Saint-Gobain Vidros S/A-Santa Marina
Background
Santa Marina is a Brazilian based Division of Saint-Gobain Vidros S/A which in turn is part of Saint-Gobain, a French multinational that started its activities more than three centuries ago in the glass manufacturing industry. Saint-Gobain has become a market leader in several industrial branches, and is among the 100 largest industrial companies in the world.
Dragon Sourcing’s client, Santa Marina is a specialized manufacturer and distributor of glass tableware such as plates, glasses, cups, pans, salad dishes, bowls, and dinnerware which are sold worldwide under the Marinex® brand.
In the spring of 2009, their purchasing group approached Dragon Sourcing to embark on a spot-sourcing initiative in China to procure several kitchenware items to complement its existing product line. As a result of this first successful experience buying from China, Santa Marina has decided to embark on a long-term partnership with Dragon Sourcing in order to pursue new sourcing activities with a larger number of product categories.
Approach
- Develop list of qualified suppliers for all key categories through a RFI/RFQ screening process
- Attend sourcing fairs (such as Guangzhou Import and Export Fair) with Santa Marina management team to identify new suppliers and new product ideas.
- Conduct price negotiations with suppliers on behalf of the client
- Based on negotiation process, select suppliers for each category
- Manage sampling process
- Conduct factory audits
- Schedule Quality Control and Pre-shipment Inspections through a 3rd party QC provider
- Oversee the logistics to ensure proper communication between the client, freight-forwarder and supplier.
- Manage the laboratory testing procedure to verify product compliance with international food safety requirements.
- Dragon Sourcing is closely integrated within the Santa Marina company and communicates daily with a number of Santa Marina’s departments: Purchasing, Marketing and Quality Assurance.
Results
Successfully identified first-class suppliers in the following categories: plastic lid, stainless steel, plastic and silicone kitchenware accessories, opal glassware.
Demonstrated the ability to source better quality products compared to items which were previously sourced locally in Brazil.
Managed to successfully meet the client’s demands in terms of delivery time and costs.
Due to direct communication with client’s marketing department, product development lead time was shortened, in turn accelerated new product launch into the Brazilian market.