How do buyers and sellers of forged products qualify as Site Members?

Buyers and sellers of forged steel seeking to participate in the Site, and its auction process, must complete a short registration form that allows ForgeFinder, Inc. to ascertain the integrity of the potential Site Member. If you wish to register for membership as a buyer of forged products, click here to be taken to the Buyer Registration page. If you wish to register for membership as a seller of forged products, click here to be taken to the Seller Registration page. Brokers, independent sales representatives and all other not directly employed by a forge shop or an end user of forged products are not permitted to participate in the Site’s activities.

Is ForgeFinder, Inc. affiliated with any particular forge shop or forging buyer?

No. ForgeFinder, Inc. is not affiliated, nor owned in whole or in part, with or by, any firm or individual in the forging industry. We have made a conscious effort to develop and maintain a neutral marketplace for the buying and selling of forged products.

Why is a neutral marketplace important to all Site participants?

Neutrality is essential to engendering confidence in the Site by all of the participants. Site Members will feel comfortable knowing that their confidential information is not being shared with their competitors, either directly or indirectly. Our goal is to create an environment that promotes trust and greater business opportunities for all of the Site’s participants.

How will ForgeFinder, Inc. impact my existing industry relationships?

Whether you are a buyer or seller in the forging marketplace, you will admit that there are certain companies that you prefer to do business with for a host of reasons. If you are a buyer, you may like certain forge shops because they provide you with preferred pricing, prompt deliveries, consistent quality, unparalleled integrity, emergency service or something less tangible. If you are a seller, you may prefer certain customers because they have requirements that fit perfectly into your production capabilities, seldom cancel or modify existing orders, or always pay in a timely manner. Our Private Auction Center feature supports your choice to limit who you do business with on a day to day basis. Specifically, our Private Auction Center feature allows buyers to create a segregated room on the site where they can post some or all of their requests for quotation. Thereafter, only those sellers who have been previously identified by that buyer as preferred vendors will be given access to that particular Private Auction Center. With this feature, Site Members have the ability to continue existing relationships on the ForgeFinder, Inc. site, while leveraging the advantages of the Internet to make their procurement process more streamlined and efficient.

How much does it cost to use ForgeFinder, Inc.?

It is free for both buyers and sellers of forged products to register for ForgeFinder, Inc.. It is also free for buyers to post RFQs and receive responses from forge shops. In May of 2001, ForgeFinder, Inc. amended its buyer agreement to eliminate the $100 quoting only fee that was charged to buyers which posted an RFQ on ForgeFinder, Inc. but, for whatever reason, chose not to conclude a transaction. It is also free for forge shops to submit responses to any RFQs that they see on the Site. Thereafter, only the forge shops that successfully obtain business through ForgeFinder, Inc. are obligated to pay the Site a commission on such orders. This commission is limited to no more than 3% of any order that the forge shop receives from a buyer on the Site, and the commission is not due until after the forgings are produced and delivered to the buyer. If you would like to access, download or print a copy of the ForgeFinder, Inc. Buyer Agreement, click here.

On the other hand, sellers of forged products are obligated to pay the Site a 3% commission on all orders taken as a result of a bid posted on the Site. The commission is not due to the Site until 30 days after the scheduled delivery date that has been established in the buyers RFQ. If you would like to access, download or print a copy of the ForgeFinder, Inc. Seller Agreement, click here.

ForgeFinder, Inc. delivers the promise of e-commerce to the computer on your shop floor. It uses today’s most advanced Internet technology to provide forging industry professionals with a faster, cheaper, and more efficient way to buy and sell forgings.

How will ForgeFinder, Inc. impact my sales force/procurement staff?

Our goal is to provide both sales managers and purchasing managers with an additional tool to maximize the productivity of the respective work forces. By accumulating and organizing sales and purchasing information on the Site, ForgeFinder, Inc. will allow you to focus your efforts on your existing customer/supplier base while encouraging you to reach out to the worldwide forging industry. If you are a forge shop, ForgeFinder, Inc. will support your ongoing initiatives to increase customer satisfaction. It will also free your sales force to pursue real sales opportunities as opposed to dead ends that are common when reaching out for new customers. From a forging buyer’s perspective, our Site will allow your purchasing professionals to determine if they are currently receiving the best prices and deliveries from their existing supplier base. It will also give them access to many qualified forge shops that they may never have known existed or that they knew about, but lacked the ability to interact with on a real time basis.

Which forged products can I buy or sell on the ForgeFinder, Inc. Site?

ForgeFinder, Inc. is your global marketplace for all forged metal products. If you need to buy or sell open die forgings, closed or impression die forgings, seamless rolled rings or drop forgings, ForgeFinder, Inc. is the Site for you. There are no limits to the types of metals that can be bought and sold on the Site.

Are the Site’s activities open to Non-US buyers and sellers?

Buyers and Sellers of forged metal from around the world are invited to participate in the ForgeFinder, Inc. auction process. Recognizing that better communications and shipping have allowed the world’s forging community to operate across national boundaries, ForgeFinder, Inc. has already established a European office to facilitate membership in the Site by non-US forging buyers and sellers.

We also recognize that many military RFQs will require that the supplier be domestic. To accommodate this requirement, the Site has created a function that will limit the viewability, and therefore RFQ responses, to domestic suppliers only.

Is there a limit to the number of individuals from my company that can become Site Members?

No. The Site has been structured in such a way as to permit an almost limitless number of individuals from a single company to register with the Site. Upon registering with the Site, buyers and sellers will have the ability to affiliate themselves with a specific forge shop or forge buying enterprise. We do ask, however, that one person at your company be designated to monitor Site membership so that multiple in-house salesmen from a single forge shop are not bidding against each other on the same RFQ or that one specific RFQ is not posted on the Site by multiple individuals from the same buying entity. Also know that individuals from the same buying or selling enterprise cannot edit, amend, delete or cancel the activities of others from the same company.

As a forge shop seeking to obtain business through the Site, can I amend my bid?

Yes, you can always amend your bid on the Site. You can even submit multiple bids in response to a single RFQ. For example, if a customer asks for bids on a particular forging, but requires a three (3) week delivery on the item, you might wish to submit two (or more) responses. The first response would be that you can perform the work in three (3) weeks, but at a premium price. Alternatively, your second response could be that if given five (5) weeks to do the work, you can do it for your normal price. And finally, you could also respond that if given eight (8) weeks to complete the work, you can complete the forging for a discount.

If, during the auction process, another forge shop offers the buyer a better price or delivery schedule, you are always free to amend all or part of your bid.

As a forging buyer, how do I list an RFQ for bidding on the Site?

After registering with the Site, simply go to your personalized buyer home page and “click” on the icon for posting a new RFQ. When you arrive at our RFQ submission form, the ForgeFinder, Inc. system will allow you to complete the RFQ submission in an orderly and complete manner. You will then be able to monitor all of your outstanding RFQs from your personalized buyer home page.

As a forging buyer, I want to submit a print or drawings to the Site for inclusion in my RFQ, but I do not have them in an electronic version. How do I solve this problem?

If you want to include a print or drawing with your RFQ but lack the information in an electronic format, send your prints or drawings to us by overnight mail and we will happily load them onto the Site for you.

How long will the auction process last for any single RFQ?

Forging buyers determine the length of time that an RFQ will remain open. It may last as little as a few hours or take as long as a few months. The Site has been designed to replicate the current purchasing practices in the forging industry. This means that when a buyer posts an RFQ, they will be asked to establish an exact time for the conclusion of the auction.

Is a forging buyer required to purchase a forging from the low bidding forge shop or the forge shop that offers the best delivery terms?

No. A forging buyer is free to purchase from any of the forge shops that submit responses to their RFQs. Again, ForgeFinder, Inc. recognizes, and has been built to accommodate, current industry purchasing practices wherein there is much more going into the procurement process than price and delivery terms. Specifically, we acknowledge that quality, production capabilities, established buyer-seller relationships, and proven delivery capabilities mean as much to a buyer as price and delivery.