how can tire companies stand out?
In the past ten days, the global situation seems to have been pressed on the "accelerator", and geopolitical conflicts have emerged one after another, directly turning the tire industry upside down. In the Middle East, the smell of gunpowder between Iran and Israel is getting stronger and stronger, and Israel's largest refinery has been forced to "close down".
This shutdown has pitted tire companies badly! You know, the "lifeblood" of tire production - synthetic rubber and carbon black, are mostly "changed" from petrochemical products. Now the price of raw materials is changing from time to time, and the arrival time is not accurate. The person in charge of purchasing is so anxious that he stamps his feet every day.
Looking at Southeast Asia, the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia has been escalating, burying a "mine" in the natural rubber trade. These two countries are the "big households" of natural rubber in the world. Once the situation is tense, trade and transportation will be affected.
Natural rubber is the "main force" of tire production. If the supply is interrupted, the production cost will rise, and the company will even have to disrupt its normal production plan. It is simply "a house leaking and raining all night."
Faced with this menacing crisis, tire companies are not the kind to sit and wait for death. They have used all kinds of skills to find a way out.
Building a "safety net": a major transformation of supply chain management
If you want to stabilize your position, you must first solve the problem of raw material supply. Many companies have begun to play with "diversified investment" and spread their procurement "baskets" all over the world. The procurement of synthetic rubber is no longer just focused on the Middle East.
Suppliers in North America and Europe have also become "hot cakes"; in addition to Thailand and Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia have also been included in the list of key cooperation for natural rubber procurement. In order to prevent "dropping the chain", companies also "call each other brothers" with suppliers, sign long-term contracts, and even invest in shares, just to keep the supply chain firmly in their hands.
Looking for a "new world": a new journey of market expansion
Affected by geopolitical conflicts, market demand in some regions is like a "roller coaster", and companies have decisively turned their attention to emerging markets.
In places like Africa and South America, the economic development momentum is strong, and there are more and more cars, so the demand for tires is naturally rising. Some companies directly "set up camp" in the local area, build sales networks, improve after-sales services, and "customize" products according to the characteristics of different regions.
For example, for the bad roads in Africa, they launched super wear-resistant tires; for the rainy season in South America, they developed tires with first-class drainage performance to accurately grasp the market demand.
Holding "black technology": technological innovation for breakthroughs
The most hardcore way to break the deadlock is technological innovation. Many companies plunged into the laboratory to develop bio-based rubber that can replace natural rubber, as well as high-strength and lightweight fiber materials, to reduce dependence on traditional raw materials from the source.
The production link has not been left behind, and smart manufacturing and 3D printing technologies have been put into use, which has improved efficiency and reduced costs. What's more powerful is the smart tire, which can monitor the status of vehicles and tires in real time and "tell tales" to car owners through the Internet of Things. Once this high-tech product was launched, it instantly stood out in the market.
Although this geopolitical conflict is fierce, it also forces tire companies to "survive". As long as companies flexibly use "weapons" such as supply chain management, market expansion, and technological innovation, they will not only be able to survive the crisis, but may also be able to seize the initiative in the industry reshuffle and usher in a new spring of development.
