q-sourcing

Welcome to the Homepage of the q-Sourcing Research Project

The aim of the research project q-Sourcing is to make scientific and practical methods available for quality and profit optimised planning and evaluation of purchasing projects in low-cost countries, so-called sourcing projects, for the use of companies dealing in machine and plant construction. Besides the main focus of quality, the profit optimisation also contains target values relating to costs, efficiency and effectiveness. Particular attention is paid to the optimal selection of components to be sourced, and their best suited supply market regarding the skills and resources of the buying company.
Until now, there has not been enough support for companies dealing with machine and plant construction with concern to the preparation of global sourcing activities. This is mainly due to the difficulty of determining, and sometimes reducing of, the complexity of the components according to the skills of the supplier, as well as the difficulty in quantifiably forecasting the advantages and necessary investments for the development of suppliers. Furthermore, there is a missing co-ordination between the manufacturing requirements of the components to be produced and the skills, as well as the potential procurement markets and the local company. This deficit should be resolved within the scope of the research project q-Sourcing by means of a consortium consisting of four companies dealing with machine and plant construction and the wbk Institute of Production Science.

Role of the Research Center

The wbk Institute of Production Science serves as a research center in Karlsruhe. The wbk carries out research and development works, as well as supervises the formation of pilot projects by clients.

Rolle der FQS

The FQS research group behaves as the project executing organisation and acts as one of the biggest associations within the consortium of industrial research groups "Otto von Guericke" e.V. (AiF) on behalf of the Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Technologie (BMWi). The FQS is responsible for the project management.

Project Begin: 01.05.2010
Project End: 30.04.2012