Technical Sourcing
Reduce product costs sustainably by up to 50%
Through Technical Sourcing Kloepfel Consulting achieves cost savings of between 10% and 50% by specifically matching technical specifications with suppliersโ optimal manufacturing technologies. Rather than relying solely on price pressure, this approach combines cost engineering with technical matchmaking to sustainably reduce manufacturing costs, break free from the โshackles of specificationsโ and strengthen the resilience of your supply chain.
Technical Sourcing as a Lever for Measurable Cost Optimisation
The greatest untapped potential often lies at the interface between engineering and procurement. Technical sourcing involves technically deconstructing components โ such as castings, turned parts, or plastic parts โ and analysing them in terms of materials, tolerances, and manufacturing processes. The aim is to find the supplier whose machinery and expertise precisely match the requirements of the respective part (โThe right part for the right machineโ). This methodical approach creates genuine competition and ensures more stable supplier relationships, as manufacturers also benefit from an optimal utilisation of their core competencies.
Key Facts about Technical Sourcing:
- Enormous potential for savings: achieving cost reductions of between 12% and 50% on average per product group.
- Success Triangle: Unique combination of strategic purchasing, technical cost engineering and global matchmaking.
- Specification Optimisation: Identification of cost drivers through a review of overly stringent technical specifications without loss of quality.
- Global Database: Access a network of over 1,000 qualified suppliers and 200+ manufacturing technologies worldwide.
- Risk Management: Reducing single-sourcing risks by building alternative, technologically specialised partners.
Excellent as BEST ADVISORS โ 11th time in a row
We will contact you within 24 hours!
What makes our Technical Sourcing special
From analysis to optimal production: Reducing costs and creating value in Technical Purchasing.
Technical sourcing offers specialised solution approaches for increasing efficiency and optimising costs. Our experts analyse products, make manufacturing and cost structures transparent, and, thanks to their technical understanding, uncover significantly greater savings potential than traditional approaches.
As a matchmaker between component and manufacturing process, we seek suppliers with a manufacturing structure that matches the required part, i.e. with optimal manufacturing methods and machines. This reduces production costs and also makes the components cheaper to procure.
Technical sourcing not only unlocks additional savings potential, but also sustainably strengthens your supply chain by reducing single-sourcing risks and broadening the supplier base.
Over 19 years of practical experience
We have over 17 years of practical experience in procurement and supply chain management, operating across various industries. We understand the specific challenges in procurement and know how we can successfully support you in this dynamic environment.
Cooperative planning
Aligned objectives, weekly jour fixes, and regular weekly reports ensure that strategies are clearly defined and all stakeholders remain on the same page at all times. This allows you to maintain control and make informed decisions.
Joint implementation
From supplier days, through tenders and negotiations, to detailed cost structure analyses, we support you in the successful implementation of your projects. We work closely with your team to design efficient processes and achieve optimal results.
Sustainable knowledge transfer
We foster a collaborative learning process, align approaches, and exchange project documentation to strengthen your team in a practical way and share knowledge effectively. This ensures sustainable results and continuous development.
100% Transparency & Sustainability
We ensure 100 % transparency in all processes, so that decisions are comprehensible and processes are clearly visible. At the same time, we place great importance on sustainability, in order to conserve resources and ensure efficient solutions in the long term.
100% maximal result
Our goal is to achieve the maximum results for you by optimally combining efficiency, quality, and cost advantages. This will enable you to achieve the best possible outcomes for your company.
Learn more about how technical sourcing works.
Here is the article in the KLOEPFEL MAGAZINE.
Wherever you are,
We are near you
Our Technical Sourcing Centre is located at our headquarters in Dรผsseldorf. Here you will find our experienced team of operational and strategic experts. Furthermore, we operate global representative offices in all purchasing markets relevant to the manufacturing SME sector. Our Global Sourcing Team supports you thanks to our international network in:
- DACH region and Western Europe
- Eastern and Southern Europe
- Asia
- Turkey
- America/NAFTA
Our qualified supplier database includes:
1000
Suppliers
of 52
Countries
in 3
Continent
200
Manufacturing technologies
10%-50%
Potential
10x
Better response rate
What potential lies in your technical sourcing?
Knowledge is good, trying is better
Would you like to know if your products or components also hold potential for savings that our expert analysis can identify?
No problem: With the help of our free and non-obligatory preliminary service, you can have a first technical needs analysis, including an individual evaluation, created for an exemplary component from your product range.
Upon receipt of your request, a KLOEPFEL expert will promptly review your component details and contact you if any further information is required.
We will contact you within 24 hours!
Right, this is how we'll do it:
Our tried-and-tested 3-phase model:
Our project philosophy is based on a high standard for our goal-oriented, rigorous, and systematic approach. We rely on tried-and-tested tools for transparency and control, so that you as a client always have an overview of the project status; from the obtaining of the non-disclosure agreement, through the technical request for quotation, up to series production release.
Duration: 1-2 weeks
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Technical Briefing: & Provision of necessary order data:
Reviewing the technical client briefing and the order data provided by the client, in order to establish a solid foundation for further project implementation. -
Analyse of Costs Structures
Detailed examination of the cost breakdown to identify savings potential and derive optimisation opportunities. -
Drawing conclusions
Targeted recommendations for action are derived from the data obtained, in order to sustainably optimise processes and costs. -
Validate procurement strategy
Review and ensure that the strategy is efficient, actionable, and aligned with business objectives. -
Planning the sourcing steps:
Defining the individual steps in the procurement process for structured and efficient implementation.
Duration: 2-3 weeks
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Technical requirements analysis
Review and assessment of technical requirements to accurately capture the need and optimally prepare for procurement. -
Assess manufacturing technology requirements
Analysis and evaluation of production requirements to specifically select suitable manufacturing processes and suppliers. -
Analyse der technischen Spezifikationen
Detailed examination of materials, dimensions, weights, manufacturing processes, surface and heat treatments, as well as other features and cost factors, in order to make optimal manufacturing and procurement decisions. -
Identification of recurring articles:
Analysis using ABC and XYZ methodologies for targeted management of inventory and procurement volumes. -
Article group assignment and part family classification:
Structured categorisation of articles for the optimisation of procurement, storage, and production planning.
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Analyse of target markets
Investigation of relevant markets to identify opportunities, risks, and optimal sourcing channels for your products. -
Identify suppliers with suitable manufacturing technology:
The right part for the right machine, to achieve maximum savings. -
RFX - Supplier Qualification and Selection:
Qualification and selection of suitable suppliers to ensure optimal procurement decisions.
Duration: 8 - 12 weeks
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Structured tender process
Carrying out tenders and price enquiries. -
Evaluate and renegotiate offers
Examination of incoming offers, comparison of conditions and services, and targeted renegotiations to secure the best prices, quality, and delivery terms.
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Conducting joint technical supplier discussions:
Consulting with suppliers on technical requirements, feasibility, and optimisation potential to create transparency and sustainably strengthen collaboration. -
Development and coordination of procurement scenarios:
Development of various decision options and consultation with all relevant stakeholders to ensure the optimal procurement strategy.
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Supplier Qualification and Integration
Assessment and selection of suitable partners, as well as structured integration into existing processes, to ensure smooth and sustainable cooperation. -
Supplier evaluation and development:
Systematic analysis of supplier performance, as well as targeted measures to improve quality, reliability, and cost structures. -
Support for manufacturing-oriented supplier selection:
Selecting suitable suppliers with optimal manufacturing technologies to increase cost and efficiency. -
Supplier consolidation
Bundling supplier relationships to reduce dependencies and optimise the supply chain. -
Sourcing potential alternative suppliers:
Identification and integration of new suppliers to strengthen security of supply and increase competition.
Kloepfel's Success Triangle by epsa - consulting
The Success Triangle of KLOEPFEL by EPSA โ consulting stands for the unique combination of cost optimisation, cost engineering, and technical sourcing. Each of these three pillars is effective in isolation, but it is only through their interplay that the full effect is unleashed.
In the first step, we ensure Cost optimisation through benchmarking and clever negotiation strategies for rapid, direct savings. Building on this, it covers Cost Engineering deeper potential by technically analysing products and eliminating unnecessary costs through alternative materials or manufacturing processes. Technical Sourcing Finally, it ensures that suitable suppliers with the right technologies are found, so that products can be manufactured efficiently and future-proof.
This combination is unique because it systematically interlocks purchasing, technology and supplier management, thereby achieving savings that would be unattainable with classic approaches.
Customer successes that speak for themselves:
Turned and milled parts
Our client, a global market leader in measurement and control technology, manufactured recurring turned and milled parts that were installed in measuring instruments, in-house. Due to the uneconomical nature of this in-house production, a reduction in internal manufacturing was sought, and outsourcing was considered.
The aim was to optimise the costs for recurring turned parts, establish alternative suppliers and ensure reliable supply security. We were able to achieve savings of 61% and supply security was secured through alternative suppliers.
We operate in numerous industries
Industries
We have a strong focus on technical industries. The majority of our over 100 customer projects have been carried out in the industries listed here:
Automotive industry
Aerospace engineering
Special vehicle construction
Plant engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Industrial supplier
Product groups
Our employees possess years of experience and comprehensive know-how for the listed product groups:
- Sheet metal working
- Turning/Milling parts
- Gearbox
- Castings
- Hydraulics
- Plastic parts
- Pneumatics
- Welded assemblies
Trust our customers' satisfaction.
Satisfied customers
Achieving maximum cost efficiency in Technical Procurement? You've come to the right place.
We are happy to offer you a no-obligation consultation on technical sourcing.
Excellent as BEST CONSULTANTS - 10th time in a row
- +49 211 941 984 33
- rendite@kloepfel-consulting.com
FAQ: Important Questions about Technical Sourcing
What distinguishes technical sourcing from traditional procurement consulting?
While traditional purchasing relies on negotiation skills and benchmarking, technical sourcing goes deeper. It analyses the manufacturing technology behind a component. Suppliers are specifically sought whose processes are so technologically well-suited to the product that the price advantage results from efficiency, not from a reduction in the supplier's margin.
What is meant by the corset of specifications?
Technical drawings are often so narrowly defined that procurement has little room to manoeuvre. Technical sourcing breaks free from these constraints by working with engineering to develop alternatives that are functionally identical, but more cost-effective and more widely available on the market.
For which sectors and product groups is this approach suitable?
The focus is on manufacturing SMEs and industry. The method is particularly effective in technically demanding product groups such as turned and milled parts, cast and forged components, sheet metal processing, welded assemblies, and plastics and electrical engineering.
What is the time commitment for such a project?
A typical project begins with a technical briefing and data analysis (approx. 1โ2 weeks), followed by a technical requirements analysis and supplier selection (approx. 2โ3 weeks). As a rule, initial significant results can be implemented within a few months.
Do suppliers also benefit from technical sourcing?
Yes. Suppliers receive requests for parts that perfectly match their technological orientation. This reduces waste, optimises setup times, and secures a sustainable margin despite competitive prices, as manufacturing efficiency is paramount.