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Times are challenging....don't get caught out when procuring your product!

By: Alice Reynolds
Posted: 18th December 2013
Category: General Blog Posts

Times are challenging, profit margin is key, we need to save money and all departments are under pressure to offer savings for fear of an uncertain future.

So what better way to do this in procurement than sourcing our own obsolete and hard-to-find products?! It can't be that difficult you think to yourself... you search for a part - Google seems like a sensible place - then bingo!, you have hundreds of ‘suppliers' showing the stock you need. You think....”I'll buy from one of these companies, cut out the middle man, and reduce my costs”.

The stock comes in, and wow it looks perfect!

It is passed through to production, placed on the board, just in time for your customer's requirement, and then BOOM, the product fails! All of a sudden, that fantastic saving has turned into a huge loss. The product doesn't work, the delivery date is missed, the end customer is not happy. Reputations are damaged and people are looking to procurement for answers…….!

This may not be a common occurrence, but it is very real, and happens!

As we all know, the market is flooded with counterfeit and substandard stock, and it is all too easy to get caught out.

Ashlea Components are specialists in locating hard-to-find and obsolete product. They act as the safety net between you and the potential disaster. In much the same way that it takes you years to build the relationship with your customers, it takes an independent distributor as many years to learn and adapt to the ever changing market.

There will always be a ‘supplier' showing the stock you want, but that doesn't necessarily mean they have the stock. And if they do, it doesn't necessarily mean it is quality stock. This is where the independents offer their service. It isn't just about selling product, but rather selling a service; a safety net. There is more to sourcing than simply looking for stock. It is an area that, without expertise, can be severely detrimental in many ways.

Yes, the costs are extremely important, but what are the costs of losing a customer?