Mitch Free
Founder / CEO

Quiz
In English, what do you call a person who speaks 2 languages?
Bi-Lingual
What do you call a person who speaks 3 languages?
Tri-Lingual
What do you call a person who only speaks 1 language?
American

MFG = Manufacturing

Hi, Mitch--
What you folks are doing is just about the most interesting and fascinating use of
the Internet in manufacturing that I've seen to date. It really leverages the full
power and immediacy of the Web.
Best,
-- PQ
Paul Quinn
Senior Writer/Features Editor
Supply Chain Systems Magazine

What does MFG.com do?
The global online
marketplace where
buyers and
suppliers meet
each other at the
right moment in
time, collaborate
and do business
together.
Much more powerful
than a directory.

Basic Concept
Buyer Suppliers
Request
Matched to the
For RIGHT Suppliers
Quote
Quotes Returned
Online in a Standard
Format
Private Quoting, Not an Auction

MFG.com Facts
•Largest Online Marketplace for the Manufacturing Industry
•Founded in 2000
•Offices in Atlanta, Paris, Geneva, Munich, Shanghai
•Operates in 9 Languages
•Facilitates~ $11 Billion USD in Transactions Per Year
•~200,000 Companies use MFG.com for Sourcing
•~10,000 Companies use MFG.com to Find Customers
• Privately Held (Mitch Free, Jeff Bezos, Fidelity Investments)

Important Marketplace
Manufacturing is the largest of all
economic sectors in the world!
Everything physical is manufactured. Just look around you and on you

A Stapler
Making a Stapler Involves:
• Die Making
• Mold Making
Plastic Injection Molded • Screw Machining
• Metal Stamping
• Plastic Molding
• Rubber Molding
• Spring Making
Custom Spring
• Assembly
Screw Machined
Metal Stamped / Die Formed
Molded Rubber Pad (on bottom)

Global Ecosystem

Value to Participants
When a buyer with a need connects with a supplier that has the
right capacity, expertise and credentials at the right moment in
time the buyer gets great pricing and supplier gets a profitable
order.
Online marketplaces allow people and companies to connect that
never could have found each other previously.

MFG.com Participant Fees
• Buyers – Free
• Suppliers Pay ($5,000 to $12,000 per year)
•No Commissions of Transaction Frees
•Ability to Discover and Quote RFQS
•Buyer Contact Info
•Inclusion in Supplier Discover Database
•Search Engine Optimized Profile

Economic Indicator ?
$ USD Value (millions) Sourced on MFG.com
(Last 12 Months)
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0

Top Categories
Textiles
Metal Casting
Machining
Metal Stamping
Plastic Molding

Trends
•Smaller and More Frequent Orders
•Distributed Manufacturing
•Multiple Sources
•Brand Ownership; No Factories
•Customization

Successful Marketplaces
•Many Buyers and Many Sellers (Highly Fragmented)
•Marketplace Owner is a Neutral Party with Domain Expertise
•Has Brokers / Agents that are Ripe for Disintermediation
•Flat Fee Revenue Model to Sellers
•Policed by the Online Community (Rating Systems)
•Facilitates Online Collaboration, Due Diligence, Quoting, Ordering
•Extensible – Integrates with Other Business Systems

Successful Participants
•Comfortable on the Internet
•High Speed Internet Connection
•Global View
•Understand of Their Unique Advantages
•Good Communication Skills
•Good Marketers

Suggestions for Colombia
• Invest in Internet Infrastructure
• Help Manufacturers Create and Exploit Unique Advantages
• Don’t Try and Compete with China – Differentiate
• Trade Agreements
• English as a Second Language
• Encourage Participation (Incentivize)
• Market the Successes

New World Economy
• Access to New Markets Like Never Before
• Markets are Shifting
• Wealth is Created by Making Things (Manufacturing)
• The Divide Between the Wealthy and Poor Will Grow Wider
• Time is of the Essence

To those who can’t
hear the
music, the dancers
appear insane.

Mitch Free
Founder / CEO
mitch@MFG.com

We are in this together…