Cost, supply chain and logistics : stability in times of crisis
Faced with the various crisis that have been sowing turmoil in the world economy for more than two years, Cosfibel Group is working together to ensure its customers an unchanged quality of service in terms of cost, supply chain and logistics, while always remaining committed to limiting risks. Port or factory closures, confinements, raw material shortages, soaring costs and lead times (…) the health crisis and, more recently, the war in Ukraine are imposing major constraints on a pack & gift industry that is by nature based on international exchanges and permanent reactivity. To meet this major challenge, the group is implementing security plans orchestrated by purchasing and logistics teams who have redoubled their efforts to maintain the quality of service at the heart of Cosfibel’s DNA.
A solid network of partners to consolidate our supply chain and logistics
In a competitive and demanding pack & gift industry, the availability of resources, costs and deadlines are the key to optimal service quality. By mastering those variables, Cosfibel Group established itself as one of the European leaders in its market. To achieve this, the group has been building long-lasting relationships with reliable production partners around the world for more than twenty years.
Camille, the group’s Purchasing Manager, explains how this network guarantees maximum security: “We are able to offer ‘plan Bs’ at a single producer by relying on reliable partners located in different Chinese provinces. Our historical local partners offer different production sites, ensuring in-depth knowledge of the quality and expected know-how, as well as the ability to carry out an equivalent order in a different region than the one initially planned, while respecting the advertised prices, delivery times and quality. This major asset has enabled us to overcome the recent confinement of Shanghai.
This vast network of partners now allows the group to meet the same demand in different geographical areas with an equivalent quality of service. Cosfibel can thus rely on a network of local producers in Asia as well as in Europe or more recently in North and Central America. This is a major advantage for participating in the relocation of our industries and thus facing confinements, waiting times in ports or factories, or soaring raw material costs: in the event of a partner’s failure, complementary production can be carried out with agility at a factory elsewhere in the world.
Agility at the service of logistics
Karima, Logistics Director at Cosfibel, comes back on the importance of this logistical flexibility: “By relying on this agility, we can also respond favorably to an increase in quantity, even at the last minute, both for boxes and for gifts. In the middle of a pandemic, our teams managed to triple an initial order of one million pieces, while respecting the costs and deadlines.
To overcome supply problems, we can also send raw materials to a manufacturer who would not be able to obtain them on his own, thus enabling him to complete the expected order.
In support of these guarantees, Cosfibel’s logistics teams negotiate commitments on container prices and secure space via a double contract set up with their logistics partners (two options for each departure).
Diversification of our production partners, a key of our supply chain
“In parallel with this close relationship with our historical partners, we have been pursuing a policy of diversifying our sourcing as well as our production sites for several years. Our shortlist of
partners is expanding accordingly, in particular with new Asian countries that now have local know-how that was previously found only in China. This expansion policy further increases our capacity to carry out projects despite failures and unforeseen events,” explains Camille, Cosfibel’s Purchasing Director.
A local anchorage
Finally, Cosfibel also relies on technical and development teams around the world, notably in China, which allows it to overcome certain local constraints, whether they are temporary or long-lasting.
“Recently, the long delivery times to Hong Kong from China were the cause of delays in production. The presence of teams in Hong Kong and Shenzhen allowed us to get around these delays thanks to our local relays,” explains Camille, the group’s purchasing director.