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Building Fastener Supply Chain Resilience: Post-Pandemic Ris

[Abstract]:The global supply chain disruptions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, raw material price hikes caused by geopolitical conflicts

The global supply chain disruptions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, raw material price hikes caused by geopolitical conflicts, and export resistance exacerbated by international trade barriers have made the fastener industry acutely aware of the importance of supply chain resilience. Data from 2024 shows that due to fluctuations in international steel prices, the average profit margin of domestic fastener enterprises dropped from 12% to 8%. Additionally, a leading enterprise saw its order delivery cycle extend from 30 days to 60 days due to delayed overseas deliveries of critical imported equipment. Consequently, building an "autonomous, controllable, diversely coordinated, and elastically responsive" supply chain system has become a core strategy for enterprises to withstand risks and ensure stable development.

Building a Raw Material Security System
Establishing a robust raw material security system is the foundation of supply chain resilience. To address the high external dependence on key raw materials like cold heading steel and special alloys, enterprises are constructing a safety net through a triple strategy of "long-term contract price locking + domestic substitution + strategic reserves." Zhejiang Gem-Year Industrial signed five-year long-term supply agreements with Xinggang and HBIS Group, locking in 80% of their raw material demand and controlling price fluctuation risks within ±8%, thereby ensuring a reasonable profit margin.

In terms of domestic substitution, enterprises are accelerating the autonomous supply of special steels. Jiangsu Shenyuan Group invested 500 million yuan to build a special stainless steel production line, raising the localization rate of materials for nuclear power fasteners from 35% to 70%. The strategic reserve mechanism is also being progressively improved; the Ningbo fastener industrial cluster established a 100,000-ton steel reserve warehouse covering seven key material categories, including cold heading steel and stainless steel, capable of withstanding supply interruption risks for over three months. Facing international logistics volatility, enterprises are actively deploying multi-port shipping systems. Companies in the Yangtze River Delta have simultaneously activated three major ports—Shanghai, Ningbo, and Lianyungang—reducing the logistics delay rate from 25% to just 5%.

Flexible Manufacturing and Digital Visibility
Upgrading manufacturing capabilities toward flexibility has significantly enhanced supply chain responsiveness. Traditional fastener enterprises often relied on rigid production lines, making it difficult to adapt to market demands for high variety and small batches. Leading enterprises are achieving flexible production through intelligent transformation. For instance, Shanghai Zhengyuan New Energy's smart factory deployed 12 flexible production lines. By utilizing rapid die-change technology (shortening changeover time from 4 hours to 20 minutes) and AI scheduling systems, the factory can simultaneously produce over 80 different specifications of fasteners, compressing the order response cycle from 15 days to just 3 days.

Emergency production capacity construction has also yielded remarkable results. An enterprise in Anhui established an "emergency production workshop" equipped with universally adaptable equipment. During the 2024 Yangtze River Delta outbreak, it completed the production of urgently needed special bolts for medical equipment in just two days. Furthermore, digital management has improved supply chain visibility. By using industrial internet platforms to connect data across the entire "supplier - production - logistics - customer" chain, enterprises can monitor raw material inventory, production progress, and logistics status in real-time, boosting order delivery accuracy from 92% to 98%.

Diversified Markets and Optimized Customer Structures
A diversified market layout and optimized customer structure have effectively reduced the risk of single-point dependency. In export markets, to counter US tariff barriers, enterprises are accelerating their expansion into emerging markets such as ASEAN and the Middle East. In the first half of 2025, exports to ASEAN grew by 47%. Tariff reductions under the RCEP provided a 7%-12% price advantage, increasing the share of the ASEAN market from 18% to 29%. Simultaneously, enterprises are deeply cultivating the domestic market by seizing opportunities in emerging sectors like new energy vehicles (NEVs) and 5G base stations, raising the proportion of domestic sales from 65% in 2022 to 72% in 2025.

Customer structures are shifting from reliance on major clients to a balanced distribution of "core clients + SME clients." One leading enterprise successfully reduced the sales proportion of any single client from 30% to 15%, mitigating the risk of customer loss. Supply chain collaboration has also deepened; enterprises have established joint R&D mechanisms with downstream clients. For example, BYD co-established a joint laboratory with fastener enterprises, intervening in new product development 18 months in advance to ensure supply chain stability and stickiness.

Policy Support and Industry Services
Government policies and industry services provide crucial safeguards for supply chain resilience. At the government level, multiple supportive policies have been introduced. The revision of the Regulation on Ensuring Payments to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises shortened the average payment period for automotive fastener enterprises from 98 days to 58 days, releasing over 100 billion yuan in working capital. Industry associations are playing a vital bridging role. The China General Machine Components Industry Association established a supply chain risk early warning platform that monitors 12 types of risk indicators in real-time, including raw material prices, international trade policies, and logistics status. It has issued 28 early warnings, helping enterprises proactively avoid risks. The association also organizes supply chain emergency drills covering five scenarios, such as raw material shortages and logistics interruptions, enhancing the emergency response capabilities of enterprises.

The post-pandemic supply chain restructuring is driving the fastener industry to transition from "efficiency-first" to placing equal emphasis on "efficiency and resilience." It is projected that by 2030, the industry will form a diversified market pattern of "domestic-centric, internationally-supported," with the localization rate of key materials exceeding 85% and flexible production penetration surpassing 80%. These advancements will significantly strengthen the supply chain's ability to withstand risks, providing a solid guarantee for the industry's stable development.

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Building Fastener Supply Chain Resilience: Post-Pandemic Ris

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