Here are some of the criteria that you should keep in mind while selecting a procurement service provider for your business:
- The agency offers a complete sourcing service that involves supplier identification and pre-qualification, auditing, quotation management, product development and testing; contracting and selection of suppliers, QC management, supplier development, payment, and logistics management.
- The agency sources into the entire country of China and not just in the conventional industrial regions of the Beijing-Shanghai-Shenzhen axis.
- The agency is capable of procuring in other low-cost countries (if required) via a network of fully-owned purchasing offices to challenge the Chinese supply base with different suppliers.
- The team has developed competence in sourcing to integrate efficiently with the sourcing procedure of your organization and has insight into the categories that have to be procured.
- Make sure that the company is able to offset barriers and risks related to sourcing products from China, and is also able to convince an organization to alter suppliers from a long-established base in high-cost economies to a new base in low-cost economies.
- The team has the communication and project management skills needed to interact with all the main stakeholders in your company and obtain their confidence.
It is essential to address and manage the risks associated with China sourcing. Sourcing companies operating in this country take adequate precautions in procuring trained manpower or materials. Employing experienced staff at a procurement service agency is a potentially lucrative strategy to bring down these risks and ensure procurement success.