Exploring Advanced Manufacturing Technologies. Steve Krar
1-4-1 Buyer Information
The messaging system also addresses RFQ revisions. If a buyer attempts to edit an RFQ, certain modifications will force a retraction and create a new RFQ number based upon the old one. The messaging system will capture these changes and post a new message outlining the revisions.
Collaboration is a critical process that ManufacturingQuote.com has attempted to address. As mentioned before, suppliers play a significant role in the design of a product for manufacturability. The interaction between buyer and supplier does not necessarily begin after the check is in the mail, but during the sourcing process.
The type of dialogue that could take place using the messaging system is a buyer engaging in a price negotiation or a supplier explaining that if the buyer enlarges a certain radius, the supplier could use a different machine with less overhead to manufacture the part.
QUOTING
As suppliers begin to quote the buyer’s RFQ, a Quote List develops, Fig. 1-4-5. The Quote List is easily accessible to the buyer for a RFQ in a project. The list, which can be sorted and filtered, summarizes the quotes that have been submitted and only the buyer has access to the quotes.
▪The buyer can reject multiple quotes at one time using the batch rejection functionality, or click to view the quote details.
•The details show the buyer exactly how the supplier has constructed the quote.
•It itemizes information such as material costs, engineering costs and tooling costs.
▪The buyer can send a message to the supplier directly from the quote.
•The message will only be delivered to the supplier who submitted the quote.
▪At this point, the buyer can either accept or reject the quote.
•If the buyer accepts the quote, the RFQ will automatically close and all other quotes will be automatically rejected.
•In both senarios, the buyer can send a message to the supplier indicating the next step.
Fig. 1-4-5 Buyers can quickly compare incoming quotes in the Quote List. (ManufacturingQuote, Inc.)
NDA FUNCTIONALITY
New to MfgQuote.com is NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) functionality. Buyers have the ability to upload their company’s NDA to MfgQuote.com. The NDA becomes an essential part of their profile, which they can change at any time.
While completing the RFQ wizard, the buyer is asked if they want to enable the NDA for that particular RFQ. If the buyer chooses YES, suppliers must read and accept the NDA before they have access to the RFQ’s file attachments. A red padlock illustrates that the file attachments are inaccessible until the NDA is agreed to, and once agreed to, the padlock turns green.
ManufacturingQuote.com has the ability to track the suppliers who have accepted NDAs. If there is a concern or dispute, users can call ManufacturingQuote.com to obtain more information on the history of the RFQ in the system.
PROJECT SUMMARY
A benefit of organizing RFQs in projects is realized in the Project Summary.
1.The summary calculates high-level information with regards to the status of the project, Fig. 1-4-6.
2.The buyer has access to real-time measurement of when the project will close, what the variance from target budget is, estimated completion, and an overview of how many RFQs are outstanding.
3.The information supplied in the summary is the type of data that purchasing managers are requiring of their agents.
Fig. 1-4-6 The Project Summary calculates high-level information for the buyers and managers. (ManufacturingQuote, Inc.)
The ManufacturingQuote.com MARKETPLACE
One line of business for ManufacturingQuote.com is ManufacturingQuote.com’s own marketplace. The proprietary (exclusive) technology has been applied to a marketplace that is branded with www.MfgQuote.com.
This marketplace, created around a subscription based revenue model, has two levels of service: Basic and Premium. Basic service is a separation of the functions offered in Premium, allowing buyers to post RFQs, but not manage them with projects or set target prices. With this model, Buyers can post RFQs for free and suppliers pay for an annual subscription.
PRIVATE LABELED MARKETPLACES
ManufacturingQuote.com has a second line of business where other companies and organizations can co-brand the technology to offer value to their own customer base. The functions work exactly the same and the private labeled version is a doorway into the Global Marketplace.
Global Marketplace – The marketplace that all the ManufacturingQuote.com powered marketplaces tie into.
To the user (buyer and supplier) it is clear what door they came from into the global marketplace. For example, buyers who post a RFQ in the MfgQuote.com marketplace could receive quotes from suppliers that are using a private-labeled version such as the Thomas Regional Directory (www.thomasregional.com).
CORPORATE IMPLEMENTATIONS
A third line of business of ManufacturingQuote.com includes corporate implementations of the technology. The functionality can be used in a stand-alone marketplace, or with access to the Global Marketplace for use by a corporation and its supply chain.
Corporate implementations can be customized to meet specific needs such as reverse auction functionality or unique reporting tools. ManufacturingQuote.com is an ideal solution for a corporation that is experiencing a rapid expansion. A user friendly, Web-based technology eliminates the need to combine different systems and platforms that a company might experience with its purchases.
Corporations will certainly reduce direct and indirect purchasing costs with a ManufacturingQuote.com solution, but will also obtain more control on spending and stronger leverage in sourcing for supply. One corporate customer has already documented a 41% decrease in purchasing costs with ManufacturingQuote.com.
CONCLUSION
▪ManufacturingQuote.com automates business processes, creating a more cost effective and efficient solution for today’s real business problems.
▪Using the correct technology to reduce costs and improve the performance of manufacturing operations is the responsibility of all departments.
▪Helping buyers of custom manufacturing goods and services reduce purchasing costs and providing a forum for suppliers of custom manufacturing goods and services