Comments on: 5 Buyer Decisions That Increase Costs

By: speakingofprecision

speakingofprecision — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 21:03:16 +0000

Sam, I did the exact same thing with a fuel nut for the gas line to an OEM carburetor. They should have known better, but the buyer asked for it with out the NDT (eddy current inspection for cracks) just to get his cost savings and bonus. I refused to produce without NDT. HAd their been a recall, you know it would have been “supplier’s fault.”

By: Sam Johnson

Sam Johnson — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 20:36:20 +0000

I could not agree with you more. However I am not convinced that it is entirely the buyer’s fault. In most organizations the buyer buys what the engineer designs to the specs engineering requests. It is true engineers do sometimes over spec a part because it is better to error on the side of safety. The responsibility in the equation is in the buyer’s selection of sources and/or sales people he uses. I am a sales representative and frankly I have seen it go both ways many times. In my opinion it is the sales representative and his companies’ responsibility to make suggestions to changes that can be made to reduce the cost for the customer. They are in the best position to know the cost and they can easily quote alternative prices. i.e. if the finish is as requested the price is X. If you can use Y finish deduct Z amount from the quoted price, etc. With that information in hand the buyer then has something concrete he and engineering can discuss. Many times engineers are not aware that the cost of X vs. Y increases the cost so substantially. It is a learning process for all involved.
A case in point the other way.
We quoted a Titanium casting that has an extremely high rotational speed. A note on the print specified that each casting be X-ray inspected. I was told we could ignore that note. I asked if they wanted them hipped and was told that was not necessary. I sent the drawing to the foundry with the X-ray information in my cover letter but asked that our engineering department quote what they felt was best for this particular part as we have been casting similar parts for many years. They quoted it hipped, X-rayed and with the other standard inspections that are normally run on this type of Ti cast part. We did not offer options because our experience dictates the operations necessary to guarantee a good casting for this particular part. I explained to the buyer why we quoted it with the hipping and X-ray. We took a good chance of not getting the job because we added operations that some other foundries will probably not add. Everybody wants to get the jobs they quote, especially in these times. But we must not forget that our first responsibility to the customer is to supply him with a good quality, usable part, at a reasonable price.

By: Vinny Egizi

Vinny Egizi — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 17:14:23 +0000

Buyers or Purchasing Agents should have enough information of the application to be able to go back to the engineers with recommendations on how cost and delivery can be improved if these parameters are changed. An engineer will always err on the side of overcautious. It is up to operations, to push back to what is really needed…CTQ. There is usually a safe and efficient compromise if people are willing to push back, work together, and buy what is really needed.

By: T Wolfe

T Wolfe — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 10:30:48 +0000

Buyers are usually not the driving force for tight tolerances, finishes, materials and other cost drivers. They are engineering specifications. Yes sometimes they can be changed to reduce costs but the use and safety are also factors that engineers must take into account. You are not going to pull to the side of the road when you are in an airplane. Bottom line is to use common sense which is somewhat lacking nowdays.