Sourcing parts from Asia while serving European OEMs means working across two worlds. Different time zones, different work cultures, different expectations when it comes to response times. The question isn’t whether friction occurs – it’s how you minimise it.

At SGS, we start our day at 6:00 AM. That’s noon in Shanghai, lunchtime in Ningbo, and the afternoon shifts in Shenzhen are just getting started. We’re there when our suppliers are there. And we’re still there when our European clients are wrapping up their day. Twelve hours connecting two continents – and in practice, that gap makes the difference between being days ahead or weeks behind.

What This Means for the Sourcing Process

Automotive sourcing isn’t something you kick off and wait for. From the initial supplier enquiry to the approved part, there are dozens of coordination loops: technical clarifications, tool approvals, material specifications, sampling reports, price negotiations. Every single one requires communication – and every missed round costs at least a day.

When we’re on the phone with a toolmaker in China at 6:30 AM, finalising corrections to a part geometry, our client in Germany has the updated drawing on their desk before their own working day has properly started. Sounds like a small advantage – but over a sourcing cycle of three to six months, these time gains add up significantly.

The same applies to price negotiations. Anyone who’s tried negotiating a target price with a Chinese supplier over email knows how it goes: it drags on. We have these conversations directly, in real time, while the supplier is still at their desk. That doesn’t just speed things up – it also avoids the misunderstandings that are almost inevitable with asynchronous communication.

Project Management Across Time Zones

In automotive development, everything comes down to timing. Tooling, sampling, approval, start of production – every milestone has a date, and a delay in one place pulls the entire project schedule along with it. As a project management partner, it’s our job to make sure that chain doesn’t break.

That only works if you have information in real time. Not yesterday’s status, not the update that comes tomorrow morning – but the situation right now. When a tool is going through acceptance in China, we want to know on the same day whether the dimensions are within spec or whether rework is needed. When a sampling date gets pushed, that needs to be reflected in the project plan immediately – not two days later when the European client asks for an update.

Our working hours are built around exactly that. In the mornings, we coordinate with Asia: tool status, production approvals, logistics, quality topics. In the afternoons, we report to our European clients: project status, open items, next steps. The client always has an up-to-date overview – without having to write emails in the middle of the night.

When Projects Get Tight

Anyone who’s worked on automotive projects knows: things don’t always go to plan. A tool has dimensional deviations. A material batch fails inspection. A supplier suddenly reports capacity bottlenecks. In situations like these, hours determine whether an SOP date holds or slips.

This is exactly where our availability makes the difference. When a problem is flagged from China at 7:00 AM, we’re not sitting in an internal meeting at 9:00 to discuss what to do. We’re already in conversation with the supplier, identifying the root cause, organising rework or alternative solutions – and informing the client before they even have the issue on their radar.

That’s not a coincidence, and it’s not a one-off. It’s part of how we work. We’ve set ourselves up this way deliberately, because experience has taught us: in automotive project management, success doesn’t go to the team that writes the best reports. It goes to the team that solves problems before they escalate.

Sourcing and Project Management Belong Together

At SGS, we don’t separate sourcing from project management. Whoever sources the parts also needs to keep track of timelines, quality, and costs. And whoever manages the project needs to know what’s happening at the supplier – not second-hand, but directly.

Our availability from 6 AM to 6 PM isn’t a marketing claim. It’s the foundation that allows us to deliver on both fronts: strategic sourcing with suppliers in Asia and Europe, and hands-on project management that keeps schedules on track and identifies risks early.

For our clients, that means: one point of contact who knows both sides. Shorter decision paths. Less downtime. And the confidence that someone is keeping the overview – even when things get hectic between time zones.

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Planning a sourcing project or looking for support with automotive project management? Get in touch – we’re available when it counts.