It has been 10 years since the launch of Quickparts.com! It has been a decade in which the world shifted under the feet of the dinosaurs of the industry that believed that….

• Customers did not need the convenience of the Internet
• Engineers would not upload their data to a website
• It’s impossible to quote a part without a human expert
• Instant quoting would never stick
• My customers need my help in designing their stuff
• The files are too big to transfer
• Websites are not secure
• This Internet thing is just a fad that will pass
• My customers love me
• My customers are loyal to me and would never leave me for a website
• You can’t take the human element out of manufacturing sales

It has been a decade since Quickparts.com began the journey of making it easy for our customers to buy custom designed parts that meet their needs. We started with the focus being on the customer and have worked every day since to make the experience of the customer unlike any experience they have had in manufacturing and more like the experiences they expect from the retail stores they visit.

By executing on this focus of the customer, we have been able to disprove all the naysayers. After 10 years, our competitors have realized that we were right and for them to continue to exist; they must look more like Quickparts and less like themselves.

Over the decade, we have learned many things. One of them is that the challenging technologies of online instant quoting were not the really hard parts. It was the development of the rest of the technologies and systems that would allow us to handle over 12,000 customers buying over 500,000 custom parts.

It has been a great 10 years for Quickparts.com. We have been able to demonstrate what we believe to be the purpose of business, which is to serve their customers; build leaders; enhance their communities; and provide a return to the stakeholders.

As a founder of this great company, I personally express a sincere Thank You! to all of our customers, team members (past and present) and stake holders for allowing us to enjoy the journey.

I had the honor of speaking during an Innovations Briefings session on the Power of Online Manufacturing. It’s a powerful concept that can transform the manufacturing industry in the US, however, it is also a concept that is much easier to ignore and refute. It’s kinda like the late 80’s when I would argue with folks about the future of computers in our lives and the naysayer would say “we don’t need no stinkin’ computer, it’s only good to play games”. Well, they may have been off base a bit during that time, and many US manufacturers are off base again.

As for the show….well, it was mostly a typical, dull manufacturing show. The energy that is injected into the show has to come from within because walking past the many booths filled with parts where a guy is sitting there reading a paper and looking bored out of his mind is addictive. Of course, at Quickparts we see this as an opportunity to share the gospel of rapid prototyping, injection molding, sheet metal, instant quoting, outstanding customer service, rubik’s cubes and t-shirts. So, our team is standing in the aisle and begging you to come and talk to them. Ask us questions, look at our parts, challenge the system and walk away with something new in your mind or your hands or both.

While I thought tradeshows would have died a few years ago, they are still around and don’t seem to be going anywhere soon. So, we need to figure a way to increase the value and shake up the industry.