SOURCING AND VENDOR DEVELOPMENT
Let us assume that we have started with an excellent design for a new building. Does that guarantee that you will finish an excellent product? No, certainly not.
Designs normally give ratings of equipment. Make and models are usually not specified. Choosing the best and most well-known make/brand may appear to be an easy way out but one must keep an eye on the budget. There must be a right balance between cost and technical acceptability. Not an easy task and only experience helps to make a right choice.
Moreover, equipment material with specified physical / chemical properties is not easily available or, available with very few manufacturers and cost is usually high. In such cases it is often worth considering development of a vendor. A recent case was the sealing rubber required for the bottom seal of split hopper barges. Ordinary rubber was not advisable. Only one, expensive European vendor could be located. A local vendor was selected and guided to develop the rubber material as per requirement. The cost, including the development cost was less than half of the readily available European source.