AMREP Technological Centre, China Improves Chinese Suppliers Quality Reliability

Shenzhen, China, November 02, 2009 --(PR.com)-- John Adams, President, AMREP Supplier Management Services Inc. in a presentation to Chinese suppliers and his US customers said that quality management of suppliers has to be beyond just dependence on suppliers’ making quality better or through sporadic enforcing of suppliers’ compliance to customers expectations.

Bad times provide opportunities for reinventing supplier management approaches. A “Win-Win” approach with cost and productive gains to both suppliers and customers are in great need now. Customer, he says, are now moving towards working with suppliers on a “when needed” and “on demand” basis with greater reliance on the suppliers to be in-tune with the customers’ changing inventory needs. Conversely, the suppliers feel they cannot fulfill their customers’ new purchasing approach while trying to manage production controls and the layers and batteries of components suppliers.

Mr. Adams says that China is moving towards the “second gear” of industrialization. It is now moving technologically upwards in manufacturing. However, it does not mean that the industrialized Chinese technical force has upgraded upwards rapidly to match the quality and technical demands of the high technology product manufacturing demand of the suppliers and US customers.

AMREP Vendor Inspection Services (AVIS), originating from Singapore and starting out with the supply outsourcing revolution of 1980s, had the experience of moving into different emerging countries with suppliers and the ability to track the changing demands of outsourcing supplier quality management. Where suppliers continue to remain in the first phase of outsourcing manufacturing, supply quality control is basically revolving around final product inspection, random audits and pre-shipment inspection. AVIS work in Singapore, Taiwan and Japan evolved into higher levels of supplier-customer-3rd party interactive quality management and feedback.

This evolution from just plain supplier’s product inspection into Customer/ AMREP participation into the supplier’s design, material, technology, production processes, quality management and feedback loop processes was a big threesome Win-Win loop. Consequently the suppliers gain from interactive involvement and interference in their design and production; the customers gain from confidence in supplier’s reliability and dependability; AMREP gain as an impartial and independent useful instrument, tool and bridge for buyer and seller.

China, being such a big country with ever increasing, changing and moving suppliers, requires a bolder way of making the changeover from just quality inspection to a tri-party supplier management method more effectively, says Mr. Adams.

The AMREP Technological Center (ATC), China is the AMREP way of making the Tri-Party Win-Win formula work well in a changing business times and a changing country with changing suppliers.

Launched in Y2007, ATC began providing its key customers with technical and quality specialists in its China operation in Bao An, Shenzhen municipality to work with contracted suppliers on selective BOM, material quality, design and manufacturing processes reviews, work in progress inspection and improvements. All these services were executed through a rotating hand-in-hand collaboration on a Tri-Party basis.

Apparently, the formula has been tested and is working well according to Mr. Adams. While non-disclosure agreements prevented Mr. Adams from revealing which major US corporations are using the ATC Tri-Party formula, it is not difficult to gather information from key suppliers as to which customers ATC is working hard for.

Mr. John Adams has declined to provide more details on what ATC is doing in the business of Supplier Management Services in China for reasons of “privacy and confidentiality.”

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