How One Buyer Used Supplier Diversification to Beat a Copper Shortage

Episode 19 of The Buyer's Side looks at how a mid-sized automotive parts manufacturer avoided a production shutdown when copper prices spiked and supply tightened in early 2026. Lucas and Luna walk through the buyer's playbook: mapping single-source dependencies, qualifying secondary suppliers in Vietnam and Mexico, and restructuring contracts to include volume flexibility. They discuss the cost of qualification — roughly $80,000 per new supplier — and how the company recouped that in six months through avoided downtime. The episode also touches on geopolitical risk, inventory buffers, and why sourcing professionals should treat diversification as a hedge, not a one-time project. If you have a supplier you can't replace within 90 days, this episode is for you. #CopperShortage #SupplierDiversification #SupplyChainRisk #CommoditySourcing #AutomotiveParts #Procurement #B2BPurchasing #SourcingStrategy #GeopoliticalRisk #InventoryBuffer #VietnamManufacturing #MexicoManufacturing #SingleSourceRisk #VolumeFlexibility #Business #FexingoBusiness #TheBuyersSide #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo