August 2021 Volume 3

OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

Improving the Quoting Process By Danielle Smith

The following information has been prepared in order to assist forging producers in streamlining the RFQ process. The goal is to help forgers get the information they need from their clients, so they are able to quickly and efficiently provide an accurate proposal. For a copy of this information and a downloadable RFQ Checklist please contact FIA Director of Marketing & Events, Angela Gibian at angela@forging.org or call 216-781-6260. How can you ensure that the quotes you receive from your forging supplier meet your expectations and needs? Many times, a quotation fails to meet a customer’s needs because a clear understanding of what is required was not conveyed in the initial Request for Quote (RFQ). An RFQ that accurately details what is expected of the forging supplier will ultimately save you time and, in some cases, money. As a buyer of forgings, it is important to know what information is needed in your RFQpackage so that the forging supplier can provide you with the most accurate quotation. Complete RFQ packages eliminate the need for additional follow up questions and will help suppliers return quotations to you faster. It will also ensure a fair comparison is made between potential suppliers because everyone is working with the same supply criteria. What information should be supplied? The RFQheader should contain all the basic information, including: 1. Company Name 2. Contact Names &Contact Information 4. Bill-To & Ship-To Addresses 6. Whether a quote is Budgetary or Active 8. Should the Supplier to be on a Certain AVL (Approved Vendor List)? 10. Due Date for the formal quotation Along with the basics, there is additional information that would help your supplier put together their best offer. Let us go over some of the additional information below: Material Requirements & Specifications As a guideline, if a specification is referenced on a drawing, please make sure to include themost up-to-date version of that specification with your RFQ (unless you are certain that your supplier has one on file). • What type of material grade(s) are the forgings to be produced with? • Is there heat treatment required? If so, please provide any heat treat specifications. This can come across as a heat treat process or hardness range. If there is a hardness range

requirement, it is important to provide this information to the supplier so that they can provide you with the proper processes to get to your desired hardness range. • Are there any destructive or non-destructive testing required? If so, please include any specifications, or detailed instructions, that need to be taken into consideration.This information can inform your supplier about important information like heat lot requirements, batching, sonic requirements, special hardness testing, etc. • Are there any required material specifications or industry standards that the forging supplier must have or meet? (Ex: IATF16949, ITAR, AS9100, etc.) • Are there initial PPAP samples required? If so, what level of PPAP? How many parts are required, and what leadtime are they required in? • Are there any special supply chain requirements that should be considered? Some projects require NADCAP certifications, these can cause more costly post-forging processing that are more in-depth than just standard ISO certifications. Volume and ProgramExpectations • Is this a brand-new project? If the answer is no, are there any concerns or past issues that need to be addressed? If there are, how was it manufactured in the past? This information can help the supplier come up with a resolution that has not been tried before, including talking to their own suppliers about an opportunity to make a change to the die materials used. • What is the estimated annual usage? Is this a short-term or long-term program? Does the program ramp up over time to larger volumes? This information may change the type of tooling being considered and could save additional tooling expenses as volumes increase. • What is the expected order quantity and how often would deliveries be required? Your forging supplier may be able to offer more optimum lot sizes if they understand this information. • What is the life of the program? (This may, or may not, apply to your program.) • What is the start date of production? When are forged parts required to be delivered?

FIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2021 54