This is an interesting discussion about purchasing vs engineering entering into price negotiations. My second tech editor job was with Electronic Buyers' News (EBN) in the very early 90s, where I learned first how important purchasing was to the (mostly electronic) component buying process and then later, in the mid 90s, how PMs were disappearing from the process and engineers were taking over purchasing functions. Looks like the pendulum has swung back to engineers for at least some of these duties.
As an engineer, I would prefer to go back to a simpler time, when price and availability were the responsibility of the Purchasing department. However, at many companies today, upper management expects (and sometimes demands) that everyone try to uncover cost reductions and that every department (including engineering) bring some type of cost reduction savings to the table. At first, this was an uncomfortable role, however, as time went on, I appreciated learning from our Purchasing group and developing this skill set.
@Greg: Price negotiations should be the responsibility of the purchasing department. I don't see anything praiseworthy in a purchasing department that delegates its role to already-overworked engineers.
Supporting the purchasing department by identifying cost-reduction opportunities is one thing, but it's a real shame when engineers have to get involved in commercial issues.
Thanks for the clarification, Ann - it is nice to see that while your comments were not derived from this study, the data you included: "Quality, performance, and reliability were the top three factors chosen by survey respondents" certainly indicates that it is reflective of the current trends you mentioned. Thanks for a great article!
Greg, good point about the price negotiations engineers must also perform, in addition to everything else. Seems to me that engineers are starting to look a lot like the Renaissance men and women of US manufacturing.
Nancy, thanks for your input about engineers' multiple roles in materials selection. To clarify, my comments about the return to quality in US manufacturing were not derived from this study, but from what we've been hearing and seeing from many different sources.
Good point, Greg. It makes sense, though, that the engineer be involved in price negotiations. That person would be most aware of the price flexibility at the supplier. Also, that engineer would know what flexibility her or she has when it comes to structuring an efficient relationship with the supplier. Offering an efficiency flow can help the supplier cut costs.
Very good article. In addition to all of the multiple functions mentioned, engineers also have obtain cost reductions from their suppliers and often have to perform price reduction negotiations. Not only do engineers have to be technically savvy, they also have to have a sharp business mind as well.
Most mechanical and structural engineers understand materials on the basis of our Strength of Materials and our metallurgy classes in college. They (we) look at tensile and compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, Rockwell hardness and a few other characteristics. Beyond that, we're out of our depth and most of us admit it.
We looked at a number of sources to determine this year's greenest cars, from KBB to automotive trade magazines to environmental organizations. These 14 cars emerged as being great at either stretching fuel or reducing carbon footprint.
Researchers at MIT and Sandia National Labs have observed a reaction in lithium-air batteries that could help improve the design of these cells for electric vehicles and other applications.
Healthcare might seem to be an unlikely target application for the Internet of Things technology, but recent developments show small ways that big-data is going to make an impact on patient care moving into the future.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 3
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
3 
