Identifying Quality Medical Suppliers in China with Surgical Precision
A Swedish medical equipment company that supplies surgical equipment wanted to reduce its costs by identifying new quality suppliers.
ARC Consulting assisted the client in performing a complete sourcing review and in-depth evaluation of new potential suppliers in China. The sourcing report and ongoing support helped the client successfully identify the most suitable suppliers in China.
The client has a strong market position in both Europe and the U.S. but needed to reduce the cost of its products in order to remain competitive and profitable in the marketplace.
Since the client has an established brand with strong recognition in the healthcare industry, identifying new suppliers based on superior quality and production capability was critical.
ARC Consulting was hired to initiate a complete sourcing evaluation of new potential suppliers in China.
To kick off the project, ARC Consulting and the client worked together to generate the selection criteria. Then, the process of finding suppliers was divided into the three steps: identification, assessment and selection. The identification step included an initial assessment, based on the weighted selection criteria, which was pre-determined in conjunction with the client.
The analysis then proceeded with a thorough assessment of the identified suppliers’ capabilities as shown in in both the RFI and onsite visits.
Finally, the selection process proceeded using a jointly formulated selection grid that enabled the client and ARC Consulting to strategically choose suppliers.
Based on the selection process and supplier analysis conducted with the client, four suppliers were identified.
Negotiations regarding the cooperation with the client were conducted. The four targeted suppliers met all the requirements set by the client at the start of the project, including quality certifications, advanced production standards, facilities based on CSR and EHS, and experience with FDA audits.
ARC Consulting’s preparatory work, and its ongoing support in the project assisted the client in successfully evaluating and identifying the most suitable suppliers in China.
After finishing the on-site supplier negotiations prepared by ARC Consulting, the client successfully signed non-disclosure agreements with two of the suppliers and initiated the process for them to support for its operations in China.
As a result of the analysis conducted together with ARC Consulting, the client achieved its cost reduction targets and identified two suppliers capable of producing high quality parts to help the client meet their increasing future demand.
See more about our sourcing consulting services and our experience in the healthcare and medical products sector.
