为价格而战英文Word下载.docx

为价格而战英文Word下载.docx

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Thereisakillerontheloosenearthestartofthevaluechain.Suppliersofbasicmaterialshaveseentoughtimesastheirownsuppliersconsolidatedandcustomerssqueezedtheirmargins.Nowsomeofthosecustomersareusingakindofsophisticatedprofessionalpurchaser,knownasa"

sourcer,"

whothreatenstoruboutthemeagermarginsthatremain.Armedwithadetailedknowledgeofthesuppliers?

economics,thesourcerspurnsthetraditionalapproachofbuildingcloserelationshipsinfavorofextractingthemostvalueat

thelowestpossiblecost.Somesuppliersmaynotsurvivetheassault.

Indeed,thismismatchcandestroyvaluequickly.Oneglobalproducerofspecialtylubricantsrecentlyacquiredseveralservicebusinessesinanefforttodistinguishitselffromcompetitors.Theinitialstrategywassound.Butthensourcersdemandedthatthesupplierbundleitsnewserviceswiththelubricantsatnoextracharge.Topreservesalesvolumes,thesupplieracquiesced.Intheend,whathadstartedasasensibleefforttocombineachemicalbusinessthathada5percentreturnonsaleswithservicebusinessesthathada一五percentROSgavethecompanyanoverallROSoflessthan5percent.

Somesuppliershavesufferedsomuchfromthesourcers?

attacksthatcounteringthem,ratherthanpassivelywatchingmarginserodefurther,mustnowbeastrategicpriority.Afirststepisforsupplierstounderstandhowsourcershaveshiftedtheoddsagainstthem.Thesecondistousethatunderstandingbyfightingbackthroughinternalimprovementsandbytakingadvantageofthementalityofthesourcerstocreatevalueforboththemandthesuppliers.Andsuppliersmusttakeamuchtoughernegotiatingstand梚fnecessary,reducingtheirservicestocustomersorevenabandoningcustomers,howeverlong-standing,thathavebecometooexpensivetoserve.

Smartstuff

Professionalsourcersfirstappearedabouttenyearsago.Initially,theytargetedretailersanddistributors;

latertheymovedupthevaluechaintoincludesuppliersofbasicmaterials.Insteadoflookingforsuppliersthatofferthelowestunitpriceforproducts,sourcersconcentrateonreducingtheircompanies?

totalcostofowningtheproductsinquestion.Thetotalcostofownership（TCO）includesallexpensesincurredingettingandusingproducts梟otonlyinvoiceprices,butalsocostssuchasdelivery,storage,andthedisposalofpackagingmaterialsandby-products.

Sourcersstartbyusingtheirvolumetosqueezeasmuchvalueoutofasupplieraspossible.Thisapproachisn抰new,buttheywinadditionalvaluebyshiftingcostsandriskstosuppliers.Sourcersdon抰careabouttheeffectthislineofattackmighthaveonrelationships:

thegoalistograbvalue.

Knowledgeisthesecondimportantweaponofthesourcers,whounderstandtheirowneconomicsandthetotalcostofusingproductsorservicesand,nolessimportant,theeconomicsandofferingsoftheirkeysuppliers梠ftenbetterthanthesuppliersdo.Why?

Becausesourcerssystematicallyaggregatealloftheavailableinformationfromtheirownorganizations,othersuppliers,trademagazines,othercustomers（legally,throughconsortiums）,industryexperts,andthelike.Meanwhile,theinformationthatsuppliershaveaboutthemselvesliesinvariousfunctionsandITsystemsandusuallyhasn抰beenpulledtogether.Sourcersthereforehaveintimateknowledgeoftheeconomicimpactoftheiroptions（forexample,thecostofswitchingsuppliers）,sotheycangenerallydecideontheirsourcingstrategiesandpinpointacceptabletrade-offsbeforetheyevenstartdiscussionswithsuppliers.

Sourcers,forexample,typicallyshiftcostssuchasfreight,storage,andfinancingtosellersbyhavingsalescontractsspecifydeliveredratherthanplant-departureprices,therebyexcludingthecostandriskofgettinggoodsfromthesupplier抯totheuser抯plant.Anothertacticistoshiftrisktothesupplierbyusingfixed-pricecontracts,whichforceittoabsorbunexpectedpricehikesforrawmaterials.Sincethemid-1990s,pulpandpapermanufacturers,forexample,havedemandedfixedpricesforhydrogenperoxideoncontractswithtermsofuptoayear.Becauseofthispricecap,manyhydrogenperoxidemakerspostedreturnswellbelowtheircostofcapitalin2001,whenasharpriseinnatural-gaspricespusheduptheircosts.Intheory,suppliersbenefitfromfixed-pricecontractsifraw-materialspricesfall.Inreality,whenthathappens,suppliersbentonpreservingrelationshipswiththeircustomersoftenletsourcers,whowatchupstreampricescarefullyforsuchopportunities,cutpricesbyrenegotiatingcontractsprematurely.

Costsinmostbasic-materialsindustriesarerisingbecauseconsolidationamongtheirownsuppliershaspushedupthepriceofrawmaterialsandbecauseadriveforhigh-tech,efficientproductionhasforcedthemtomakelargecapitalinvestments.Meanwhile,strongcompetitionandthecommoditizationofformerlydifferentiatedproductsareholdingdownthepriceofthebasicmaterialsthesecompaniessell.Thesupplier抯salesforceisaneasytargetforprofessionalsourcers,sinceinbasic-materialsindustriesmostincentiveplansforsalesrepsarebasedonvolume,whichpredisposesthemtoacceptthesourcers?

demands.Whenmarginsarethin,salesrepsoftentrytobuildsalesvolumesbyofferingbuyersthelowestlistpriceandevengivingawayservices,particularlytolargecustomers.Managersencouragethisvolumementalitybypressingforgreatermarketshareatalmostanycost.Andtheseindustriesasawholeemphasizetheimportanceofretainingcustomers,therebypromptingsalesrepstoavoidmeasuresthatcouldjeopardizerelationshipswiththem.

Thesourcers?

apprentice

Mostcompaniesinbasic-materialsindustriesalreadyfeelpressurefromsourcers.Manysuchcompanieshavesofarfollowedastrategyof"

stealth"

defense;

thatis,theyhopetostayoffthesourcers?

radarscreensbykeepingalowprofile.Butsourcersaresystematicallymovingupthevaluechainandwilleventuallyconfrontalmostallcompanies.

Whenthathappens,suppliersmustbeabletoavoidsurrenderingvalueonanytermsthesourcerschoose.Thekeytosuccessistounderstandthesourcers?

approach,whichfocusesontotalvalueratherthanlowestprice,andtopreparetheorganizationforanewkindofselling.Inthisway,asuppliercanrestorethebalanceofpowerwithitsbuyersandgivethemgreatervaluewhilenotthreateningitsownviability.

Formostbasic-materialssuppliers,twomeasuresshouldgoalongwaytowardrebalancingthescales:

counteringtheknowledgeofthesourcersbyunderstandingtheeconomicsofthecompaniestheyworkforandretrainingthesupplier抯entireorganizationtosellnotjustvolumebutalsomorevalue（Exhibit1）.Theamountofemphasisasupplierplacesoneachoptionshoulddependlargelyonhowactivesourcersareinitsindustry.Acompanythathasalreadybeencriticallyweakenedbytheirpowerprobablyalsoneedstoreevaluateitscorebusiness梩hatis,thewayitmakes（asopposedtosells）itsproducts.

Wiseup

Sincesourcerscometothenegotiatingtablearmedwithadetailedunderstandingoftheirownandthesupplier抯economics,thesuppliermustdothesame.Thatis,itmustunderstandhowitmakes（andloses）moneyfromitscurrentcustomers,thekeyfactorsthatmakethembuy,anditscompetitors?

blindspots.

Aswehaveseen,thesalesrepsandeventhemanagersofasupplieroftenonlyvaguelyunderstanditseconomics,becausetherelevantinformationisdispersedacrossfunctionsandITsystems.Thus,forexample,salesrepswhomustfactorthecostoffreightintoaninvoicepricewhentheirowncompanypaysforshippingmayhaveonlyaroughideaofwhattherealcostmightbe.AdetailedanalysisofindividualtransactionsatoneEuropeanchemicalcompanyshowedthat,forsomeclients,freightexpensesbornebythesupplieractuallyexceededtheinvoicepricewhenexpeditedarrangementswerefactoredin.Warehousingtoo,thoughnotalwaysitemizedoninvoices,cansharplyreduceacustomer抯valuetoasupplier.

Indeed,suppliersrarelycalculatethepocketpriceforeachorderorcustomer.Butthepocketpriceisvitalformakingakeystrategicdecision:

whetherthesuppliershouldwalkawayfromanycustomer抯business.Ataminimum,informationaboutacustomer抯historicalpriceperformanceshouldstrengthenthesupplier抯resolveduringnegotiationsbyshowingwherelossesusuallyoccur.Ifacompany抯customerbaseisveryfragmentedandscrutinizingindividualaccountsisn抰practical,analysisofgroupsbasedonconsiderationssuchaspurchasingpatterns,keybuyingfactors,orsizecouldinformthesedecisions.

Toraisepricesorcutservicelevelsforanunderperformingcustomertothepointwhereitmightdefect,asupplier抯salesforcemustembraceaprofoundculturalchangeanddeveloptheabilitytoassessrisk.Thepayoffisabetternegotiatingstanceandthusimprovedmargins.Droppingacustomeralwaysposesdangers,buttheycanbemitigatedbyathoroughknowledgeofthebusinessatrisk.WhenonelargeNorthAmericanpetrochemicalsupplier,forexample,sawitsmarketthreatenedbyanAsiancompetitorofferinglowerprices,thesupplier,inacarefullycalculatedmove,letgothreeofitslargestbutmostunprofitablecustomers（whosesourcerstriedtoforceittoofferfullservicefreeofcharge）.TheNorthAmericansupplierunderstoodwhatwasfundamentallyimportanttoitscustomersaswellastheweaknessesofitsnewcompetitor.Twoofthethreedefectingcustomerscamebacktothesupplierafterjust