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Laura Lathan,
February
19, 2008
What do inventor Darby Crow and the rock band U2 have in common? They
source parts on MFG.com, an online parts marketplace for manufacturers.
Technically, the designers and engineers of the tour stage, not the U2
band members, use the site. Still MFG.com is well on its way to starting
the next Six Degrees game, bringing together those with specific needs
and those who can fulfill them.
A Cocktail Napkin Idea
When
asked for the story of the portal's genesis, Mitch Free, CEO and
Founder, mentions Lending Tree in his answer. Though saying the online
marketplace for mortgages is the sole inspiration is simplifying the
story behind his manufacturing marketplace. Free’s professional life
began as an automotive machinist. In the late 1980s he joined Northwest
Airlines setting up quick manufacturing practices, aircraft acquisition,
and fleet management. A decade later a recruiter contacted him, hoping
to pique his interest with a CAD/CAM dealership opportunity. It worked.
Free became a reseller and inherited 2,000 customers, split 70%
design/engineering and 30% CAD, spread from Georgia to Texas. He quickly
learned they were looking for more than software updates. “I would visit
the design engineers who had a cache of plans but were having a hard
time finding people to make them,” Free explains. “Meanwhile, some of my
manufacturing customers were having a hard time filling up their
schedules.” These people needed a community and Free saw this as an
opportunity to add value for his customers by getting them in touch with
each other.
By 2004, MFG.com was profitable and Free sold the reseller business.
In 2005 they went global and now employ 200 in Atlanta, Geneva, and
Shanghai.
The Secret Weapon
MFG.com prides itself on being the portal to reliable sources for
quality parts, competitively priced and delivered on short deadlines.
And it seems to be exactly that for a reported 100,000 users, ranging
from inventors looking for a limited production run to multinational
corporations sourcing manufacturing services.
Free claims MFG.com is an software-agnostic portal. The company
publishes its service oriented architecture (SOA) so users can build an
interface with anything, including PLM, EDM, and PDM systems. The site
also features an internal PLM-lite system, which includes syncing and
revision history.
Suppliers pay yearly fees varying from $4,000 to $10,000, but there
are no commissions and no transaction fees.
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