We recently wrote about the type of information we require when submitting an RFQ. The information you provide helps us to prepare a quote to you at the fastest time possible. Have you ever wondered what happens once you submit a PCBA RFQ/purchase order to a CEM?
Here is a behind the scenes look at Precision when we quote/source components for your project.
A PCBA RFQ snapshot
- Our first preference is to quote/order components from reliable (Tier 1) suppliers such as Digikey, Mouser and Element 14.
Tier 1 suppliers are known in the market for their quality, price, lead times and newer components (with recent date code). During the quoting stage if one of our preferred Tier 1 suppliers does not have stock, we quote from our Tier 2 suppliers. Tier 2 suppliers are usually more expensive; however, we select these suppliers as they have the parts in stock when quoting. This helps us avoid future risks to delivery time.
To understand how our Tier system works with suppliers, click here.
- We sometimes have customers who recommend suppliers to us to order from. In these cases, we can quickly perform an audit to see if they pass our quality checks. If they do not pass our quality check, then we will not be able to use the recommended supplier. We appreciate these recommendations; however, we request our customers to only recommend suppliers that they have previously had reliable experiences from.
For example: One of our customers recently recommended a supplier to us as they felt the price we quoted for a certain part was high. The supplier they recommended listed the component at a very cheap price. However, after some basic checks we found out they were a scam website.
- Some customers may wish to provide their own parts. We understand the delicate nature of some projects and the reasons customers wish to supply all or a percentage of the Bill of Materials (BOM). We have developed a checklist for our customers to use when providing parts. This will ensure that the quality is maintained, and we can assemble the boards with ease.
- After we email you our PCBA RFQ quote, sometimes customers advise us that they have googled a part number, found it in stock and at a cheaper price on the internet. Please be aware that this is rarely accurate as the true stock availability and price will only be displayed once you login to the supplier’s website. Please be assured that our purchasing team always checks all available component suppliers and we quote the best solution for your project.