Global Fastener News

Distributor Russ Doran of Timberline Fasteners noted, “You can’t just take 5% out of costs year after year. Eventually it doesn’t work.”
That creates a need for “partnership with engineering,” Doran suggested in a NFDA panel on “Manufacturers are from Mars, Distributors are from Venus.”
“Pull us in,” Monti suggested. “Get the entire supply chain involved.”
“We can only work with the information we are provided,” Monti added.
More information than just price and delivery date are needed and that may be all the purchasing department knows, Monti noted.  It is helpful to the purchasing department and the manufacturer to know if you have an August-to-August contract.
For example, there are sizable swings in the price of nickel and copper, Monti pointed out.  If the manufacturer knows there is an annual contract it can make a difference in raw material purchases as well as in the production schedule.
“None of us want to strip down margins,” panel moderator Eric Dudas said.
“Our approach is working both sides,” Joe Peplinski of Würth Industry Group explained.
“Too many” involved in ordering fasteners “are afraid to ask questions,” Peplinski finds.
“What fastening solutions are better?” for factors such as cost and weight, Peplinski gave as a sample question, which could lower costs. Answers require “above average fastener knowledge.”
You need information from OEM customers and fastener manufacturers to make purchasing decisions.
Distributors need to provide education to those buying fasteners, Tammy Work, distribution manager for A. Raymond Tinnerman urged. “We do training.”
“We’ll do what we can, but we don’t know your challenges unless you communicate,” Work summarized. ©2013/2014 Fastener Industry News.
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