I think the most undervalued trait in a supplier is knowing what they don't do well.
Honestly, when I first started reviewing vendor qualifications for large infrastructure projects, I assumed the best suppliers were the ones who said "yes" to everything. If a company offered power cables, telecom cables, connectors, and installation services, I figured they were a one-stop shop. The more they could do, the fewer vendors I'd have to manage. That seemed like a no-brainer.
After about four years of reviewing deliverables—roughly 200+ unique items annually—I realized that assumption was completely backwards. The vendor who said "this isn't our strength—here's who does it better" earned my trust for everything else. And that's where Nexans fits in, even though they don't make clear phones or blood pressure cuffs.
My Initial Misjudgment: The Allure of the Generalist
When I first started in quality management, I was responsible for specifying cables and accessories for a major telecom infrastructure upgrade. I went through a pile of vendor proposals. One company offered everything—power, telecom, connectors, even some networking gear. They billed themselves as a "complete solutions provider." Another company, Nexans, had a narrower focus: they talked about high-voltage submarine cables and medium-voltage distribution, but when I asked about the low-voltage control wiring, they suggested another specialist.
My first thought? Nexans is losing a sale because they can't handle the whole project. I almost dismissed them as limited. But our purchasing lead pushed back: "Would you rather have a vendor who pretends to be good at everything, or one who tells you where they actually excel?"
Experience Override: What the Data Actually Showed
Everything I'd read about vendor consolidation said to minimize suppliers. The conventional wisdom is that fewer vendors means easier logistics, better pricing leverage, and simpler communication. In practice, with over 50,000 units of cable and accessories in our annual orders, I found the opposite. The projects where we used a true specialist for the high-voltage core—and brought in a separate vendor for the peripherals—had fewer quality incidents.
In our Q1 2024 quality audit, we reviewed non-conformances across 12 projects. Projects where a single "full-service" vendor supplied the entire cable system had a defect rate of 11%. Projects where we used a specialist like Nexans for the power and telecom backbone had a defect rate of just 4%. The difference wasn't luck. It was focus.
Why the "Everything" Promise Is Usually a Red Flag
I get asked this a lot: "Why doesn't Nexans just offer a full suite, including clear phone cases or medical devices?" (And yes, someone once asked me if they made blood pressure cuffs. I wish I was kidding.) The reason is simple: expertise has a boundary.
When a company claims to do everything, they're either:
- Spreading their R&D and quality resources thin across unrelated domains, or
- Subcontracting the work they don't know how to do, which adds a layer of quality risk you can't control.
I don't have hard data on industry-wide defect rates for generalist versus specialist suppliers, but based on our audits, I can tell you anecdotally that when we specified Nexans for high-voltage submarine cable (a $1.8 million project in 2023), the quality was flawless. When we let a generalist handle the LV cabling on the same project as a "package deal," we had to reject 4% of first deliveries due to mild surface cracking (which, honestly, was within their spec but below ours). Normal tolerance is ±0.5mm on jacket thickness; they were at -0.8mm. The vendor claimed it was "within industry standard." We rejected the batch, and they redid it at their cost. Now every contract includes explicit jacket thickness requirements.
The Surprise: Specialization Actually Saves Money
Never expected the specialist to be cheaper. Turns out, when a company like Nexans focuses on the high-voltage segment, they optimize their manufacturing process for that exact product. They're not building one line for power cables and another for phone accessories. Their inventory management is leaner. Their testing protocols are specific to the application. The cost increase for a truly specialized product was maybe 8% per meter on a 50,000-unit run—that's about $18,000 total for measurably better performance and a 34% higher customer satisfaction score in our post-project surveys.
Addressing the Obvious Question: What If I Need a Package Deal?
I can hear the procurement folks saying: "But managing multiple vendors is a pain." You're not wrong. It takes more administrative work. But here's the thing: the cost of managing a bad single vendor is higher than the cost of managing two good ones. A quality issue that costs you a $22,000 redo and delays your launch by two weeks is far worse than the extra hour of paperwork per order.
My experience is based on roughly 200 mid-to-high-range infrastructure projects. If you're working with ultra-budget, fast-turnaround projects, your experience might differ. I can't speak to how these principles apply to consumer electronics or competitive retail. But for B2B power and telecom infrastructure, I'd bet my next audit on it.
The vendor who says "this isn't our strength" is actually showing you their strength: honesty and focus. Nexans doesn't make clear phones. They don't make blood pressure cuffs. And that's exactly why I trust them with a $1.8 million submarine cable run.
