target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ManufacturingQuote.com">ManufacturingQuote.com gives buyers of custom manufacturing services the ability to organize their profile using projects. Typically, a purchasing agent obtains goods and services that are associated with some activity within the company. These actvities are usally organized in projects.
Fig. 1-4-2 The Quote Wizard is created based on the buyer’s specifications on the RFQ information. (ManufacturingQuote, Inc.)
Project – an organization binder that Buyers createto manage and distribute related RFQs..
The first step for a buyer is to create a project by specifying a project name, budget and invitation list.
Invitation List
The invitation list, Fig. 1-4-3 allows the Buyer to specifiy a set of standards (criteria) that Suppliers must meet in order to view RFQs that are created within a project. Currently, the criteria factors are the supplier’s employee size, quality certifications, and geographic location by state and country.
Buyers can create one or more projects and simultaneously manage all of them at one time.
▪Once a project has been created, the buyer can begin creating RFQs.
▪The RFQs are managed inside the project in a list similar to what suppliers would see.
▪The list can be filtered and sorted to provide quick access to specific RFQs.
▪The list also indicates new messages and quotes, and whether or not RFQs are being looked at by suppliers.
▪If an RFQ has not been looked at or quoted on, the buyer might want to speed up the sourcing process by changing the RFQ for clarity or using offline methods.
RFQ WIZARD
RFQs are created using the RFQ Wizard. The Wizard guides the buyer through the process, confirming data and checking for conflicting information, Fig. 1-4-4. It is impossible for a buyer to create a RFQ that contains contradicting data. Table 1-4-1 lists the data that the buyer can define to eliminate errors in RFQs.
Fig. 1-4-3 The Invitation List allows the buyer to specify a set of standards that suppliers must meet. (ManufacturingQuote, Inc.)
Fig. 1-4-4 The RFQ Wizard guides the buyer through the process of posting RFQs. (ManufacturingQuote, Inc.)
BUYER COLLABORATION
Like suppliers, buyers can collaborate on MfgQuote.com using a Messaging System that is built directly on the RFQ. The messaging system looks similar to any online Bulletin Board, allowing individuals to communicate in threads. Buyers can send a message to a specific supplier or post a message for all suppliers to view.
| Information | Description |
| Part Number | The number in which the buyer references the part. |
| Part Name | The name in which the buyer references the part. |
| RFQ Close Date | The date in which quoting will automatically stop. |
| RFQ Description | Text description of the part or special instructions to the suppliers. |
| Manufacturing Discipline | Type of manufacturing process desired to manufacture the part. |
| Delivery Date | The date the job is requested to be delivered to the specified delivery location. |
| Delivery Location (Postal Code) | The location where the part must be delivered |
| Quantity | The number of parts in the job. |
| Material Provider (Buyer or Supplier) | Who provides the material. |
| CAD Format (For attached file) | What type of data the file attachments are. |
| Freight Cost (Buyeror Supplier) | Who pays for freight. |
| Certification Requirements | Any quality certifications the buyer requires of the supplier. |
| Payment Terms | Payment terms for this RFQ. |
| Down Payment | Down payment for this RFQ. |
| Target Price | The price at which the buyer defines as a target for what the buyer is willing to pay. |
| Option To Display Target Price | Option to let suppliers know what the target price is or that one has even been set |
| Option to automatically reject quotes above target price | Option to automatically rejects quote that are delivered above the target price. |
| Automatic Rejection Email Message | The message that would be delivered to the supplier upon his/her quote being automatically rejected. |
| File Attachments | The buyer can upload directly from his/her computer to ManufacturingQuote.com any data that would further define the job. |
Table 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.
