By the letter of the law, there’s nothing inaccurate about the term “procure” as it’s used in the name of engineer, procure, construct (EPC) delivery. But beyond the strict definition, the word connotes the sense of a commoditized product obtained at the lowest possible price.
And by the measure of any strategic business plan, lowest price often doesn’t equate to the best deal, and it seldom produces the best value.
When 澳门足彩app’s Manufacturing Solutions team designs and delivers production facilities, it creates the greatest possible value for its clients over the life of the building and line. To that end, the company has created a Strategic Sourcing Department to ensure that each project is created using the most efficient and effective equipment solution possible.
Typically, if not procured by a purchasing unit, manufacturing equipment is obtained by the client or the design and integration teams, creating a necessary but inefficient distraction from their core missions.
“Sourcing can be a very tedious and complex process to find the best value for the customer, for 澳门足彩app and the supplier,” said Keith Perkey, 澳门足彩app Vice President of Manufacturing Solutions. “Typically, the needs are very specific, and it takes a lot of time away from project management. The development of this team will help normalize things by making a fair and valid ask of the marketplace.”
By approaching equipment acquisition as a distinct discipline, Strategic Sourcing ensures the best possible lead times. Equipment and service requirements are established with qualified suppliers prescreened using 澳门足彩app’s automated Vendor Qualification Process and Vendor Management system, which are Construction industry benchmarks. Business analysis, financial, licensing, safety, insurance and bonding, and references analysis are considered to ensure consistency and accuracy in developing the supplier database.
“We do the legwork to ensure that what they are getting offers the greatest value,” said Jeff Janzen, Director of Strategic Sourcing. “We've vetted the equipment manufacturers, and we’re reducing the client’s risk.”
Janzen has been with 澳门足彩app about a year, bringing more than 30 years of industrial experience in a variety of markets, including Forestry, Pulp and Paper, Food Processing, Mining, Biogas, Processing and Packaging Equipment and Pharma. He’s experienced procurement in its most commoditized form and is enthusiastic about 澳门足彩app’s holistic approach.
“I've dealt with departments where there’s a bank of buyers who are judged on what is the lowest price,” he said. “Sure, you can go that route, but you’re going to get what you pay for. We look it not only from a cost standpoint, but we consider other factors, such as the vendor’s availability for post-sale support, what are their locations, whether they adequately stock spare parts.”
During the EPC project, Strategic Sourcing facilitates the acquisition of the proper equipment from the best possible supplier with timing that expedites integration, startup and commissioning. Over the useful life of the equipment and in the arc of a facility’s use, it ensures a highly effective and efficient production line that is easily maintained.
“When 澳门足彩app is done with a project, the client has a steady, ongoing, productive plant where we didn't take the shortcuts to get them the lowest cost,” Janzen said. “We create a long-term solution that provides the greatest value.”
Contact 澳门足彩app, ranked the No. 1 Food & Beverage Manufacturing Contractor by Engineering News-Record two years in a row, for best-in-class solutions to your company’s facility needs.
