownthepriceofthebasicmaterialsthesecompani。

10、essell.Thesupplier抯salesforceisaneasytargetforprofessionalsourcers,sinceinbasic-materialsindustriesmostincentiveplansforsalesrepsarebasedonvolume,whichpredisposesthemtoacceptthesourcers?demands.Whenmarginsarethin,salesrepsoftentrytobuildsalesvolumesbyofferingbuyersthelowestlistpriceandevengivingawayservices,particularlytolargecustomers.Managersencouragethisvolumementalitybypressingforgreatermarketshareatalmostanycost.Andtheseindustriesasawholeemphasizetheimportanceofretainingcustomers,therebyprom。