Payload Systems, Cambridge, MA, an aerospace company renowned for supporting space-based experiments, flight systems development, space project technology innovation, and flight-related special projects, needs to get quality manufacturing jobs produced to meet demanding flight schedules.
Payload's current projects include SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage and Reorient Experiment Satellites,) which involves satellites flying in formation like fighter jets; PPRV (Positive Pressure Relief Valves) that protect International Space Station (ISS) module pressure integrity during the launch and assembly phase; and CCU (Cell Culture Unit), the first NASA Space Station biological research program facilities. With regard to the CCU project, of the five international companies that originally worked on bio-scientific experiments for the space program, only Payload Systems still receives funding.
These projects and many others need to be done on very tight schedules, and all require extreme precision. In addition, the bio-medical projects require extremely fine finishes. Those requirements naturally get passed on to Payload's suppliers.
Chris Rockhold, an engineer with Payload Systems, has simple, straightforward desires: "We want very high quality, with no rejections, and on-time delivery." The company has used online marketplace ManufacturingQuote, Inc, Atlanta, GA (www.mfgquote.com) to identify suppliers for most of ManufacturingQuote's history: launched in February 2000, the eMarketplace connects buyers and suppliers of contract manufacturing services.
"All the people who use the service at Payload are engineers who do their own procurement," says Rockhold. "We don't have a separate procurement department, and that means we place our reputations on the line when we accept quotes. If a job is flight related in particular, it can be a black eye for a Payload engineer if a supplier messes up."
In the early days, Rockhold says he had to supply a lot of information when entering a database query for suppliers. His primary need was "to find specialized manufacturers directly by category."
ManufacturingQuote solved this issue when it introduced its ProBuyer service in early 2002. "I wanted to be able to enter a single search word and get a whole category of suppliers. The ProBuyer service makes that easy," said Rockhold.
MfgQuote ProBuyer allows purchasers and engineers to "source" within their own private supply chain, or tap into new suppliers in the global MfgQuote Network, a well-known public eMarketplace for buying and selling customer manufacturing services. ProBuyer helps the buyer obtain competitive quotes, while transcending the geographical boundaries and logistics barriers of the past.
"MfgQuote ProBuyer is our answer to the value equation of public versus private eMarketplaces," states Mitch Free, president and CEO of ManufacturingQuote, Inc. "Many buyers have asked for the flexibility to work with their existing suppliers, in conjunction with our public eMarketplace. MfgQuote ProBuyer was conceived to leverage a company's internal sourcing intelligence, and at the same time, forge new and strategic supply chain relationships."
Rockhold can download all RFQ responses into an Excel spreadsheet report from ProBuyer. "When I get many RFQ responses, I can put them in a spreadsheet to filter out the highs and lows and see what the mid-range consists of," he says. "It caters to giving me the information I need, when I need it."
He says that ProBuyer makes life easier for a non-professional buyer. "I have more time to manage projects and budget ahead. I can check schedules easily, and it seldom takes more than a few minutes a day, so that I have the rest of the day for my principal job of engineering."
Buyers and suppliers can try ManufacturingQuote's services for themselves by clicking on RFQ@IEN on IENonline.com's home page.
