PURCHASING
The Purchase Management section of FactoryUniC delivers a suite of hands-on PDF and PPT resources to help purchasing and procurement professionals sharpen their skills. The content goes straight to the point — no unnecessary theory — so it can be applied immediately to real challenges on the job. Behind these materials is a team of professionals with more than 20 years of hands-on experience in global industrial operations, ensuring that every insight is grounded in practice, not just concepts.
Purchasing Department
Strategy I - Keep Searching for new Suppliers
PURCHASING STRATEGY | Should we continuously search for new suppliers, or should we stop once we’ve found a reliable one?
One of the core responsibilities of the Purchasing Department is supplier scouting. And here’s the truth: searching for suppliers should never stop.
Why?
Because markets change, opportunities appear, and staying still means falling behind. The goal isn’t only to find better prices, payment terms, or delivery times. Continuous searching also strengthens your negotiation power with existing partners. When suppliers know you have alternatives, they are more likely to offer you their best possible conditions.
The Value of Continuous Supplier Scouting
By actively exploring the market, your organization gains:
Negotiation leverage – More options keep current suppliers competitive.
Benchmarking power – You always know where market prices, terms, and lead times stand.
Contingency planning – If a supplier fails or changes ownership, you’re not starting from zero.
Access to innovation – New suppliers often bring fresh ideas, technology, or unique capabilities.
Put simply: searching is strategic insurance.
When to Actually Change Suppliers?
But let’s be clear: searching doesn’t mean changing.
Switching suppliers involves risk and costs that go far beyond the unit price. Before deciding to move, weigh carefully between the current and new supplier on at least these factors:
Service quality – Will they consistently meet your specs and standards?
Relationship & trust – Can you build a reliable, transparent partnership?
Technical knowledge – Do they understand your product, process, and pain points?
Management capability – Are they stable and professional enough to grow with you?
Communication efficiency – How fast and effectively do they respond to changes or issues?
Total cost of ownership – Do savings survive logistics, tooling or training costs?
Currency risk – Are you exposed to volatile Foreign Exchange fluctuations?
Remember this: a 15% discount can disappear overnight if one shipment is delayed or one quality issue arises.
Strategic Takeaway
Your procurement strategy should be dynamic. That means:
Always search — to maintain market knowledge and negotiation power.
Change only when justified — based on clear, quantifiable, and sustainable improvements.
📫 If you're looking for manufacturers of high-tech products or you have any questions about this topic, please don’t hesitate to contact us at contact@factoryunic.com. We’ll be happy to assist you.
Purchasing Department
Department's Key Roles
PURCHASING | HOW TO KNOW IF OUR DEPARTMENT WILL ACHIEVE SUCCESS
To answer this question, we must look whether our purchasing department effectively performs all necessary tasks for it. These tasks are grouped into three categories:
Strategic categories
Sourcing
Purchasing.
Operational category
Procurement
Let's now explore the tasks included within each of these categories...
Please download the attached PDF or PPT to access the complete content.
Purchasing Department
Insightul Quotes about Purchasing
PURCHASING | BUY WELL IS SELLING WELL
“𝘽𝙪𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡.” It’s not just a catchy phrase — it’s a principle that sits at the heart of a sustainable, profitable business.
In sales, we often talk about value, margins, customer satisfaction, and delivery times. But all those elements begin much earlier — with the decisions we make in purchasing. If we don't buy the right material, at the right price, under the right conditions, we’re already starting from behind.
1.- 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿
Many assume that “buying well” just means getting the lowest price. But true purchasing strategy goes deeper. It’s about understanding market trends...
Please download the attached PDF or PPT to access the complete content.
Purchasing Department
Searching Ways to Find Suppliers
SUPPLIER SOURCING: EFFECTIVE WAYS TO FIND SUPPLIERS
Finding reliable and appropriate suppliers is essential for ensuring your company's efficiency, quality, and competitiveness. Here are effective ways to search the best suppliers according to your specific business requirements:
1. Leverage Current Supplier and Employee Networks
Your existing suppliers are often the best starting point. Many of them may have partnerships, subsidiaries, or other customers who could also meet your needs. It’s common for trusted suppliers to refer you to reliable companies they already work with. In addition, don’t underestimate your internal team—employees may have valuable connections from previous roles or industry events...
Please download the attached PDF or PPT to access the complete content.
Purchasing Department
Strategy II - Manufacturing In-House or Outsourcing?
PURCHASING STRATEGY | Manufacture In-House vs Outsourcing. What´s the best?
Every Operations manager eventually faces this decision: Should we manufacture this product/part ourselves, or should we outsource it? This is a strategic fork in the road, one that directly impacts cost structure, customer responsiveness, risk exposure, innovation capability, scalability and long-term competitiveness.
Let’s unpack the real value behind each option.
Option 1: In-House Manufacturing. Advantages of the manufacture of a product in-house:
Minimize External Risk: When you own the process, you're insulated from supplier delays, capacity limits, strikes, political instability, or import/export issues.
Protect Know-How: Your core technology, proprietary methods, and process secrets stay under your roof.
Confidentiality: Sensitive data and customer information remain protected. No leaks.
Full Control: Quality, planning, and prioritization stay 100% aligned with your strategic goals.
Faster Response: You reduce back-and-forth, get real-time feedback, zero communication delays, and fast execution design changes are made instantly.
Cost Optimization: You cut hidden costs: transportation, packaging, import duties and logistic coordination.
Simplified Agreements: Avoid the difficulty in doing a contract that clearly defines all the expectations and responsibilities of the supplier.
Option 2: Outsourcing. Outsourcing means you contract the production to a supplier or third-party manufacturer. Advantages of outsourcing of the manufacture of a product:
Lower Capital Investment: You don’t need to invest in facilities, machinery, maintenance, human resources and trainings.
Convert Fixed into Variable Costs: You pay for what you use, when you need it. Less risk if demand drops.
Supplier Expertise & Technology: Specialized partners often bring better tech, certifications, and process maturity than in-house teams.
Faster Access to Market trends: Suppliers working across clients often adopt the latest designs, materials, and standards faster.
Focus on Core Business: Free your teams from non-core activities and reinvest time to focus on strategic development and essential business functions.
Shared Compliance Burden: Certifications, audits, and product registrations can be managed by the supplier.
Reduced Inventory Burden: Suppliers can hold stock, manage buffers, and deliver on demand.
Lower Operating Costs: Suppliers may offer better pricing thanks to economies of scale and labor cost advantages (no need to recruit, train, or manage additional staff).
Energy & Space Savings: No need to build new plants or power additional equipment.
Which Option Creates the Most Value?
The answer is: It depends.
Ask yourself these questions:
Is the product strategic or commodity?
Does it drive competitive advantage (performance, quality, lead time, brand)?
Are you in a phase of “growth, crisis, or steady scale”?
Are suppliers’ all-in costs clearly lower (including freight, duties, inventory in transit)?
How much “risk can you tolerate” in CapEx, fixed overhead, talent and confidentiality?
Do we need very fast changes or strict compliance/traceability?
Will outsourcing create risks (geo, currency fluctuancy, lead time, etc)?
Can suppliers offer better tech or certifications?
Most world-class manufacturers don’t pick just one option. They follow a hybrid strategy:
Make what’s critical: your core tech, quality-sensitive parts, or strategic modules.
Buy what’s standard: simple parts, packaging, or items others can do better or cheaper.
Dual-source when possible: have a backup or split volumes to reduce risk.
📫 If you're looking for manufacturers of high-tech products or if you have any questions about this topic, please don’t hesitate to contact us at contact@factoryunic.com. We’ll be happy to assist you.