Sourcing platform for industry buyers.

A free, professional buying platform for manufacturing industry buyers who are looking to request and manage quotes from new and existing subcontract engineering suppliers.

DRAG, DROP, SOURCE!

100% free sourcing service for manufacturing buyers, design engineers and product developers to upload their drawings and post projects to receive multiple quotes directly from UK-based subcontract manufacturers.

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Upload your projects to receive quotes from UK engineering suppliers.

Post and upload unlimited projects.
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You can upload as many projects onto Qimtek as you like! If you have multiple/regular subcontract engineering requirements, upload them today to receive new prices and lead times from suppliers within our network

Run projects with non-disclosure agreements.

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Qimtek can post your project(s) to our Supplier Members with a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that will need to be signed before access is given to any of your drawings. You can either upload your own, or use Qimtek's standard non-disclosure agreement.

Suppliers will contact you with prices and lead times.

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Once your project is live, Qimtek suppliers will contact you by phone, email, or via the messaging system found on your buyer dashboard. You can even specify your preferred contact method within your project.

Use this service as many times as you like - it's free!

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Qimtek is supplier-funded, meaning that there is absolutely no cost to use our sourcing service. Our supplier members pay a flat monthly subscription fee to receive and quote for projects - we never charge manufacturing buyers for finding them new suppliers, nor do we take commission from either side on projects that have been awarded to our members.

BUYER'S DASHBOARD

Registration allows you to track your project, see in-depth profiles, send messages and read reviews of UK-based subcontract manufacturers and engineering suppliers.

Track and collate all of your outsourcing projects in one place.

View the status of projects and indicated deadlines.

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Log in and go to 'Posted Projects' to see all of your live projects, with indicators on quote and delivery deadlines.

Contact multiple suppliers through the messaging system.

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Keep in contact with multiple suppliers all in one place. Receive and answer messages from individual suppliers about specific project details - you can even send out a message to all interested suppliers at once! Our messaging system helps you to get the best possible manufacturing partner for your products and components.

Receive email alerts to help you keep to deadlines.

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We appreciate that you may not be able to have the dashboard open 24/7, which is why we can send you email alerts so that you don't miss any important updates. We can alert you whenever you receive a message, whenever your project is about to end, if a supplier has indicated that they have submitted a quotation, and much more.

Qimtek Buying Platform - Track your projects
Qimtek Buyer Platform - Interested Suppliers

See suppliers profiles before selecting your new manufacturing partners.

See the suppliers interested in quoting your projects.

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When a supplier receives your project, they will indicate their interest as follows: 'Interested' (looking at the drawings), 'Will quote', or 'Have quoted'. If they are interested in your project, you will be able to see their full supplier profile, helping you to make more informed buying decisions.

View in-depth subcontract supplier profiles.

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Helping you to choose the right supplier! While most of our suppliers can help with one-off projects they are usually looking for long-term customers. To show you their full capabilities, they can upload in-depth profiles for you to review with descriptions, videos, photos, approvals, capacity lists, news and more.

Save suppliers and build your supplier database.

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As a registered buyer, you will have access to the supplier database where you can build unique lists for future use. More about this further down the page.

We are always trying new ways to help you choose a new suppleir.

Leave reviews of Qimtek suppliers you work with.

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Leave reviews of suppliers you have awarded work to via the Qimtek system, based on communication, quality & delivery. We do not include price as this is subjective and our goal is to help both buyers and suppliers to form successful manufacturing partnerships.

Read reviews left by other manufacturing buyers.

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Buyer reviews help to give you peace of mind before committing. If you have received a quote from a Qimtek Supplier Member, then you might like to check out their profile to see if other buyers have left a review based on communication, quality and delivery.

Award, close or extend projects with one button.

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Suppliers appreciate feedback whether or not they win the work; however, we also understand that this can be time-consuming. Therefore, we have built a feature that allows you to respond to all of the suppliers who have shown an interest at once. You can award your project to a supplier member, indicate that it's been placed outside of the Qimtek membership, close the project, put it on hold pending a decision, or extend it should you require more quotes.

Set up unlimited users so that your whole team can use it!

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If there is more than one buyer within the business, or you work in a purchasing team and need additional access, then don't worry - we can provide unlimited users for one main company account. This means that you can all upload projects and work on them together.

Qimtek - Review Suppliers

SUPPLIER DATABASE

Build your own network of UK-based subcontract manufacturers - tag them so you can find the right suppliers with the correct approvals and post projects to them quickly.

Build supplier network

Use this feature to tag suppliers and build your preferred supplier list.

Organise suppliers into groups by tagging them.

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If you purchase components on a regular basis, or regularly require fast delivery times, this feature could be a real time-saver for you. Tag suppliers with your own descriptions such as 'Local Supplier', 'ISO Approved Machining' or 'Existing Supplier' for example, to help make it easier to locate suppliers you already trust - and fast. More below about this.

See companies who have already signed your NDA.

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Sending and collating NDAs can be quite time-consuming. That's why we have an in-built feature which allows you to see all suppliers who have signed an NDA within the past 12 months.

SUPPLIER SKILLSET

Although there are over 1,600 suppliers listed in our online directory, only 300 carefully-selected UK-based subcontract engineering suppliers are subscribed to receive your projects. These suppliers cover a wide range of services, from prototyping and individual component manufacturing, to full turnkey solutions. Our membership includes highly-regarded subcontract engineering companies such as:

Offering a wide range of manufacturing services:

Full Turnkey

Machining

Fabrication

Sheet Metal

Profiling 

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Holding a wide range of different approvals:

AS 9100

ISO 9001

ISO 14001

CE Marking 

Fit 4 Nuclear (F4N)

And More...

Working with a wide range of materials:

Mild Steel

Stainless Steel

Exotic Steels

Plastics

Wood

And More...

Specialising in design to full stage production:

Design & Development

One-off projects

Production Runs

KANBAN

Just in Time (JIT)

And More...

BUYERS THOUGHTS

If you're looking to source a new subcontract engineering supplier, Qimtek's testimonials prove that we can assist buyers from any industry, with almost any subcontract engineering requirement. 

We have recently registered with Qimtek within the last 2-3 months, and have found them to be very helpful and professional with our enquiries into finding suppliers for our manufactured items. The company representative and additional team continue finding the right supplier for our needs. They are also very approachable and helpful in finding numerous suppliers, which makes us as a company more efficient in serving our customers across the UK. We at Ductec are very happy with service Qimtek provide us and will continue to use them in the future. Thank you Qimtek for the great service in finding our manufacturing suppliers.

Installation Manager. Ductec Ltd

"What initially drew me to use Qimtek’s sourcing service was the vast array of potential suppliers that are available. I have since formed a close working relationship with one of the members I found and now provide them work directly. Give it a try. Qimtek saves you both time and money, so why wouldn’t you?"

Managing Director for Applied Automation Ltd

I have used Qimtek sourcing service several times, using a Non Disclosure Agreement and I must say, it works very effectively and does the job on sensitive projects. It saves us a lot of time as Qimtek collect the signed NDA's before releasing the drawings to potential suppliers to quote. I'm pleased with the responses coming back, and will be awarding my projects to Qimteks Supplier Members. I would highly recommend using Qimtek sourcing service with or without the nda, it's been successful everytime 

Design Engineer at Compak Ramps Ltd

Frequently Asked Questions

How does it work?

Qimtek's sourcing service is designed to take the headache out of finding new engineering suppliers, making it a really simple way of sourcing for your subcontract projects. Simply upload your drawings using our online Drag, Drop, Source! service, or email them to [email protected]. Our sourcing account managers will then review your drawings and ensure that we have all the information we need, before compiling your project and sending it to relevant suppliers. From there, suppliers will contact you directly with their quote. The relationship is always kept directly between the buyer and supplier - we simply put you in touch with subcontract suppliers who can assist, saving you the time and hassle of contacting multiple companies individually.

Why is the Drag, Drop, Source service free?

Qimtek is supplier-funded, meaning that there is absolutely no cost to use our sourcing service. Our supplier members pay a flat monthly subscription fee to receive and quote for projects - we never charge manufacturing buyers for finding them new suppliers, nor do we take commission from either side on projects that have been awarded to our members.

My projects are sensitive…

Not a problem! Qimtek is a closed network and our members are forbidden from sharing information with third parties by our terms & conditions. However, if you need a bit of extra security, we can attach a non-disclosure agreement to your project, which members will have to sign and return before gaining access to the drawings. We can accommodate your company's own non-disclosure agreement, or Qimtek has a standard NDA which can be used if you prefer.

My project requires specialist approvals, how can you help?

We ask our supplier members to keep us updated as to which approvals and accreditations they hold. Therefore, if you require specialist approvals for your project - ISO 9001 or TS 16949 for example - we will only send your project to suppliers who hold the specific accreditations you require. Some buyers prefer to work with approved suppliers although it is not essential for their project - in this case, we simply specify within the project that quotes from accredited suppliers will be looked upon favourably.

Are you an agent or a middleman?

Qimtek is neither an agent or a middleman - we are an introductory service. Unlike agencies, we don't take commission on the work our members win, and the relationship is always between yourself and the suppliers. We simply put you in touch with suppliers who can assist and the rest is up to you!

What if I do not want a specific company to see my project?

Not a problem - we will always ask you if there are any companies that you do not want your project to go to before publishing, such as current suppliers. If they are Qimtek members, they will be excluded from seeing the project at the point of publishing so as not to upset any existing relationships you have.

My project is urgent, how quickly can we expect to receive quotes?

Most of the projects published through our network receive quotes the same day - however, this can vary depending on the process, material and approvals you require. Non-disclosure agreements can also slow the response rate slightly. We always recommend giving suppliers at least a week to quote so that you can thoroughly benchmark the responses you receive. If you decide to move forward with a supplier within that time, then no problem - you can simply close the project through your online account.

How many times can I use your free service?

There is no limit on how many times you can use our free sourcing service; however, in the interest of offering our suppliers a quality membership, we ask that you refrain from using our sourcing service for costing exercises. We only accept legitimate projects that could result in real business opportunities for both our buyers and suppliers. If we feel that the service is being misused, we may make the decision to refuse projects from your company in future.

How does your Supplier Review system work?

We ask our buyers to rate supplier members they have worked with based on communication, quality and delivery to encourage transparency across our network. All reviews are moderated by Qimtek before they are published, ensuring that they are genuine and accurately reflect the experiences of the buyer in question. This helps you to make informed purchasing decisions before placing your business, minimising the risk of working with a new supplier. You can read more about our Supplier Review system by clicking here.

I need help establishing the type of supplier I need…

We understand that not every buyer has an engineering background, which is why all of our sourcing account managers can read technical drawings and decide on the best production process for your project.

Do you have overseas suppliers?

No - here at Qimtek, we champion British manufacturing, meaning that all of our suppliers are based within the UK.

I would like to bring my supply chain back from overseas…

We can help! We work with many buyers who are reshoring production to improve quality and lead times. Qimtek offers a large network of UK engineering suppliers who can assist with your subcontract projects, without the hassle of having to contact multiple companies individually.

Do you vet the suppliers in your network?

Before enrolling a new supplier member, we check that they are a legitimate engineering company with their own facilities and machines within the UK. However, we do not credit check suppliers, so we do advise you to carry out your own due diligence before placing your business. Our Supplier Review system also makes it easy to assess a supplier's past performance, removing some the risks associated with sourcing for your project organically.