中国供应商成本优势

中国供应商成本优势

中国是世界最大的加工工厂, 就一些集团化的大企业来说, 平均都会有20%-30%的零部件, 原材料是从中国市场采购的.

对我们集团来说, 我们集团化采购整合刚刚开始，在中国的总采购比例相对比较低，所以我们在中国成立了自己的采购平台去持续开发中国的供应市场，寻找更多的成本节省的机会。

之前我个人一直认为, 对于我们集团这种追求高附加值的企业来说, 通过从中国采购来降低成本是非常轻松的, 中国的供应商相对于欧洲供应商来说应该有绝对的优势. 直到采购平台开始为海外其他工厂询源，做成本节省项目的时候，才发现，我们中国的供应商不是在任何领域都是有绝对的竞争力的。

由于我们采购平台也在起步阶段，对海外工厂的支持目前受人员及供应商资源所限，仅限于塑胶零部件，五金冲压，五金机加工，紧固件，银点及相关零部件，PCB 等. 对比不同BU 的不同项目，有非常大的差别。同样都是塑胶件，有一些零件我们要国外便宜30%以上，而有的项目国内价格比国外高出25%-50%，

以下2个项目为例：

项目A 继电器； 项目B 开关

1. 项目A ，产品寿命相对年轻，成品的附加值相对较高，数量适中，生产工序较复杂，

非完全自动化生产，单个零件结构较复杂，零件更注重在功能实现而不是成本。针对这类项目的零件（包括塑胶，冲压）我们通常会有至少30%的单个零件成本节省。

2. 项目B ，产品持续稳定生产超过30年，产品数量非常大6百万件每年，但是成品的附加

值相对较小，生产工序少，全自动化组装，对零件的成本敏感度非常高。对于项目B 中的个别零部件我们的国内价格甚至比国外高出25%。

有几十年生产历史的产品，经过了海外几十年的精益生产及持续的改进，产品已经非常成熟，产品所用的零件本身已经降到利润最低点，降价空间几乎没有，再考虑到我们的运输成本，关税，VMI ，想从这类零件中为海外找到节省几乎是不可能。对于这类项目并不适合单纯为降低成本在中国重新询源。

有什么会影响到中国供应商的成本优势？

A ． 进口原材料

B ． 效率及自动化生产 C ． 汇率波动

1. 进口原材料

客户指定进口原材料，很多只在欧洲或者北美生产及使用，国内供应商的采购周期长，采购价格价格高，还要再加上运输及进口关税，原材料本身就会比国外至少高出15%左右。

2. 效率及自动化生产的零件

中国的自动化正在一个蓬勃发展阶段，越来越多的行业开始引入自动化设备。但在我们公司内部正在做和刚刚做完的自动化项目总结看来，中国的自动化设备的精度及效率还远达不到国外的要求。当然大家也会说，自动化的成本不一样，不能期望同样的产出。但我们单从自动化对零件生产的成本影响来看，我们与欧洲比起来，还是有一定差距。

举个例子，

我们报过一款冲压零件加银点焊接工序，在欧洲这款零件是以自动化形式完成从冲压到焊接的全过程，生产效率能达到> 200pcs/min，而我们在中国寻找供应商的时候供应商受限于焊接工艺报价中生产效率仅为60pcs/min.经过长期的开发，现在供应商报价与海外生产成本相近，但生产效率始终是他们的瓶颈。但是如果我们想从这样的项目中替海外寻找大规模的成本节省那是相当困难的，不过对我们焊接工艺的技术本地化是一个进步。

3. 汇率波动欧元，美元暴跌

拿欧元为例

2014年6月我司所用汇率为1:8.2 2015年3月我司所用汇率为1:6.9

16%的汇率差，对出口贸易来说是致命的。

我们通过对国内供应商的不断施压降价所拿到的节省被汇率波动完全吃掉.

中国供应商的成本优势

我个人认为，中国供应商现在的成本优势体现在：

A. 技术劳动力成本

B. 资本优势转化研发的投入 C. 供应链反应速度

1. 技术人工成本占产品总成本比例较高的产品

从我们现有的项目来看，注塑模具与冲压模具， 在我们报价过程中，我们发现目前就我们的产品来说最有价格优势的为注塑模具，一些普通注塑模具，中国的价格是欧洲或者美国的1/4；

一般来说一套注塑模具的成本比例如下

人工成本占总成本比例有40%，在模具成本中所考虑的人工成本为技术劳动力成本，包括技术工人及设计工程师。

我们受过教育, 有相当技术能力的技术工程师与国外同样水平的技术工程师比起来，我们技术劳动力成本还是非常低的。从我们HR 部门的数据来看，技术工人的工资是欧洲同级的1/4或者1/5，工程师或者高级工程师的工资是欧洲同级别的1/2或者1/3。欧洲还有超长的假期及不定期罢工，拿法国为例，法国全年有175天假期，实际工作日仅为190天，而中国全年255天，工作基础天数中国就比法国高出30%， 60天工作日。中国的综合技术劳动力成本优势会再扩大30%。

2. 资本优势转化研发的投入

我们在形容中国的供应商的时候，经常会有个有趣的说法“这个供应商比较有钱”。

中国的供应商在经历了几十年的资本积累后，有相当多的现金在手并在寻找新的投资方向。非常聪明有前瞻的供应商会投资在研发，新技术的开发及应用, 并可以不惜成本的大胆的运用到实践. 更精密更稳定的生产能力会让中国供应商更有竞争优势。

比如我们有供应商正在免费帮我们开发一套模内打孔攻牙及铆接银点的一体化模具, 这套模具完成后, 仅从第一部打孔攻牙中, 我们单个五金端子就有接近30%的成本降低, 再加上铆接银点, 整套模具做完, 从零件成本, 供应链及工厂内部效率我们都会有相当的节省.

对我们作为客户来说，前期没有投资风险，后期能够从供应商的投入中拿到客观的利润。而对供应商来说，他们有客户可以配合他们应用及改进新技术，后续又有长期稳定的生产订单。成熟的新技术又可以帮助他们寻找更多的客户。这对供应商及客户来说来说都是双赢。

那我们未来要做的就是怎么样能让供应商的新技术为我们海外工厂服务, 通过新技术找到大规模的成本节省. 这也是我们现在正在努力去做的事.

3. 供应链的反应速度

完善的工业配套，单个供应商的灵活迅速，是整个供应链快速反应的前提。

以研发为例，一个相对成熟的研发团队研发一款工业产品，从概念，到设计，到实施，最终转入正式量产大概需要几年的时间。在中国，整个供应链能将实施阶段的整个周期缩减一半。我们塑胶模具，从模具订单实施，到T0样板，大概需要四周，T0样板到零件正式评估合格，大概需要四周时间，而类似的模具在法国的整个周期至少是我们的一倍以上。

缩短产品的开发周期所带来的好处不能用单个零件的节省去衡量。这能帮助公司赢得更多的项目。

从项目的整个流程来看，中国供应商对海外的优势体现在：

1. 技术劳动力成本低廉，研发工程师相对成本低。

2. 时效及供应链的快速反应使项目研发周期缩短一半。

3. 项目前期的总投入成本低，降低了投资风险并缩短的投资回报率。前期投入成本包括：

生产设备，模具，生产线搭建及项目管理的人工成本。

4. 供应商的灵活性，能够及时应对各种风险及变更，减少了变更成本。 5. 投入到量产之后，集中采购的优势，保证了未来持续稳定的相对低成本。

我们正在做的就是怎样能够发掘更多的中国供应商的成本优势，并真正的可以为公司带来的利润，这也是我们再中国成立采购平台的更大的价值所在。

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以上所有信息及案例仅基于本人目前的行业背景及工作经验，一定有其他行业及其他同学有不同观点。任何不足之处欢迎指出，谢谢！

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China is the largest industrial manufactory in the world, Most of global group company might keep 20-30% of materials purchasing from China.

In our CST Group, Global purchasing combination just started,total purchasing percentage from China is still low. So we established a China Purchasing Platform continueto develop China industrial supply market and seek for cost saving chances.

In my opinion, as a Global Group keeps the strategyof premium and high value added, it should be easier to gain big saving from China supply market. Compared with European suppliers, Chinese suppliers should havean absolutely advantage. But from the projects we are working for overseas we found the difference.

Limited by our segment experience and our suppliers’capability, we only focus on few commodities as plastic component, stamping, machinery, fasten, silver contact and assembling, PCB etc. In some projects, our local quotation even 25-50% higher than European quotation. We weresurprised by European supplier capability of High Quality & Low Cost.

For example, 2 projects

Project A, solid relay product Project B, Micro Switch product

1. Project A, Products life is young, more valued added, medium quantity and production

process is complex, not fully automatic assembling, structure of single components is complex and functional. Most of component of this project we quoted can gain at least 30% cost saving. (as plastic part and stamping part).

2. Project B, Products life is more than 30 years, stable production, huge quantity, lower value

added, and production process is easier and fully automatic assembling. Component of this

project is more sensitive of the cost. The components we quoted even 25% higher than overseas supplier.

M ature products with dozens of year’s lean manufacture and continually improvement analysis. From the product to component, the cost already is the lowest and no margin.There is no more space for cost saving,after we considering about logistic cost, import duty, VMI,that hardly can find more saving from these kinds of projects. These projects will not suitable source from China if only purpose of cost saving.

What affect the advantage of Chinese supplier?

A. Importation of raw material

B. Efficiency and automatic production C. Currency exchange fluctuation

1. Importation of raw material

Most of customers appoint raw material only produces and sales in European or US. Limited by the distributor capability and our total usage quantity, usually our local supplier hasat least 15% higher on the raw material price than European or US due to much longerlead time, transportation cost and import duty.

2. Efficiency and automatic production

The automatic manufacture well developed recent years, more and more Robot and automatic machine are using for manufacture.Experience from local projects, the precision and efficiency of automatic machine and production still have a big gap compared with the overseas. Different quality is due to different investment. Automatic machine can’t compare as apple to apple between local China supplier and oversea supplier. Here we only considering how much the automatic production affect the component cost.

For example

One project is a stamping terminal welding with silver contact. In European, the whole processes start from welding to stamping were finished by series automatic machines, and the efficiency of that part can meet >200pcs/min. Limited by the welding technology, the primary quotation we got from local supplier with the welding efficiency only 60pcs/min. Finally after long term developing, our supplier can meet the target price with similar process, but the efficiency still a bottleneck for them. It is difficulty to gain a big saving from these kinds of projects, but it is a big progress for us to find a welding technical backup for localization.

3. Currency exchange fluctuation

The currency exchange rate fluctuation impacted the export trading business a lot. For example: Euro.

In June 2014, the exchange rate we used is 1: 8.2

In March 2015, the exchange rate we used is 1: 6.9

16% currency exchange rate loss is lethal effects for trading business.

Euro falls a lot. All the saving we gained through continues negotiation is offsetting by the effect of currency exchange rate falls.

What is the Chinese suppliers’ advantage?

1. 2. 3. 1.

Engineering labor cost advantage

Capital Advantage turned to R&D investment Quick response of Supply Chain

Engineering labor cost advantage

Look through all projects we quoted, the best price we got is the quotation for tooling including injection and stamping tooling.

For some of injection tooling, Chinese price is 1/4 of European or US.

The cost breaks down of tooling as below:

The labor cost is 40% of total tooling cost. The labor cost here is from the technician and tooling design engineer.

High educated, full experience of different technology or manufactory engineers cost is lower than the same level of engineers in European or US. Data from our HR, 1/4 or 1/5 compare with the technician, 1/2 or 1/3 compare with the senior engineer. Also the working days are different. As sample of France, there are total 175 days holiday in a whole year, and the actual working days are only 190 days. In China, the working days are 255 days. 30%, 60 working days more compare with France. And the advantage of Chinese engineer labor cost will be enlarged 30% more.

2. Capital Advantage turned to R&D investment

When we describe our Chinese supplier, there is always an interesting description is the supplier is “rich ”. They have lot of cash on hand.

After dozens years of technology and capital accumulation, Chinese supplier has a lot of cash on hand and seeking for the investment opportunity. Smart and long vision supplier will willing to invest on R&D, new technology development and implement.

For example, one of our suppliers is investing for us to develop a tooling which is combined in-die tapping and in-die riveting. We can get 30% around cost saving on single stamping terminal only with first tapping process. And also we can have more benefit from supply chain and production efficiency from the whole project.

As a customer, we not only controlled the risk of project investment, but also get benefit from the component and process. As a supplier, they not only get the customer support for the new technology implement and improvement, but also win more stable business after the tooling implement. In the future, supplier can win more business from other customers with mature and success experience. It a win-win project for both of us.

3. Quick response of Supply Chain

Complete industrial supporting and quick response from every single supplier are the foundation of a quick response supply chain.

R&D as an example, an industrial products usually took years start from conception, to design and to implement. In China, the quick response supply chain can support R&D team to short half of the development period. As a plastic part in China, 4 weeks from Tooling PO to T0 sample, and 4 weeks from T0 sample to component release. In Europe, usually double of our local china time.

The benefit of shorten the development period can’t be measured by the single parts saving. It’s more important for company to win more cases.

Form the whole project point of view, the advantage shows everywhere.

1. R&D engineer cost is low

2. Efficiency and quick response shorten half of the development period.

3. One time capital investment is low, lower the risk of investment and shorten the

RIO.( Investment including production equipment, tooling, production line construction and project management labor cost)

4. Flexibility of supplier can deal with the unexpected changes during the project implement

period, and reduce the changement cost.

5. In the mass production, combine the purchasing advantage ensure stable supply and lower

cost. Etc.

In the future we will focus on how we can continue develop Chinese suppliers’ advantage and achieve the real benefit for our global company. That is the true value of our China Purchasing Platform.

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All the example and point of view is from personal opinion based on my working experience and

knowledge. Any comment form you side is appreciated. Thanks！

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