Sun-Wa Seeks National Suppliers

Sun-Wa Technos México, a global supplier of cutting-edge components and solutions for the electrical automation, renewable energy, and robotics sectors, will replace its Chinese suppliers with domestic ones.

"The company is focused on finding Mexican suppliers for plastic injection, aluminum die casting, and harnesses for our clients in the United States, in order to replace our current suppliers in China and have suppliers closer in Mexico," explained Gabriel Vera Fernández, representative of Sun-Wa Technos México.

He detailed that this relocation is due to requests from various company clients who prefer closer suppliers to take advantage of the logistics benefits within the supply chain.

Regarding the requirements for supplier companies interested in supplying Sun-Wa, the purchasing leader emphasized the importance of quality, competitive pricing, and adherence to production schedules and parameters.

"In our case, quality is very important, as well as competitive pricing because we are competing against one of the most competitive markets, which is China, mainly focusing on quality and the ability to meet production schedules and parameters," he explained. Vera added that, depending on the requirements, the company may request certain certifications such as ISO.

"We have different clients, for example, for gaming machines where there isn't a well-established standard, but we also have automotive clients, where various ISO certifications are indeed required," he explained.

Supplier Selection

The selection process for potential suppliers begins with an NDA, which is a non-disclosure agreement. "To begin sharing information on diagrams, part volumes, and working on quotes, and obviously assessing potential based on the quote, we proceed with the project, which would require site visits to validate the production of the equipment and the type of production they have at their plant," he mentioned.

In conclusion, he noted that one of the main challenges in seeking national suppliers is pricing.
"There are penalties being imposed by the United States on Chinese suppliers, which is an advantage for having Mexican suppliers because these penalties no longer apply. However, the costs are still quite competitive, even with the penalties, but we believe there is potential in Mexico to make this type of change," Vera remarked.