Optimising the selection of raw materials: interview with Filippo Aghemio, purchasing manager
Where does the quality of a product start if not from the choice of raw materials?
Filippo Aghemio, Mollificio Valli’s purchasing manager, explains how the company builds its procurement strategies to ensure the reliability and conformity that characterise its products.
How crucial is the choice of raw materials for the quality of Mollificio Valli’s products?
Careful selection of raw materials is crucial to guaranteeing the quality of our products. Every component, from compression springs to wire moulded elements to precision strip, depends on the intrinsic quality of the materials. We select materials that amply meet technical specifications, withstand high stresses and comply with stringent quality and safety standards, thus ensuring springs, metal and/or assembled components that are compliant and reliable over time.
What criteria do you use to select raw material suppliers?
Suppliers are chosen through a rigorous process that evaluates the quality of materials, adherence to delivery schedules and sustainability of production practices, obviously with an eye on the wallet as well. Each supplier must guarantee a constant flow of high-quality raw materials and align with our corporate values, especially in terms of environmental sustainability and social responsibility, which are now indispensable issues, in order to maintain our reputation as a reliable partner.
How do you manage price fluctuations and raw material availability?
We constantly monitor price fluctuations and the availability of the necessary commodities, adopting supplier diversification strategies, depending on the degree of difficulty and complexity of the product we have to produce, and thus maintaining relationships with partners in different geographical areas. Where possible, we use long-term contracts to stabilise prices and ensure constant supply, but we continue to assiduously monitor the market with analytical tools to try to predict fluctuations and make timely decisions in the case of open and/or spot orders.
How has your procurement strategy evolved in recent years?
In recent years, our sourcing programmes have evolved to meet new global challenges and seize the opportunities offered by technological innovation. We have intensified the use of digital technologies to improve the traceability of raw materials and optimise logistical processes, with an increasing focus on sustainability and transparency along the supply chain.
How do you ensure the traceability of raw materials?
The traceability of raw materials is crucial for us. We use advanced information management systems to trace each batch of material from entry into the factory to the final product. This allows us to quickly trace back any quality issues, isolating smaller, contained ‘sub-lots’, and to provide our customers with maximum transparency, strengthening confidence in our ability to deliver reliable and safe products.
Mollificio Valli Srl è una moderna azienda caratterizzata da una struttura agile e rispondente alle aspettative del mercato.
Guidata da un Management che riconosce il vantaggio competitivo derivante dall’unione di una costante innovazione tecnologica con quella di una formazione continua del personale impiegato.