MFG.com Unveils White Paper Revealing Best Practices
for Sourcing and Supplier Discovery
White Paper Defines Online Sourcing as a Missed Opportunity for Many Purchasers of Made-to-order Parts
ATLANTA – January 5, 2005 – MFG.com, the leading online marketplace for buying and selling custom manufacturing services, announced today the availability of a new white paper for purchasing professionals, engineers, inventors, and entrepreneurs entitled: “Boosting Sourcing Effectiveness & Efficiency: The Online Marketplace Opportunity.” Based on both industry analyst insights and a survey of buyers, the paper shows that using an online marketplace can significantly improve sourcing processes and purchasing decisions.
The white paper was commissioned by MFG.com, and researched and written by Industry Directions, Inc., a Boston-area industry analyst and consulting group specializing in manufacturing and supply chain applications. Industry Directions analysts conducted a market survey of 248 active purchasers using MFG.com to source made-to-order components. The survey responses revealed the most-valued characteristics of the web-based sourcing service. The paper is now available at www.industrydirections.com/.
“Our survey data revealed MFG.com has several strong assets…an online marketplace of over 1,200 qualified suppliers, intelligent matching capabilities, and easy-to-use and learn web-based software to manage the Request for Quote process,” states Julie Fraser, principal & industry analyst at Industry Directions. “The fact that the service is free to buyers is one of its most attractive features, and at the same time, it presents a challenge to MFG.com. Because there is no charge for the service, companies do not go through a full-blown evaluation or justification process like they do when purchasing expensive enterprise solutions. As a result, we believe many companies have not seriously explored sourcing through online marketplaces and are missing a major opportunity," concludes Fraser.
Unlike other white papers focused on sourcing of commodity parts, materials, and auction-based transactions, this white paper focuses exclusively on the vertical marketspace of purchasing made-to-order parts and engineering services. Sourcing for manufacturing services is a complex and highly collaborative process. Traditional sourcing methods are slow, laborious, and insufficient for today’s competitive business climate.
The white paper covers the purchaser’s struggle with ever-changing product development timelines and the need to easily access a work-ready supply chain. Those two issues point to the need for a sourcing vehicle that works at the speed of business. Additionally, the paper also discusses how the online marketplace can provide a flexible, one-platform solution that strategically matches buyers with suppliers at the moment of need.
MFG.com was the first and most successful company to leverage the Internet for automated supplier discovery and sourcing made-to-order components. Buyers across the industrial spectrum (aerospace, automotive, consumer products, transportation, and more) utilize MFG.com to locate and get online quotes from highly skilled contract manufacturers providing more than 200 manufacturing processes such as CNC machining, metal stamping, forging, plastic molding, metal fabrication, and metal casting.
Industry Directions Inc.
Industry Directions is a hands-on manufacturing and supply chain industry analyst and consulting group. The company delivers market intelligence, industry research, leadership perspectives, and operational strategies that result in strategic advantage to manufactured solution supply chain participants and solution providers. Founded in 1990, the Boston-area firm continually develops superior methodologies, industry intelligence, and competitive positioning expertise that provide companies with a differentiated business position for greater competitive leverage and growth. For more information, call 800-635-2175 or visit their web site at http://www.industrydirections.com.
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About MFG.com
MFG.com is the largest global online marketplace for the manufacturing industry. MFG.com instantly and intelligently matches sourcing professionals and engineers with suppliers who have the right expertise and capacity to manufacture parts and tooling on demand in accordance with their engineering drawings and CAD files. MFG.com's on-demand service is consolidating the once- fragmented world of manufacturing into an efficient marketplace, enabling products to be sourced and built more easily, quickly, inexpensively, and at higher quality levels. For more information, please visit http://www.MFG.com.
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