Mass production is an effective way for enterprises to reduce production costs. Manufacturing companies are more willing to enhance their advantageous position through mass production, but when faced with small-volume purchases, they should also take corresponding countermeasures to control costs. As we all know, mass production is an effective way for companies to reduce costs. Mass production can reduce the marginal cost rate of products and exert economies of scale; at the same time, mass production can purchase raw materials (or parts) in bulk, greatly increasing the price initiative of enterprises in procurement. Therefore, manufacturing companies try to expand production batches whenever possible and reduce procurement costs and production expenses through batch size. Although manufacturing companies are more willing to improve their dominant position in procurement through mass production, sometimes they have to face small batch or single-piece production and small batch procurement, such as: new product trial production, returns and rework, small batch Orders etc. The reason for the high cost obstacle of small batch procurement is the minimum packaging problem. In the procurement of electronic product parts, parts are shipped from the factory in a certain base number as minimum packaging, such as transistors, capacitors, resistors, microprocessing chips and other small electronic components. Devices, the minimum packaging base can range from hundreds to tens of thousands. For the trial production of a product by an enterprise, only a few or even one of various electronic components are required, but the components have to be bought back with a minimum packaging base, thus causing great waste and hampering product development and trial production. Costs remain high. In addition to electronic components, small-volume purchases of small parts will face minimum packaging problems. Minimum batch problem In addition to the minimum packaging problem, small batch purchases sometimes also face the minimum batch problem. The so-called minimum batch size means that due to process or production equipment reasons, product production cannot be produced in the smallest product unit. It must be produced with a certain base as a production unit, otherwise, the product cannot be produced. Therefore, small-batch purchases of products that require a certain base number as the minimum production unit due to process or equipment issues will face a minimum batch problem. The issue of minimum cost: For some products, there is no minimum batch requirement for technology and equipment during the production and processing process. However, in some processes, within a minimum quantity, the cost of single-piece production and multiple-piece production is the same. For example, for some products Disposable chemicals are used in the production process, and the same amount of chemicals is needed to produce a single piece as it is to produce a full load of hundreds of pieces. Therefore, when calculating the unit cost of this process, single-piece production is hundreds of times higher than batch production. In fact, this kind of problem will be encountered in the production of many products. The production cost of the product remains unchanged within a minimum base, but the cost of mass production is proportional to the multiple of the minimum base. Therefore, small batch procurement will also face a minimum cost problem. Cost control methods for small-batch purchases seek alternatives. When it is difficult to break through the volume barrier for small-batch purchases and the procurement costs are high, and the purchased components are common components for similar products, the company can consider seeking purchasing alternatives from similar manufacturers. Similar manufacturers purchase small quantities of substitutes. In fact, it is very difficult for each raw material or component that a manufacturing company normally purchases to reach an accurate enough quantity to be used up. Therefore, in the raw material warehouse of the manufacturing company, various categories of raw materials Or components often have a small amount left. Therefore, for small-volume purchases of parts or raw materials that may have substitutes from similar manufacturers, seeking procurement substitution can sometimes significantly reduce procurement costs, because what you need may be exactly what other similar manufacturers have in their warehouses. Excess material that is eager to be disposed of. Involve technical personnel in procurement For the R&D and trial production of new products, if production technicians are involved in procurement, sometimes the batch size of the purchase can be reduced. Only technical personnel know best the quantity of raw materials or original components required for the trial production of a new product. If you let the technical staff communicate directly with the supplier, you can let the supplier know exactly the purpose and quantity of your purchase. The supplier can arrange the small amount of components you need in other batch production, so that you can use more than normal The required components can be purchased in small batches with minimum batch size to achieve the purpose of saving procurement costs. Form strategic alliances with suppliers By forming strategic alliances with suppliers, the cost of small-volume procurement can also be reduced.
If a manufacturing company forms a strategic alliance with a supplier, the relationship between the two is no longer a simple procurement relationship, but a long-term, mutually beneficial strategic partnership. Both parties do not need to rush to withdraw in one transaction. costs, but to achieve a balance of rights and obligations through long-term transactions. In small-batch procurement under this cooperative relationship, suppliers will not refuse to produce or demand high prices because the batch is too small. Instead, they will find ways to save costs and fulfill their obligations for long-term cooperation. Joint Procurement Joint Procurement refers to a procurement method in which small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises of the same type unite to jointly purchase in order to gain a favorable position in procurement prices and expand procurement batches. Due to their small production scale, small and medium-sized enterprises have an obvious passive position in procurement. However, through cross-enterprise joint procurement, they can expand procurement batches and reduce procurement costs. Where possible, small and medium-sized enterprises can consider organizing or joining a purchasing alliance. By uniting in raw material procurement, they can increase their ability to prevent risks. Multiple companies jointly purchase, turn small orders into large orders, enhance collective bargaining strength, gain procurement scale advantages, and strive for the same "status" as large companies; joint procurement directly faces manufacturers, so that they can get rid of agents By directly trading with manufacturers, we can reduce the number of intermediate layers, greatly reduce circulation costs and ensure product quality. Third-party Procurement Third-party procurement is when a company outsources the purchase of products or services to a third-party company. Foreign experience shows that compared with companies' own procurement, third-party procurement can often provide more value and purchasing experience, and can help companies focus more on their core competitiveness. Third-party procurement mostly exists in the form of procurement alliances. Small batch procurement through a third party can turn small batches into large batches. Coupled with the industry status and procurement experience of the procurement alliance, procurement costs can be greatly reduced.