Purchase Process
The Marble Block Purchasing Process is the main object of MARENGOLD’s activity at the buyer’s service. More than thirty years of experience in every phase and international knowledge of the highest level are for our customers’ reason for peace of mind and certainty of the best result.
Marble, like any other stone and like any other natural product, presents an extreme complexity in every step: it is simple for the buyer to encounter situations of misunderstanding, insufficient support, and little attention and precedence in relations with suppliers: the effectiveness of MARENGOLD’s support action is demonstrated by the satisfaction of the most demanding importers, who have been able to purchase exceptional products at prices and conditions that are difficult for their competitors to achieve.
Let’s explore this journey together through the acquisition of a marble block, let’s enter each distinct phase together, pausing to evaluate the most critical points and the most complex passages: it will be an honor and a privilege for us to be able to illustrate and share the methods, the knowledge and the vision of a very ancient and at the same time very current craft and in full ferment of innovation, renewal and rejuvenation.
Index
1. Material Choice
The path begins with the material choice, often not yet perfectly defined in the initial phase of the project: instead, the color and the type of texture are the reference bearing axis, in this phase, the analysis of all the options available is privileged to then focus the choice on …
2. Quarry production
The production of the quarries is often not marked by a very regular trend, for various reasons: the seasonality and the meteorological situation have a direct influence on the production. The progress of the extraction continually discovers new portions of rock which may have …
3. Supply Planning and Monitoring
Only constant and systematic surveillance and reporting of quarry activities allow you to plan the availability of material with a good degree of approximation, even if you have to accept the inevitable intrinsic uncertainty in the extraction processes in the broadest sense. Large buyers …
4. Procurement process
The procurement process experiences more or less long preparation periods, depending on the buyer’s needs, and the activities intensify as the test inspection date approaches (in person or remotely). In the best case, the supplier prepares a consignment for the attention of the buyer, who in turn …
5. Acquisition, visit in presence or remotely
Once the desired material supply source has been defined, i.e. if it originates directly from the quarry or if it can be purchased from a retailer’s yard, we proceed with the organization of the visit in person (if the quantity to be purchased is large enough and the cost of the visit is not disproportionate) or …
6. Quality Value Score Card
QVSCard is MARENGOLD’s exclusive proprietary method for the systematic evaluation of marble blocks:
inspired by the traditional methods used in Carrara for evaluating batches (i.e. groups of marble blocks treated as a single commercial whole), MARENGOLD has developed and successfully tested this …
7. Negotiation
Negotiation involves balancing the price the buyer is willing to pay and the quality the supplier is willing to sell at that price. Often in a block game it’s about inserting or excluding this or that block according to the target price. In the negotiation phase, MARENGOLD’s assistance can certainly help to avoid possible misunderstandings related to some parameter taken for granted by virtue of more or less genuine considerations.
8. Purchasing and Marking
The purchase is traditionally defined by marking the purchased blocks with indelible spray paint or another writing method on the bare rock. It is a good idea to write all the relevant details on a contract, in particular the list of blocks complete with all essential data such as: identification code of the single block, measurements, weight, specific processes agreed (for example a cut to eliminate a defective part or to improve the shape of the block).
9. Transport Solution
If possible, maritime transport is preferred, especially for large intercontinental distances. For the logistical organization, we turn to specialized agencies that can take care of every aspect: from the containerization of the blocks to the issuance of tax and customs documentation. The transport cost can take on a decisive aspect in the economy of the stone business. Even in this specific area, the utmost attention is required since …
10. Financial Management
In general, the payment of marble blocks, beyond the typically very rapid times, must be guaranteed. There are several forms of payment in use, which can range from advance payment to partial deposit and balance against documents up to payment by letter of credit. In general …
11. Export/import customs procedures
In international trade, outgoing and incoming goods are respectively subjected to documentary and substantial export (supplier side) and import (buyer side) checks; modern computer systems have streamlined procedures and made cross-checks between …
