MANUFACTURING TIDBITS
Affordable Price Optimization Technology Allows Small and Mid-Sized Manufacturers to Survive Price-cutting Mandates and Squeezed Margins by MIKE FRANZ The manufacturing industry drives innovation in America. It is the birthplace of products and processes that make the world a better place. ManufacturingPower uses lean manufacturing principles by eliminating waste around industrial supply spend with market comparison and analysis. Base in lean principles there is a on-demand implementation process driving an immediate ROI and elimination of waste. Unsurprisingly, there has been a shift in manufacturing business process in practically every American industrial setting. The lean thinking paradigm now includes purchasing and supply chain functions. Price optimization technology for large manufacturing operations costs from $120K - $1.5M per year. For multi-location, global, and publicly traded companies this is an expense easily cost-
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Manufacturing Outlook / January 2020
justified. A small 1% in margin preservation is worth thousands of times the expense of price optimization technology. That said, this price tag is too expensive for most of the 89% of small to mid-sized U.S. manufacturers with fewer than 50 employees). 2020 introduces a new affordable solution which provides access to pricing optimization with the ability to evaluate systematically. This new technology solution is priced at less than $5,000 per year. With access to unlimited “Part Number Matches� per year, even the smallest manufacturers realize significant savings, capture lost margin, and view costs versus peer market pricing. Insight to suppliers with the lowest costs, viewing potential savings, and tracking year-to-date savings, prove the efficacy of these new technologies.