Qianchao Supply Chain

Another bidding round has begun. Lai Fanghua, head of the Digital and Intelligent Central Procurement Department at Qianchao Supply Chain, opened the electronic bidding platform to examine the quotation curves submitted by different suppliers. As early as 2018, he and his colleagues had jointly established this platform, shifting the supply chain’s bidding process online. This not only eliminated the hassle of traveling but also made the bidding process more open and transparent. During the pandemic, it even solved the major problem of travel inconvenience. Over the past few years, thanks to the tireless efforts of everyone at the Digital and Intelligent Central Procurement Center, Qianchao Supply Chain’s digital platform has added two new features: a procurement expenditure analysis tool and a supplier relationship management system. Since then, Wanxiang Qianchao’s entire supply chain procurement process has been comprehensively upgraded, ushering in a new chapter of digital office work and electronic procurement. After the digital system went live, more than 140 cost-reduction initiatives were launched in 2022, with total cost savings exceeding 37 million yuan—far surpassing the annual target. Let’s take a closer look at these two digital systems and explore how intelligent upgrades have brought about tremendous changes to the company’s development.

Supplier Relationship Management System—A New Model for Electronic Procurement

The Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) system focuses on three key functions: supplier management, procurement sourcing (including bidding and tendering as well as price inquiry and comparison), and collaborative procurement order management. By leveraging electronic procurement methods, it helps identify high-quality suppliers, significantly reducing the time and labor costs associated with traditional offline procurement processes.

From the perspective of the bidding process, previous bidding methods might have involved phone quotations, email submissions, or a small group using a WeChat group. While these methods seemed simple at first glance, they lacked standardization and were limited in scope. Moreover, due to the small-scale nature of these transactions, both information and resources were inherently constrained. The launch of SRM has perfectly addressed these issues. By simply clicking on the menu bar, the platform provides access points for procurement plans, applications, orders, and other key functions. Materials are categorized into different order types and management workflows accordingly. The entire procurement process—from the factory workshop initiating monthly procurement plans, to warehouse managers submitting procurement requests, purchasing officers placing purchase orders, orders being sent to suppliers, online shipment, and final receipt confirmation—is now fully managed online. Today, when procurement personnel need to obtain quotes from multiple suppliers, they can do so directly through the system. Prices are transparent, operations are convenient, and every step is thoroughly documented and traceable—making the whole process incredibly efficient and hassle-free.

To broaden the scope of procurement and help enterprises identify high-quality suppliers, the SRM system has integrated an MRO platform—a widely used industrial procurement platform in the industry. Procurement personnel can simply click to enter this platform with one touch, thereby expanding their channels for procurement and price comparison. In addition, the SRM system features a supplier management module that includes categories such as supplier onboarding, performance scoring, and annual ratings. Suppliers submit application information, which is jointly reviewed by the factory and the Digital Intelligence Central Procurement Center. Once approved and admitted, suppliers are added to the supplier database and undergo multi-dimensional assessments to continuously identify and select top-tier suppliers.

Currently, the platform has been rolled out to 15 factories of Wanxiang Qianchao, and a 2023 implementation schedule has been drawn up for the deployment of both production-related and non-production materials. Once the system is fully deployed, procurement activities will be able to track their status through the platform, ensuring that all materials are under constant control. Relying on digital and intelligent technologies, the SRM system has equipped procurement personnel with "sharp ears," enabling them to precisely "hear" critical information from among numerous suppliers and vast supply sources, and to identify "top-quality products." This represents a major leap forward for procurement operations.

Procurement Expenditure Analysis System—A High-Level Approach to Digital and Intelligent Operations Management

As a company with roots in traditional manufacturing, each of Wanxiang Qianchao’s factories has its own small accounting system and management practices. The sources of goods and supplier resources are not shared among the factories, making each factory akin to an “information island” floating independently in a vast ocean—resources that are mostly fragmented. The databases, built on manual memory and paper documents and spreadsheets, are rather scattered and insufficiently comprehensive. Due to work habits shaped by the broader industry environment and historical factors, information barriers exist between the factories, and there is a lack of a systematic, standardized online management system.

Before establishing the digital platform, the Digital Intelligence Central Procurement Center decided to first undertake data cleansing. Collecting information from paper documents and standalone spreadsheets presented an enormous and highly challenging task. After all, among the vast amount of data, there was a great deal of redundant and invalid information. Nevertheless, the team at the Digital Intelligence Central Procurement Center was determined to overcome this “mountain” of data. Data cleansing is by no means a quick or easy process; it could take three to five years to fully update and process all the data. Yet, with the perseverance of Yu Gong moving the mountains and the spirit of relentless pursuit of excellence, everyone embarked on this endeavor—and has already achieved significant results.

The procurement expenditure analysis system primarily serves several key functions: data collection, risk alerting, and procurement cost reduction management. The platform has established a comprehensive procurement database and systematically analyzes and manages the data, making information from every stage—from monthly settlement expenditures at factories to inventory inflows and outflows—clearly visible at a glance. Category specialists can log into their accounts to query in real time the price fluctuations specific to their categories as well as supplier quotations, eliminating the need to make numerous phone calls to contact relevant personnel, search for data in spreadsheets, and manually verify each item one by one. Managers can directly enter task assignment lists into the system, update progress on execution, conduct performance evaluations based on data and timelines, and thereby accelerate project advancement.

The procurement expenditure analysis function can quickly identify price differences among various materials, enabling you to pinpoint materials and suppliers that have not seen price reductions over a long period and engage in price negotiations with them, thereby effectively driving down procurement costs. The supplier transaction matrix function allows for matrix analysis across two dimensions—suppliers and factories—helping you identify opportunities for centralized purchasing.

The procurement expenditure analysis system has organized and analyzed data from various factories, establishing a systematic database for Wanxiang Qianchao. The system has now been rolled out to 10 factories. Based on scientific analysis, it has enabled personnel in different positions within the procurement system to gain "far-reaching vision," allowing them to identify opportunities for optimization and cost reduction, thereby enhancing procurement quality and improving enterprise efficiency.

A team with outstanding conduct—their dedication deserves to be recognized.

The development and launch of the two major systems have brought about a comprehensive upgrade to Wanxiang Qianchao’s procurement system across all its factories. Behind this achievement lies the tireless effort of our colleagues at the Digital Intelligence Central Procurement Center, who have devoted countless days and nights to this endeavor. Their hardworking and dedicated efforts deserve to be recognized.

Zhao Yichen is a young employee who joined Qianchao Supply Chain just after graduating two years ago. Fang Hua still remembers the interview when he first met Zhao—it felt as though the young man was somewhat shy. However, with a background in statistics and a clear, logical way of thinking, Zhao was clearly a talent worth nurturing. Fang Hua once told Zhao Yichen that coming here and joining the digitalization project would be an excellent opportunity for him to gain valuable experience and rapidly develop his personal capabilities. Today, one year later, these words have become the best summary of Zhao Yichen’s time working at Wanxiang.

From the very beginning—when he started data cleansing and collection—to now, when he’s working closely with the software development team and overseeing system deployment—he has transformed from a “newbie” in the workplace into a capable and independent technical professional. Zhao Yichen still remembers one particular instance: The procurement data in the expenditure analysis system didn’t match the actual spending figures. Faced with screens full of numbers, pinpointing the root cause felt like looking for a needle in a haystack. For more than half a month, he practically dreamed about this problem every night. Each day, he’d pore over data sources while simultaneously discussing solutions with the developers. Eventually, he discovered that a certain field had been mistakenly deleted as invalid data. A tiny detail—a single needle’s worth—had caused an entire dataset to go awry. This experience served as a wake-up call, making him even more meticulous and rigorous in his future work. To process data more efficiently, he identified patterns and characteristics within hundreds of thousands of data entries, enabling him to carry out batch processing. He even wrote his own scripts to boost office productivity. As he advanced the project, he nurtured his personal growth with hard work and dedication.

When it comes to the person who’s been working the hardest on the team, everyone invariably mentions “Li Jiao” by name. During that critical period when the supplier relationship management system was being launched, she almost pushed herself beyond her limits, working late into the night—often until two or three in the morning—and then getting up after just three or four hours of sleep to head straight to the factory in the morning. She had to import basic data for every single material into the system and also assist thousands of suppliers with their registration. “The launch deadline was looming right before our eyes,” she said. “If we couldn’t get this work done, procurement wouldn’t be able to proceed, and the factory might even have to halt production.” With this red line hanging over her head, she dared not let her guard down for a single moment.

When actually coordinating with the factories, the challenges were even greater. The system had a large number of users at various levels—and some users didn't even understand the logic behind procurement operations. Li Jiao had to delve deep into the business processes from the very root to help them grasp and master the system. Some users were older and unfamiliar with computer operations, so she would go to the factories herself to provide hands-on instruction and share her expertise. As users encountered numerous issues while operating the system, she patiently answered their questions, prepared user guides, and even created video tutorials to walk them through each step. Her consistently polite demeanor and conscientious, responsible attitude earned her high praise and recognition from many factories and suppliers.

To fully promote the system, business trips have become an everyday occurrence. Last March, she went on a business trip to a factory in Jiangsu and found herself stranded there due to the pandemic, unable to return home. Rather than giving up, she decided to settle down at the factory, devoting herself wholeheartedly to every stage—from field research and process deployment to master data configuration and on-site training. Colleagues who know her well can’t help but give her a heartfelt thumbs-up whenever they mention her—she’s truly a “female hero” who is both hardworking and fearless in the face of challenges.

After tireless efforts and united dedication, two digital tools have already set off a technological “storm” of digital office work across all Wanxiang Qianchao factories. Lai Fanghua stated, “Everyone has shown great resilience, mutual support, and unwavering commitment to pushing forward with digitalization. The launch of the digital systems has boosted work efficiency, made the procurement process more open and transparent, and streamlined and standardized management—this is our greatest source of comfort. Although the road ahead for digitalization is long and fraught with challenges, by laying a solid foundation, continuously optimizing our systems, and staying committed over the long term, we’re sure to provide strong support for the company’s development!”