Time to bank on the broker?
01 September 2009
The ‘route to market’ for a PCB can take many different forms. One of these is through a broker and Tim Fryer talked to one such company, ALR, about the advantages of using a brokerage service.
“The job of PCB buyer doesn’t exist anymore,” explained ALR’s MD Jim Rosetter. “PCBs are sometimes bought by production managers, designers, purchasing departments and others – and they are all under so much pressure. We have to sell our expertise and become an extension of a company’s purchasing department, dedicated to purchasing PCBs.”
“What we offer our customers is what we call our ‘Black Box’,” continued Rosetter. “If that Black Box could regularly review PCB manufacturers, know where to go for a particular technology, be aware of lead times and know current pricing, and could use that Box to place an order with the most suitable manufacturer and would monitor that order through delivery and also alert the customer to any problems. On top of this, that Black Box doesn’t cost a penny. We are that ‘Black Box’.”
Rosetter believes that the impression that PCB buying is now all about price is not true; quality and service remain big issues if trust is to exist between ALT and its customers. The company not only has ISO9001 but also has a programme to monitor its suppliers to ensure that it can deliver good service. This five-point programme takes account of: how suppliers respond to quote requests; on-time deliveries; non-conformances (i.e. product quality); response to technical requests; and ease to work with. Obviously some of these criteria are subjective, but it is part of ALR’s company culture to make these judgements whenever dealing with a supplier so that a picture of each supplier can be built up and the best portfolio of options is therefore available to its clients. There are currently six main suppliers of PCBs to ALR, split between British and Chinese board manufacturers and each offering their own advantages. Rosetter commented: “Things have changed in China – you can get small volumes back to the customer in under 10 days. They are getting scarily good.”
“Many of the blue chip manufacturers see the advantage of using a broker,” Rosetter concluded. “We sift through the ‘we can do that’ sales response that some people give and we can guarantee the basics – quality and delivery. At this moment you wouldn’t think there was a credit crunch at all. Everyone is under pressure to save money at the moment and that is how we can help them. Only yesterday [written in May] we received two major orders from customers. There is lots of business out there.”
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