Semtech is an engineering firm that creates high fidelity, fully functional product prototypes for manufacturing firms engaged in the consumer electronics and IT products space. The company receives detailed design specifications and schematics from its clients and uses them to produce high quality prototypes of the desired products. The prototypes are used for testing and consumer feedback purposes and need to be fully functional and aesthetically polished.
The company sources all the materials required to build prototypes as per the specifications provided by its clients.
To create high quality prototypes, Semtech needs to ensure that the correct materials are being sourced, and that the material specifications meet the exact requirements of the client. As the materials that go into the prototype will also be used in the large scale manufacture of the products, Semtech also needs to ensure that the materials being sourced are being procured from sustainable and reliable sources that comply with the client company’s procurement policies. This requires close collaboration with clients in evaluating the suppliers and evaluating their offers.
Semtech required a platform through which it could engage its clients in the procurement process, granting clients the ability to collaborate in supplier and bid evaluation, and provide their input.
Proqura enables Semtech to add on additional users who can view sections of the procurement process and provide their input and suggestions where needed. Typically this is for end users or technical users within a company’s own organization, who need to evaluate the specifications and quality of supplier offers beyond the commercial terms.
However, Semtech was able to invite its regular clients to participate in the bid evaluation process. Semtech’s clients were able to log in to Proqura and provide the comments on the comparison sheets and give input when appraising suppliers and assessing longer term viability.
The induction of Semtech’s clients on to the platform dramatically reduced the back and forth email correspondence typically required on a project, while also giving clients direct visibility on how the procurement was being conducted and any challenges being faced. This helped reduce procurement timelines and improved overall delivery timelines as decision-making speed increased.
