Procurement

After conducting initial research to establish the possibility and potential value of sourcing steel mill equipment from China, The Beijing Axis was authorised by a top Russian steel group to execute the bidding process in China.

The company previously sourced chemicals from China through trading houses and occasionally encountered problems with both quality and price. In order to secure their supplies, they approached The Beijing Axis to identify suitable original manufacturers. 

A leading South African manufacturer of freight truck trailers approached The Beijing Axis at the beginning of 2005 to assist them with establishing a sourcing and manufacturing capacity in China. The need for a China presence revolved around three factors, namely the need to diversify suppliers, the need to reduce labour costs and the desire to gain a foothold in the Chinese market.

Appreciating the value of sourcing from China through raw material procurement, the client determined to move more sourcing activities to China. In 2005 they required The Beijing Axis to involve Chinese manufacturers in a bidding project for sourcing caster equipment for the expansion of their new plant.

Case A: An international special steel and hollow bar distributor approached TBA in 2006 to seek assistance in sourcing steel from China.

Case B: In mid-2008, the company was unable to reach agreement with their Chinese supplier due to a misunderstanding that occurred during negotiations. As the company had already signed a contract with the end-user, it requested assistance from TBA to deal with the situation.

The Beijing Axis was approached by a London AIM-listed mining engineering project house to assist in the establishment of a comprehensive sourcing presence in China. The goal was to identify suitable categories of products to be sourced from China to achieve significant cost saving benefits and to establish the company's own presence in China.