Buyers, don't let suppliers tie your laptop to purchasing data analysis

At a procurement forum, the procurement director of a financial institution shared the relevant data of the institution's portable computers in 2013 with the delegates. From this set of data, we can see what the consequences will be if the purchaser is tied to a certain supplier in the procurement. The unit purchased a total of 1,218 portable computers in 2013, and the sales rankings of the four brands of Lenovo, Apple, Dell and HP are as follows;

Sales ranking

It can be seen from the above table that this organization's portable computer procurement has two major characteristics. The first is the high brand concentration. Although four brands have generated sales, Lenovo is still the only one playing the leading role. Dell and HP have almost become supporting roles. Other brands such as Tongfang and Founder have no sales at all.

The second characteristic is the high price, especially for Apple, where the average price is over 11,000 yuan. One Apple notebook model, MC965CH/A, costs 46,750 yuan, which exceeds the selling price of many low-end servers.

The main reason for this situation is that the procurement method adopts a shortlisting system, which selects a number of brand suppliers and then the purchaser purchases from them. In this case, suppliers obtain orders based on their own brand reputation and the purchaser's preferences rather than competitive prices. A careful study shows that the supplier with the lowest unit price has the least sales.

If batch centralized procurement is adopted, the situation will be different. Starting from 2014, central units began to include laptops in batch centralized procurement. In the first half of 2014, there were two procurements, with a total of 2,990 portable computers purchased. The three suppliers that generated sales were Lenovo, Tongfang and HP, and the sales volume ratios were as follows:

It can be seen from the above table that the competition in bulk centralized procurement is quite high. Tongfang, which ranks first, has only 14% more sales than Lenovo. There is no winner-takes-all situation. At the same time, the sales volume of high-priced products is relatively low. HP has the highest average winning bid price and the lowest sales volume. The unit prices of Lenovo and Tongfang are both controlled below 4,000 yuan, indicating fierce price competition.

The reason for the different results of the two types of procurement lies in the strength of competitiveness. In the shortlisted procurement, as long as the purchaser has a preference for a certain brand of computer, he will keep buying it and will not consider other brands. In this way, even if the purchaser is tied to the supplier, the supplier who is "exclusively favored" by the purchaser will have no motivation to lower the price.

In addition, being shortlisted for procurement may also encourage the purchaser's tendency to extravagant consumption. As we all know, Apple's notebook series are known as high-end products. Their advantages lie in their beautiful and fashionable appearance and vivid operating interface. However, there is no essential difference between them and other notebooks in terms of office performance. However, their prices are several times higher than other brands. Take MC965CH/A as an example. The price is 46,750 yuan, while 10,000 yuan is enough to buy products of the same configuration from other brands.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.