At last year’s Fastener Fair USA in Detroit, Team Zonbix, a Taiwan-based fastener manufacturer, asked visitors to its booth what they looked for in establishing a fastener supplier. Here’s what they said:
1. Integrity is the #1 Thing
Just as other relationships – a healthy, long-lasting business relationship can only be built upon mutual trust and loyalty. Zonbix believes every member of any supply chain should always protect each other’s interest. Last year a loyal German customer who has worked with us for over 25 years gave us 10/10 rating in the 2018 year-end survey, noting, “Our familiar relationship and trustworthy cooperation” makes it simply unforgettable.
2. Quality and Service Matters More Than Price
Price has been the main reason to procure from Asia in the past decades. However, a shift of mindset is happening, Zonbix says.
“Let me share this with you and you’ll see why,” said one visitor. “I haven’t received the goods for an order I placed last year.” This U.S.-based customer complained to about his experience dealing with a supplier in a country where businesses proudly brag about their “low-cost goods.”
Things like this are unheard of in Taiwan, Zonbix says, even 30 years ago, in the early days of our fastener industry. Arguably, our emphases on quality and services may stem from the Japanese spirit we inherited from the colonial times before World War II.
Zonbix has also been a pioneer in terms of obtaining relevant quality certifications.
“We were one of the earliest ISO 9001:2008 certified companies in Taiwan; and we recently passed the ISO 9001:2015 version. A recent review on our supply network showed ~40% of our manufacturing partners are IATF 16949 certified,” the company says. “It is also rare to see competitors investing heavily like Zonbix does, in QC infrastructure”
Zonbix has adopted the latest QC international standards and gauges, Keyence imaging systems, etc. continuously expanding storage space for a better inventory management, and has designed its own internal ERP system for better operations.
3. Stable Bilateral Trade Agreements
With the rising tension between the U.S. and China, uncertainties from the political environment have become a key consideration. The Boston Consulting Group highlighted the importance of this factor and how it may affect the businesses in its recent article “Winning the ’20s”.
Zonbix notes Taiwan has been an ally of the U.S. for decades, while the United States has maintained a small trade deficit with Taiwan. Most visitors at the Fastener Fair USA in Detroit were already familiar with Taiwan and its fastener industry. Including Taiwan as part of their procurement strategy due to the volatile business environment helps de-risk and diversify sourcing.
About Zonbix
Zonbix Enterprise Co., Ltd. [https://www.zonbix.com.tw/About.aspx] will be exhibiting in Booth 865 at Fastener Fair USA, May 18-20 at the Charlotte Convention Center. It will be showing its one-stop solution for procuring high-precision forged parts. Located in Kaohsiung, the regional hub for fasteners in Asia, it works closely with over 100 manufacturing partners in its network to supply a wide range of products – self-drilling screws, hammer bolts, dbl-end stud bolts, screw plugs, wheel nuts and bolts, and threaded insert components. In the past 30 years, our speed and quality of work have been highly recognized by over 150 clients, all over the world from Europe, America, to Asia -- including top players like Brighton Best International and Fabory/Grainger.