A leading European multinational home improvement retailer, operating 700 stores across Europe, partnered with Dragon Sourcing to diversify its supply chain away from China. The project aimed to identify alternative suppliers across Europe, Africa, and Turkey for 10 key product categories with an estimated annual spend of €45 million.
Dragon Sourcing implemented a comprehensive five-phase approach. The initial phase involved analyzing 370 product groups across 22 countries using HS codes. The team created a sophisticated heat map that categorized countries into four tiers of attractiveness, with scores above 70% deemed “Most Attractive.” Czech Republic emerged as a strong contender with scores ranging from 71% to 88% across various categories, while Poland consistently showed high potential with scores reaching up to 100% in a specific category.
The second phase yielded impressive results with the identification of 1,099 potential suppliers across all categories. The distribution varied significantly by category, with Natural Stone Garden attracting 212 suppliers and Fairy Lights drawing 43 suppliers. The team then conducted rigorous pre-screening, reducing the supplier pool to 494 qualified candidates.
The project’s execution demonstrated strong supplier engagement:
- 126 suppliers passed the pre-screening phase
- 133 suppliers received RFI/RFQ documents
- 45 suppliers submitted complete RFI/RFQ responses
- 17 suppliers provided RFI-only submissions
Taking the Chimney Stoves category as an example, the project identified 162 suppliers across 8 countries, with 7 suppliers from Turkey and Czech Republic submitting complete RFI/RFQ responses. The top-performing supplier achieved an RFI score of 52%, demonstrating strong technical capabilities and market readiness.
The project concluded with Dragon Sourcing successfully identifying multiple viable suppliers across all categories, complete with ISO certifications and production capabilities matching the client’s requirements. This comprehensive approach enabled the client to establish new strategic partnerships in target markets, effectively reducing their dependency on Chinese sourcing.