Because I Have Always Been a Bargain Shopper!
Motion Express had been using the same vendor for 3 years in late 2017 without bidding out for pricing comparison. I initiated quotes from multiple vendors and was able to negotiate with our current vendor a price decrease of more than 50% on some items. The average savings across all machined parts was 30%.
Included in that negotiation was the creation of a stock inventory structure. It is basically a blanket PO that would remain open for one year after initial PO date. This allowed us the flexibility to increase our volume ordered, which reduced our price further, and provided the ability for faster turn around when a purchase order had been received from our customers.
By 2019, aluminum and steel prices became extremely volatile with the tarriffs being introduced. It had caused a dramatic 15-20% increase in pricing again. After working with various vendors during 2019 I have established working relationships with 2 new vendors that have kept our average price increase from our original savings to under 5%.