Manufacturing consortium forms purchasing co-operative
By Canadian Metalworking Staff
General Excellence in Manufacturing ConsortiumThe Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium (EMC), a 900-plus organization of manufacturers across the country (with a majority membership in Eastern Canada) is launching a purchasing co-operative to help members cut materials purchasing costs and gain a competitive edge against inexpensive offshore competitors in the Canadian marketplace.
“It’s about using the spirit of a co-operative in a formal entity that will help our members save money. We plan to look at steel first because there is so much of this material involved in the products our members manufacture,” says Al Diggins, president and general manager of EMC, based in Owen Sound, Ontario.
The purchasing co-operative will be a separate entity from the larger general co-operative that is EMC; members will have to select to join the new co-operative. Once they join, they will have a vote in selecting the preferred vendors for various materials.
“Members who join will enjoy the benefits of better pricing that typically come in volume rebates they get back in proportion to their participation in purchasing. It’s a neat concept and it helps the industry as a whole because companies gain a competitive edge against inexpensive imports.”
Diggins add that the new co-operative will be structured in way that any vendors selling to the co-operative members will have their receivables guaranteed through the co-operative, “which will help drive better pricing.”
EMC was unofficially formed 23 years ago in Owen Sound and was formalized as a not-for-profit organization in 1997. The organization has 53 local consortia across Eastern Canada and the Maritime provinces.
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