By Nikita Saharia Chaturvedi
In one of our more recent podcast interviews, we talk with Jon Baklund, President of Baklund R&D, a small innovative tool and die shop in Hutchinson, Minnesota. In the interview, Baklund tells us what it’s like working in a family business and his experience growing up with procurement as customer.
As he explains, Baklund R&D is a progressive tool and die shop. That means the company builds progressive dies for a variety of industries. Baklund has nearly 30 years experience, receiving his early training from his Dad, who made tools and dies for 50 years. His Dad now works for him. “I learned everything I need to know from him,” Baklund tells My Purchasing Center. In his role, Baklund works with procurement and has seen some changes over the years.
One of the more important is that lead times have gotten shorter. Leads that were 12 weeks when he first started out have shrunk dramatically. He even sees some leadtimes down to two weeks even for big projects. “Time to market is quicker these days,” he says. “This raises concerns from procurement about quality.” Baklund has also observed some changes in procurement’s role in the organization.
He says that procurement “used to be very connected with multiple parts of the company. Now, they operate more stand alone, apart from manufacturing and engineering.” Yet Baklund is working with engineers in procurement. “We work closely with them to understand our role so they will learn about our capabilities and accurately call on us when they need us,” he says. “If they want training, we bring them into our facility so they can see what we do. This will help build trust that we will get the job done correctly for them.”
What changes have you witnessed in the procurement/supplier relationship? Let us know! Listen to the My Purchasing Center podcast, A Supplier’s View of Procurement: Quicker Leadtimes – See more at: http://www.mypurchasingcenter.com/purchasing/blogs/what-do-suppliers-think-procurement-we-go-source/#sthash.mdWWGang.dpuf
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