FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who is LCRsource? We are a network of senior sourcing professionals - engineers, managers, buyers, contract administrators - who have many years of experience sourcing industrial and product components, complete machines, machine subassemblies, dies, molds, and stampings. If we don't have experience with your type of project, we'll tell you. Most of us came from large companies, and understand the requirements of this kind of environment. Basically, you'll be getting the benefit of senior global sourcing experience without hiring a new employee.

Who pays you? It varies. For many types of items, we represent carefully-selected companies, and are paid by them as you order. In other cases, we can act as a consultant to you, and are paid by you based on a how you prefer to structure the deal.

Why should I source from international companies? Usually, the opening reason is cost. Today's brutally competitive economy demands the lowest costs. Period. What surprises most customers is that the quality of international suppliers can be superb...better than they receive from their existing supply base. So while the early driver is "cost", the later-on drivers tend to include "quality" and "responsiveness".

How much can I save ? Savings vary widely, ranging from nothing to 60% or more, INCLUDING the effect of duty and freight. Much depends on your product.

What about freight and duty? The method of shipment is, as with purchases from any supplier, up to the customer. Fedex, UPS, DHL, etc. will calculate the duty and include it in your bill. The duty rate is calculated based on what the part is and its intended use. Generally speaking, duty ranges from zero to 5%; the rate for most machined tooling parts is about 4%. The freight rate depends on the class of service (e.g., overnite, 3 day, etc.). Larger shipments involve air or ocean, and we can facilitate the logistics aspects of this.

How long does it take to get parts ? Delivery times are a function of two elements: manufacturing time and shipping time. Our suppliers are like any other suppliers: they have "usual quoted lead times" in which they do the work, which can range from a few days to 5 weeks (based on the objectives of that company and they way they schedule jobs). As with all suppliers, they can be accommodating and flexible if needed. The trick is to find a supplier who regularly does the work type in the timeframe you need. SHIPPING involves 2 days (using an overnight service), plus time in customs. We suggest that to be safe, you allow 1 week for the total transit and custom clearance time.

How do I deal with international companies? Most customers establish a direct dialog with the companies we connect them with. This eliminates delays of going though a middleman (us). However - we are always here to be a voice - for either party- as needed. The mechanics of working with international vendors are the same as you now use: e-mail, fax, Fedex, FTP. International companies we work with meet ISO standards, employ the same software you likely use, and communicate fluently with customers.

What about the security of my designs? Various parts of the world have different intensity of respect for intellectual property. There are tradeoffs in everything. We help you source parts and products in countries whose legal systems and track records meet your objectives. We also suggest that customers consider what is being placed at risk by leaving North America; for example, a complete product assembly is something that could involve risk if it were to be sent to some locations, whereas funky-shaped piece-part components that go deep into some machine don't involve risk, since what could an unethical supplier do with the design even if they wanted to?

What about materials and other technical details? As general statement, any material is available anywhere in the world. If a specific material is not readily available in the quantity you need, we will ALWAYS ask if substitution is permitted. If not, our supplies will import the material from where it's available. These are the cases where savings potential is reduced. In any event, we'll work with you and the supplier to assure that everyone's expectations are met. As far as other technical details, we'll align suppliers and customers who have like expectations. For example, if your designs utilize GD&T, we won't try and source your part to a supplier who does not regularly employ this methodology.