Safety Shoes, Protective Gloves, T-shirts (Consumables) — Reducing management workload and procurement costs through supplier consolidation of sub-materials

At manufacturing sites in Thailand, when procuring auxiliary materials (consumables) other than primary chemicals or raw materials, it is common for the number of suppliers to increase, leading to complex management. If a situation continues where different suppliers are held for each item such as safety shoes, protective gloves, or work T-shirts, procurement staff will spend significant man-hours on ordering and payment processing. Consolidating these indirect material procurement routes to a trusted existing partner can significantly organize supplier management and lead to improved efficiency in overall procurement operations.

Table of Contents

• Why Multiple Sub-material Suppliers Increase Management Man-hours
• Structure of Rising Procurement Costs Due to Repeated Individual Orders
• Conditions for Balancing Efficiency via Consolidation into Existing Accounts and Logistics Utilization
• Scope of Auxiliary Materials to Check Before Considering Supplier Consolidation
• What Nabelin Thailand Can Do
• FAQ
• Key terms for understanding this article

■　Why Multiple Sub-material Suppliers Increase Management Man-hours

Auxiliary materials routinely used at manufacturing sites, such as safety shoes, protective gloves, and work T-shirts, are generally procured from specialized suppliers for each item. However, this "dispersed procurement by item" leads to an increase in the number of suppliers and is a structure that easily pushes up the load of procurement duties such as opening new accounts, price negotiations, and delivery management. As the number of suppliers increases, the time spent on communicating and coordinating deliveries with each company accumulates, potentially affecting core raw material procurement duties. Furthermore, in a situation where management targets are dispersed, the risk of ordering errors and the complexity of inspection work due to an increase in small-lot deliveries cannot be ignored. If a system capable of requesting multiple items at once is not in place, staff tend to be preoccupied with detailed ordering duties. As a result, a situation arises where hidden management costs are continuously incurred.

■　Structure of Rising Procurement Costs Due to Repeated Individual Orders

The system of individually ordering auxiliary materials in small lots per item is one of the factors increasing costs other than product unit prices. When using many small-scale suppliers, freight charges and administrative fees are incurred in each transaction, and it is also necessary to individually respond to lead-time management from order to delivery. As a result, a tendency to secure larger safety stocks arises to avoid stockouts, leading to the suppression of warehouse space and a decline in capital efficiency. Furthermore, if specialized materials requiring Thai FDA (Food and Drug Administration) or Ministry of Industry licenses are included, a lack of sufficient knowledge or experience in procedures on the supplier side may lead to delays in permit acquisition affecting production plans. In such a state where small-scale transactions are scattered, it is difficult to enjoy price benefits obtained by consolidating procurement volume, making it an inefficient structure from the perspective of optimizing overall procurement costs.

■　Conditions for Balancing Efficiency via Consolidation into Existing Accounts and Logistics Utilization

Narrowing down the number of suppliers and consolidating the procurement of auxiliary materials into existing trading accounts handling chemicals or primary raw materials is one powerful method for increasing management efficiency. If multiple items can be delivered together using existing logistics networks, it becomes easier to unify inspection and billing processing, leading to the suppression of management man-hours for procurement staff. As a result, it can also be expected that necessary materials can be secured more stably. Moreover, for partners utilizing regular shipments from Japan, it becomes easier to consider supplying small-lot auxiliary materials while suppressing freight charges. The comparison between dispersed and consolidated supplier management is as follows.

■　Comparison of supplier management systems and key points to check

■　Scope of Auxiliary Materials to Check Before Considering Supplier Consolidation

When proceeding with consolidation, it is important to discern the flexibility of the partner in how widely they can respond to "finding items." Whether they have a network capable of procuring diverse auxiliary materials beyond standard MRO products such as safety shoes and gloves—including company-logo T-shirts, special filters, and pallets—determines the success or failure of reducing management man-hours. Additionally, it is a key point whether they possess the function of "information distribution," capable of finding optimal suppliers from local, Japanese, and even Asian networks according to the customer's challenges beyond merely delivering products. If an environment is in place to receive proposals based on the balance of quality and cost without being bound to specific manufacturers, it becomes easier to promote the efficiency of the overall organization while maintaining the quality of procurement operations.

■　What Nabelin Thailand Can Do

Nabelin Thailand, based on the philosophy of "Product + Information = Information Distribution Business," provides optimal procurement solutions by utilizing its networks across Thailand and the entire Asian region. In addition to core products such as chemicals and pharmaceutical raw materials, its strength lies in its ability to flexibly support the procurement of a wide range of auxiliary materials according to customer needs, ranging from safety shoes, protective gloves, and work T-shirts to daily items like coffee filters. The company has established a stable supply system through regular shipment imports from Japan, responding to offerings without freight charges and support for inventory optimization matching import cycles. Furthermore, for small-lot, low-priced products that are difficult for other companies to handle, it has a system to handle everything including FDA license acquisition. For companies aiming to improve the efficiency of procurement duties through supplier consolidation, Nabelin Thailand plays a role in supporting the creation of a better procurement environment while staying close to the challenges on-site.

※For more details, please download the PDF attached to this article or contact us via the form at the bottom of the page.

■　FAQ

Q1: Can consumables such as safety shoes be ordered through our current trading account?
A1: Yes, you can order consumables such as safety shoes and protective gloves through your existing trading account. Incorporating the procurement of consumables into existing delivery routes and administrative procedures leads to a reduction in the burden of supplier management and administrative processing.

Q2: Can custom-made items such as work T-shirts with our company name be arranged within Thailand?
A2: Yes, we can investigate and arrange local suppliers in Thailand for logo T-shirts or auxiliary materials with special specifications. Our Thai sales team utilizes local networks to respond to procurement according to your requests. Please consult us regarding details such as specifications and quantity.

Q3: For special materials requiring import, can you handle license acquisition procedures?
A3: We provide integrated support for import licenses from the FDA, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Defence, etc., from verification to acquisition. Even for small-volume, low-priced reagents or materials, we perform procedures based on regulations and deliver them to you. We also investigate the feasibility of handling products that were previously difficult to procure due to license issues.

■　Key terms for understanding this article

• Information Distribution Business:Nabelin's unique business model that adds services, systems, and information to products to distribute them with high value.
• Supplier Consolidation:A procurement strategy to narrow down the number of suppliers and minimize management costs such as ordering man-hours and payment administration.
• Regular Shipment Import:Full container shipments operated regularly from Japan to Thailand. This enables stable supply while suppressing freight charges.

※For more details, please download the PDF attached to this article or contact us via the form at the bottom of the page.