April 3, 2023 [Lewis Center, OH] – MESH is proud to announce the release of its affordable cloud-based supplier management system (SRM) solution for small to midsize manufacturing companies. With MESH, manufacturers can manage metal component sourcing, procurement, purchasing, and quality project needs with one easy-to-use dashboard. MESH was created by a team of experienced
The turbulent events of the last two years brought the world, including the Metalcasting Industry, to a virtual standstill. With it, a realization of how dependent organizations are on close departmental interactions and supplier communities. Companies have reacted by shifting their focus towards collaboration and improving efficiencies. Purchasing is no exception. Many casting buyers still
Streamlining RFQ & Procurement Processes for Casting Buyers Read More »
In a recent discovery call with the VP of Purchasing for a $600 million Tier 1 supplier, the MESH team asked, “What is your typical process for RFQs?” This benign question led to exciting findings as the customer team, and MESH representatives began to unthread their existing process. The supplier has made several acquisitions over
Is your RFQ process working? Read More »
Think of commodity managers as the quarterbacks of the supply chain team. They need to collect a lot of supplier information, be quick decision-makers, and negotiate details but yet, see the big picture. The most successful commodity professionals constantly monitor market conditions to purchase when prices are ideal. They analyze risk, develop forecasts, study trends
Commodity Managers: The QBs of the Supply Chain Read More »
Hundreds of Tier 1, 2, & 3 CNC machine shops will need to pivot to more efficient sourcing strategies for purchasing bar stock in 2023. Automating purchasing to keep their supply stocked will be key for smooth and efficient operations going forward. The Current Situation ThomasNet has a list of 542 Steel bar stock
How CNC Machine Shops Can Reduce Time Spent Sourcing Bar Stock Read More »
Successful sourcing professionals consistently analyze and adjust their sourcing strategy. Now, more than ever, the key to crafting a successful risk mitigation plan for a global supply base is having detailed information for hundreds of suppliers across regions & capabilities readily available to support agile decision-making. Having this information in one online, centralized database improves
How to Engage with Suppliers and Build a Robust Supply Chain Read More »
by Sahil Shah Die casters typically purchase several grades of aluminum from 3-5 sources. They also purchase a few different grades of lubricants, coolants, and perishable tooling daily. Additionally, they purchase hundreds of different maintenance components and factory operational items from tens of different sources and include small items such as fasteners, gaskets, fittings,
Advances in Foundry Purchasing & Supplier Management Tools Read More »
by Sahil Shah When automotive foundries are awarded projects, they start with Design for Manufacturing (DFM) activities. It’s followed by the kickoff of tooling and patterns. As the project moves forward through tooling fabrication, suppliers normally have various team members in process engineering, tooling engineering, sales, project management, quality engineering, and supply chain. These different
Managing APQP in Foundries Read More »
Thirty months since our team members first learned about Coronavirus (remember calling it that!) there is a lot we have learned. It is sobering to think about over half a billion people around the world have contracted Covid and we have over 6.35 million recorded deaths (excluding China, which has stopped publishing its counts). According
What We Got Wrong About COVID Read More »
The History of CRM The term “CRM” customer relationship management is now a commonly used term, and the emergence of companies like Salesforce CRM offerings have contributed both to its growth and popularity. The origin of CRM dates to the 1980s; however it wasn’t even called a CRM. It was called a CMS, a contact
CRM vs SRM: What is the Difference? Read More »
RFQ (request for quote) is a business process in which a company or public entity requests a quote from a supplier for the purchase of specific products or services. RFQ generally means the same thing as Call for bids (CfB) and Invitation for bid (IfB). Up until the 1990s, these kinds of requests were issued
ERFx/Sourcing Terminologies Read More »
Are your suppliers’ certifications compliant? Are you buyers being productive? Do you have visibility to your teams sourcing activity? How do you manage all your supplier relationships? If you are a manufacturer, these are all probably common questions that you ask. In most cases, all this relevant data is scattered across different systems & platforms
How Robust is Your Supplier Management System? Read More »
