CHEMICALS & PLASTICS
A missing additive or intermediate can affect several products. We help chemicals and plastics companies understand critical material dependencies and develop contingencies with procurement, production and quality.
Discuss your starting pointA flame-retardant plastic housing needs the right blend. If the approved additive is unavailable, a replacement must be tested and approved before use.
WHAT MATTERS
Different distributors or suppliers may use the same manufacturer or raw material source. Even an apparently broad direct supplier base may conceal dependencies on individual plants, sites or upstream inputs.
An available material is not automatically suitable for use. Specifications, formulations, processing properties and customer requirements determine which alternatives are viable. We connect procurement considerations with these technical prerequisites and make the required lead time visible.
OUR CONSULTING
We start where your team needs support. We agree a scope that fits your goals, existing foundations and available capacity.
Together, we assess selected materials by their importance to your products and production processes. We consider substitutability, stock coverage, replenishment and potential disruption impacts, giving procurement a clear order of priorities.
Prioritise material dependenciesWe examine known manufacturers, production sites and upstream material flows for selected supply relationships. Shared sources and open questions are documented, forming the basis for further enquiries to your suppliers.
Identify dependencies behind the supplierWith procurement, development, quality and production, we structure the preparation of alternative materials or suppliers. Testing, trials, approvals and available capacity become concrete planning tasks, showing when an alternative could actually support supply.
Develop alternative supplier relationshipsWe connect delivery performance, relevant risk signals and open actions in a shared overview. Data sources and responsibilities are clarified so procurement and specialist teams can review developments regularly and document decisions clearly.
Connect data and actionsYOUR BENEFITS
An agreed view of critical raw materials, intermediates and their importance to the product portfolio.
An overview of the manufacturers and supply paths examined, with shared dependencies and open questions.
An approach to assessing and preparing additional sources, with tasks, time requirements and responsibilities.
Start with a raw material category, a critical additive or a selected product family. We review existing information and agree with your specialist teams which dependencies and alternatives to examine first.
Yes, where information is available or can be obtained. When several direct sources exist, we examine whether they actually use different manufacturers or production sites. Unclear relationships remain visible as open information gaps.
Technical assessment and approval are handled by your responsible functions. We help structure the approach and connect technical prerequisites, procurement options and scheduling so development, quality, production and procurement can work together.
LET'S TALK
Let us discuss a specific material category and how you can understand dependencies and prepare alternatives.