Qimtek: Engineering Supplier FAQs

For many of the manufacturing buyers that use our services, Qimtek is the first port of call when they have a subcontract engineering requirement. The buyer will send us the technical drawings for their project, along with any relevant information required to quote, which we then pass onto Supplier Members with the capabilities that the buyer requires. In addition, we have a team of sourcing account managers who are constantly reaching out to new manufacturing purchasers, establishing relationships and ensuring that fresh companies use our sourcing service continually.

Each project typically receives 2 to 5 quotes from our members on average; however, this depends on the process and the buyer's location. We also have a few projects that go unquoted depending on the capacity of our Supplier Membership at the time.

A Supplier Membership is for a minimum of twelve months, after which time you can leave with thirty day's notice.

If you win a job through Qimtek, then that customer is yours to keep! Many of our buyers will put out smaller jobs to our members initially to test the water, before awarding larger contracts to them directly. This is the aim of our service - we want to match buyers and suppliers who go onto work together on a long-term basis.

Absolutely! Any customers you win through Qimtek are yours to keep, no matter whether you decide to carry on your membership after the initial twelve month term.

We guarantee to supply you with a steady stream of relevant engineering enquiries, complete with technical drawings and buyer contact details for you to quote directly. We cannot make any guarantees that you will win business, as we cannot control how you quote and how often you quote. However, we are always happy to offer advice on the best ways to approach each buyer to maximise your chances of winning a specific project.

We are a capped membership typically running a with of up to of between 275 and 300 members and no more. These members all specialise in different processes and are subscribed to different regions of the UK, therefore, you will not be competing against the entire membership when quoting for work.

No - we charge a flat monthly fee to receive our projects and no more. You will not have to pay any commission on work that you win.

The amount of projects that you can expect to see will vary depending on your in-house processes and membership coverage. The typical amount of projects you can expect to see per membership level is as follows:

Local membership: 20 projects per month on average.

Regional membership: 40 projects per month on average.

National membership: 60 projects per month on average.

If you would like a more specific estimate on how many projects you can expect to receive, please don't hesitate to get in touch. We can run historical project data searches based on your in-house capabilities and desired geographical coverage.

Absolutely! We encourage our members to call the buyer wherever possible before quoting, as this helps to establish a rapport. It also helps you to assess whether or not the company behind the enquiry is a good fit for your business.

The initial membership period of twelve months is simply due to the fact that new business takes time. It's very rare that a buyer will place their largest contract with you straight away - instead, they will more than likely place a series of smaller jobs with you initially, before awarding you their bigger projects once a relationship has been firmly established. Additionally, not every project you see through the Qimtek membership will be suitable for you, nor will you win every project you quote. Therefore, it's impossible to accurately judge the success of your Qimtek membership over anything less than a twelve month period.

After your initial twelve month term, your membership will automatically switch to a rolling 30-day contract that you can cancel at any time.

Yes! We actively encourage our Supplier Members to set up appointments with the buyers, as this can go a long way towards understanding one another's setup and establishing a good working relationship.

There is no limit as to how many users you can have, making it easy to ensure that all of your staff are in the know. From managers through to estimators, sales professionals through to managing directors, you can set up each applicable member of staff with their own login to access your Qimtek account.

Absolutely - at Qimtek, we offer full support to all of our Supplier Members throughout the lifetime of their membership. Each member benefits from two account managers - one to offer sales advice and help you manage your account, and another who is responsible for generating projects from your local region. They are there to offer you invaluable insight into the buyers you're quoting, and may be able to provide you with additional information to assist your sales efforts.

The price of membership ranges depending on the processes you offer and your desired geographical coverage. For more information, please visit the Supplier Membership page.

Over the course of fifteen years, Qimtek has helped hundreds of subcontract engineering companies to win new customers. Subsequently, we have a whole host of reviews from our satisfied Supplier Members. To hear what they have to say, please visit the Supplier Testimonials page.

Included within the price of your membership is a Preferred Supplier Profile, which benefits from a prominent ranking on our hugely popular Supplier Network. You can add a wealth of information to your Preferred Supplier Profile, including photos and videos, to give visiting buyers a comprehensive overview of your company and what you offer. Each Supplier Member is responsible for building their own Preferred Supplier Profile, although we can offer support and advice where needed.

Once you sign up as a Supplier Member, you can start quoting projects straight away. We will even backdate any live enquiries that match your capabilities to your account, so that you can speak to buyers within the same day of joining the membership.

When joining the membership, we ask for the first month's fees as an upfront payment, which is payable by either credit/debit card or BACS transfer. Thereafter, your monthly membership fee will be taken by Direct Debit. If you would prefer to pay for your membership as a one-off, annual fee then no problem - simply contact us to discuss.

To ensure an even playing field for our Supplier Members, we only work with subcontract engineering suppliers who are situated within the UK at this time.

If you would like to cancel your membership, simply email us at [email protected] - our membership team will then be in touch to let you know the earliest possible date that you can cancel your membership, depending on your remaining membership term.