Every quality-run organization has a supplier vetting process. The one common denominator always heard in supplier audits is: "We simply must reduce our list of suppliers."
 

It’s understandable. It can be tough for a company to manage a list of hundreds, if not thousands, of suppliers.
 

Are they performing? Are they legitimately authorized and providing traceability? Is their insurance going to cover rework fees? Are their certs up to date? What will I uncover this time I audit them? Is their Continual Improvement Database showing growth and learning, or are they living the same lessons year over year?

Stock Photos from Michal Chmurski / Shutterstock

This necessary audit process takes time, money, staff, knowledge, relationships, infrastructure, and the drive to procure only the highest-quality products.

Enter Amazon, which changed the way people shop in their personal lives. The electronics industry could benefit from such a paradigm shift. The data aggregator sites that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and electronics manufacturing service (EMS) providers are using to locate stock are overdue for an upgrade. Why not apply the business-to-customer (B2C) look and feel – a standard set by Amazon that people have grown to love in their personal lives, to the business-to-business (B2B) environment?

Sourceability in Irvine, California, met that challenge with Sourcengine, a new electronics marketplace (not a data aggregator) where suppliers and customers can interact, cross-pollinate requirements, and truly transact.

Sourcengine enables professionals to procure their bill of materials (BOM) using a single purchase order (PO) on a cloud-based platform with parts traceability, three-year warranty, and visibility into global (not just US allocation) stock levels in one Source Grid. It’s designed to provide a single source for managing 1,300+ authorized distributors, making it possible to have a 10,000-line BOM quoted in 30 seconds.

Alex Sapp is the Director of Enterprise Sales, Americas, at Sourceability NA LLC in Irvine, California. Alex is a graduate of the Univ. North Carolina, an SAE G19 D committee member, IDEA-ICE-3000 Certified Inspector, Certified Six Sigma Greenbelt, Certified AS9100:2016 Internal Auditor, Freemason, active volunteer for the Boy Scouts of America, husband and father.

 
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