Best Cost Country Sourcing for Automotive Parts in SEA

The client is a long-established, family-owned global automotive components manufacturer specialising in lightweight chassis, body and powertrain parts supplied to major OEMs and tier-one customers worldwide.

As part of a broader supply base review, the client wanted to test the competitiveness of Southeast Asia for two specific part families, link rubber bushings and turned parts, against existing sourcing benchmarks. The objective was to understand where in the region qualified suppliers existed, how prices compared across countries, and which market should be prioritised for future sourcing development.

The client needed an objective, data-driven view of the regional supply base rather than anecdotal references. Specifically:

• Two distinct part categories needed to be assessed in parallel, each with different supplier landscapes
• Three countries needed to be compared on a like-for-like basis at the part level, not just at country level
• Suppliers had to be qualified on more than price, including quality systems, capacity, certifications and export experience
• The output needed to support a clear primary-country recommendation that procurement leadership could act on

APAC Advantage was engaged to run the end-to-end sourcing study across Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. Our role covered supplier identification, RFQ management, price benchmarking, multi-criteria supplier evaluation and the final country recommendation, working as an extension of the client's global procurement team.

Master list build and supplier outreach

We built a master list of 147 potential suppliers across the three countries covering both part categories, 73 for link rubber bushings and 74 for turned parts. Each supplier was contacted, profiled and screened against the client's technical and commercial requirements before being invited to quote.

RFQ management and quote consolidation

APAC Advantage managed the full RFQ process in local language where required, clarified technical specifications with suppliers, and consolidated 20 qualified quotations covering both categories, 7 from Vietnam, 9 from Malaysia and 4 from Thailand.

Per-part price benchmarking across the three countries

We benchmarked prices part by part across all three countries, identifying tiers of saving potential against the client's reference prices, including parts where multiple suppliers delivered savings above 10 percent.

Multi-criteria supplier evaluation

Each quoting supplier was scored on a weighted framework covering price, quality systems, production capacity, certifications and export experience. This ensured the shortlist reflected total supplier suitability rather than headline price alone.

Country recommendation with primary and secondary positioning

Findings were consolidated into a clear country recommendation, with Vietnam positioned as the primary sourcing market for both part families and Thailand and Malaysia retained as secondary options for diversification and category-specific opportunities.

The engagement gave the client a complete, decision-ready view of the regional supply base:

• 147 suppliers screened and 20 qualified quotations consolidated across two part families
• Part-level price benchmarks across Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, including parts with savings above 10 percent
• A scored shortlist of suppliers evaluated on price, quality, capacity, certifications and export experience
• Vietnam recommended as the primary sourcing country, with Thailand and Malaysia retained as secondary options
• A practical foundation for the next phase of supplier qualification and sourcing development in the region