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WTF does Supplyframe actually do? Various bits from their website [1]: > Only Supplyframe’s Design-To-Source Intelligence (DSI) solutions deliver actionable i

by ohazi 5y ago

WTF does Supplyframe actually do? Various bits from their website [1]: > Only Supplyframe’s Design-To-Source Intelligence (DSI) solutions deliver actionable insights that drive better decisions across new product development initiatives, full product lifecycles, and strategic sourcing of direct materials. > DSI Network: Unmatched electronics industry parts & design cycle data > DSI Platform: Industrial-scale intelligence platform > DSI Solutions: Transformational, AI-based solutions Notably, they own findchips.com and componentsearchengine.com. Is it really just "we have a bunch of websites and collect and present all sorts of information about chips"? Who pays for that? How on earth does that translate into $70 million in revenue? [1] https://supplyframe.com/why-supplyframe/ https://supplyframe.com/why-supplyframe/

dandelany 5y ago
Just guessing, but something like: 1. Network - just as you describe. Freemium/ad revenue. Low $/High volume 2. Platform - sell data derived from Network to manufacturers, eg. “Part X is increasingly popular and likely to go out of stock” or “part Y is a popular alternative to X”. Medium $/medium volume 3. Send them your BOM and pay consultancy rates and they’ll use 1 & 2 to make direct recommendations like “you’ll save 4 cents by replacing X with Y and reduce risk by sourcing Y from supplier Z”. High $/high touch/lower volume but they’re probably killing it right now in this arena during the chip shortage.
jbay808 5y ago
I tried signing up for FindChips Pro, but their sign-up page now just redirects me to Supplyframe's confusing landing page with no indication of where to go from there to get FindChips Pro. I contacted their sales agents and got no reply. Too bad because FindChips is an excellent product and I was prepared to give them my money. Probably not a good example of how to implement a freemium upsell pathway.
HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago
> Who pays for that? A lot of people. Supply chain issues are a real problem, especially right now. If you're a company that suddenly has orders for a very expensive product you designed 20 years ago and a handful of parts are holding up production, you'll spend a heckuva lot of money sourcing components to build inventory so you can ship orders. No, this is not a hypothetical :-(

by ohazi 5y ago

dandelany 5y ago

Just guessing, but something like: 1. Network - just as you describe. Freemium/ad revenue. Low $/High volume 2. Platform - sell data derived from Network to manufacturers, eg. “Part X is increasingly popular and likely to go out of stock” or “part Y is a popular alternative to X”. Medium $/medium volume 3. Send them your BOM and pay consultancy rates and they’ll use 1 & 2 to make direct recommendations like “you’ll save 4 cents by replacing X with Y and reduce risk by sourcing Y from supplier Z”. High $/high touch/lower volume but they’re probably killing it right now in this arena during the chip shortage.

jbay808 5y ago

I tried signing up for FindChips Pro, but their sign-up page now just redirects me to Supplyframe's confusing landing page with no indication of where to go from there to get FindChips Pro. I contacted their sales agents and got no reply. Too bad because FindChips is an excellent product and I was prepared to give them my money. Probably not a good example of how to implement a freemium upsell pathway.

HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago

> Who pays for that? A lot of people. Supply chain issues are a real problem, especially right now. If you're a company that suddenly has orders for a very expensive product you designed 20 years ago and a handful of parts are holding up production, you'll spend a heckuva lot of money sourcing components to build inventory so you can ship orders. No, this is not a hypothetical :-(