to accurately source in less time.
▪have difficulty locating contract manufacturing companies (suppliers) outside their existing base of Suppliers that can perform faster and at lower cost.
▪need to reduce turn-time.
▪wish to optimize the purchasing department by streamlining comparison shopping.
▪would like to spread work over multiple Suppliers to reduce risks.
▪struggle with compatibility of engineering data between their software and their Supplier’s software (data translation).
Supplier – The marketplace participant that desires to quote or bid on a buyer’s RFQ. The supplier is typically an individual responsible for sales in a company that offers manufacturing goods and services.
Supplier Advantage
ManufacturingQuote.com provides a solution to Suppliers of custom manufacturing services who:
▪would like to expand their sales and marketing.
▪are normally dependent on a few customers.
▪are limited by geographic boundaries.
▪have recurring workloads.
▪are unable to focus on higher margins that could be realized from locating work that best matches their expertise, equipment, and capacity.
▪lack suitable tools to manage outstanding quotations.
▪struggle with compatibility of engineering data between their software and their customers’ software (data translation).
SUPPLIER FUNCTIONALITY
Job-Bots
The first step of the process for suppliers is to create a “Job-Bot”. The Job-Bot is a virtual representation of a supplier’s line of business, Fig. 1-4-1.
The supplier tells the Job-Bot to search for RFQs that were created by a buyer in a specific industry, for a specific area of manufacturing that fall within a range of unit quantities required to be delivered before or after a range of dates.
▪The Job-Bot begins to collect only RFQs in the marketplace that match the standard defined by the supplier.
▪This assures that suppliers will not have to sort through RFQs that are not applicable to their business.
Job-Bot – an automated search engine, created by suppliers, to find RFQs (Request For Quotations) in a ManufacturingQuote.com marketplace that best match a supplier’s expertise and capacity.
Fig. 1-4-1 The Job-Bot Wizard guides the user through the process of creating a Job-Bot. (ManufacturingQuote, Inc.)
▪The bidding process will then be organized inside the Job-Bot so that the supplier can manage related quotes associated with the Job-Bot’s line of business, obtaining sales and profitability indications.
▪Suppliers manage Job-Bots in the “Job-Bot Management List”.
•This provides a summary of the activity in each Job-Bot.
•They can sort the list by any of the column headers, have quick access to the RFQs and Quotes within each Job-Bot.
▪The Job-Bot list identifies which Job-Bots have grabbed new RFQs and new messages, as well as identifying accepted, rejected, or outstanding quotes for inside the Job-Bot.
•The list also tells the supplier if the Job-Bot is running or has been suspended.
•The supplier has the option to suspend a Job-Bot if that line of business is at full capacity and the supplier wishes to temporarily stop receiving RFQs.
Aside from offering convenient organization tools, the Job-Bot delivers valuable measures of sales and profitability. At any point in time, Suppliers can view the “Job-Bot” summary and obtain a Won/Loss analysis of their quoting. They can also see a summary of the RFQs in the Job-Bot, indicating opportunity that is imminent in the marketplace for that line of business.
VIEWING REQUEST FOR QUOTES (RFQS)
Once inside the Job-Bot, suppliers obtain a list of the RFQs the Job-Bot has collected. The list provides a snapshot view of the RFQ opportunity and offers easy access to RFQ details in a manageable interface. The list also indicates the suppliers quoting activity for each RFQ.
Request For Quote (RFQ)– an electronic document that defines what, when, where, and how a buyer wishes to purchase manufacturing goods and services. Quote - an electronic document, created by suppliers and delivered to buyers as a response to a RFQ
The supplier has one mouse click access to the RFQ Details from the RFQ list.
▪The RFQ displays all the specifications the buyer has defined, including part name, number and description, as well as payment terms, delivery information and any file attachments that further describe the job.
▪File attachments are usually in the format of generic CAD data. The RFQ details provide links to shareware CAD data viewers depending on the file format type.
▪The RFQ Details is also the point in which suppliers can cooperate in the marketplace.
SUPPLIER/BUYER COLLABORATION
Suppliers often play an important role in the design of a product for manufacturability. ManufacturingQuote.com provides a Messaging System that allows buyers and suppliers to communicate on both technical and pricing issues during the sourcing. This system is similar to an online bulletin board and captures threads of communication. Suppliers and buyers can communicate one-on-one or buyers can post messages for suppliers to read.
QUOTING
Upon reviewing the RFQ details, MfgQuote.com will guide suppliers through the quoting process.
1.The Quote Wizard, Fig. 1-4-2, is dynamically created based upon the buyer-specificied RFQ information. For example, if the buyer specifies that his company will pay for the cost of shipping, the Shipping Charges form field will not be displayed in the Quote Wizard.
2.After the quote is submitted, MfgQuote.com sends it to the buyer and email notifications are mailed out.
3.Suppliers can manage all of their outstanding quotes directly on the RFQ. If the buyer rejects the first or second quote, the supplier will have access to those quotes and can reference them for future quoting.
BUYER FUNCTIONALITY
Projects
