The brass valve supply chain in foreign industrial countries is generally managed by two business types: "project procurement" and "daily procurement", and the corresponding procurement policies are very different.

(1) Project procurement: that is, the procurement of large-scale engineering projects. It is characterized by a large one-time purchase volume and complex technical requirements, but the purchase plan is very strong, and the brass valve manufacturer has a relatively reasonable production cycle. This type of procurement is often: direct factory procurement, where the end user or engineering company negotiates directly with the brass valve manufacturer. This is basically consistent with China's current brass valve procurement supply chain.

(2) Routine purchases: that is, the daily repairs and maintenance purchases of the Group's factories. The characteristics are that each purchase is small, the technical requirements are simple, there are many emergencies, the purchase is often not planned, and the spot is required to be delivered within a time limit. This type of purchase is generally: purchase from stockists.

Usually, the energy industry end-users in foreign industrial countries have project procurement accounting for about 60% of their total demand, and daily procurement accounting for about 40% of their total demand. The biggest difference between its management of daily purchases and that of end-users in China's energy industry is that it purchases from stockists rather than direct purchases from factories. This reflects that its social division of labor has been further refined, and the market economy has reached a relatively mature stage.

Taking the United Kingdom as an example, before the 1970s, the sales channels of its brass valves were mainly factory direct sales. However, with the development of the market economy, the timeliness and professionalism of procurement has increasingly troubled end users. In this way, a new type of economic entity: the stockist came into being. Its functions are mainly manifested in the following aspects.

1) After adjusting the supply and demand, by stocking a large number of different types of brass valves in stock, it can meet the needs of "one-stop purchase" and "instant purchase" pursued by end users.

2) As a professional brass valve distributor, we provide industry development consulting to end users and business consulting for their supplier management.

3) Cooperate with end users to coach brass valve manufacturers, help them understand and master the technical specifications of users, and conduct routine procurement inspections on the product quality of brass valve manufacturers (some foreign oil companies such as Shell Oil rely entirely on stockists to make The regular purchase quality inspection itself is only responsible for the purchase quality inspection of special products, thereby optimizing inspection resources).

4) To provide other value-added services to end users, such as: brass valve maintenance and restructuring, revision of technical specifications, procurement specifications, etc.

Before China's reform and opening up, a typical planned economy was implemented for a long time, and brass valve enterprises did not need to face cruel market competition. Enterprises can easily obtain orders through industry "ordering fairs" or "tasks" directly issued by supervisors. The company's sales method is direct sales, that is, whether it is large-scale engineering project procurement or routine maintenance procurement, it is directly sold from the factory to end users. Such procurement supply chain management still has a profound impact on China's brass valve industry. Compared with foreign industrial countries, with the continuous development of China's market economy, such a direct sales model, especially for the daily maintenance procurement needs of end users, is obviously not suitable for economic development. The specific performance is as follows.

1) The demands of end users cannot be responded quickly. Foreign stockists can provide a four-hour delivery service commitment, but in China, even general-purpose brass valves cannot be purchased in stock, which usually takes more than a month. This contradiction is even more obvious in the state of emergency maintenance.

2) Due to the urgency of procurement, end users often have to give in to accept the deviation of various technical requirements of brass valve manufacturers, or have to replace the original high-quality brand equipment brass valve manufacturer, and accept some non-brand factory products, so as to ensure the safety of the system installation. Operation also brings hidden dangers.

3) Brass valve manufacturers are less bothered by the endless urgent demands of users. The unreasonably short production cycle forces the brass valve manufacturer to revise the original manufacturing process, which brings about increased costs and hidden quality problems. There is a dilemma between what to do and what not to do under the weight of the end user.

Supply timeliness requires brass valve manufacturers to respond quickly to user needs. This rapid response time refers to the time it takes for the product to be delivered to the customer or the service to be completed. The better a company is at meeting customers' needs in a timely manner, the easier it is to obtain higher product value, thereby further strengthening its own competitive advantage. The existence of foreign brass valve stockists is an inevitable product of the rational allocation and combination of resources caused by the development of the market economy. Its existence enables foreign brass valve manufacturers to respond quickly and efficiently to the daily maintenance needs of end users.

The difference between domestic and foreign brass valve supplier chain management models essentially reflects the difference between the planned economic system and the market economic system, as well as the difference between the mature market and the new market. By studying the development process of foreign brass valve supply chain, the future development trend of the same industry in China can be predicted to some extent. The key question is when will China move to a foreign supply chain model. Two key preconditions are:

1) China's economic system has truly transformed from a planned economy to a market economy.

2) Brass valve manufacturers have eliminated most of the low-efficiency and low-quality small and medium-sized enterprises through industrial integration to form one of the few advantageous enterprise groups that really value quality and brand. When these two key conditions are met, it is foreseeable that a foreign brass valve supply chain model will appear in China.