Marketplace Launches For Custom Manufacturing Services

San Diego-based ShopMatch has launched a Web-based marketplace for contract manufacturing services. The site, www.ShopMatch.com, matches job shops with manufacturing companies or others looking to create custom parts. The site, which has been operating for about six weeks, currently has about a dozen suppliers and two dozen buyers. According to ShopMatch, the buyers submit an RFQ (request for quotation) using the ShopMatch system, indicating part and delivery information as well as the qualifications and attributes they need quoting suppliers to possess. ShopMatch then matches the RFQ to qualified suppliers. Buyers and suppliers then negotiate privately with each other. "ShopMatch was created to help buyers find the right suppliers for their parts and to help job shops and other suppliers of custom manufactured parts build relationships with original equipment manufacturers," explains Peter Armstrong, founder and general manager of ShopMatch. ShopMatch is free to buyers, while suppliers pay a fee.