ChemVM Blog

Chemical Suppliers Get Started Here

January 4, 2021   |   8 min read time    Rebecca Geier Rebecca Geier

Chemical processing services run the gamut from simple toll blending or repackaging of non-hazardous materials to complicated multi-step organic synthesis and separations with precise temperature and pressure control, subject to demanding quality and regulatory requirements. This is one of the many remarkable aspects of the chemical industry - the vast breadth and depth of expertise across services, chemistries, applications, equipment and the like. However, this wide variety of service offerings and expertise also poses a great challenge for both service providers and chemical buyers. For chemical buyers, it can be very difficult and time-consuming to find a service provider that has just the equipment and experience to meet their specific chemical project requirements. Likewise, suppliers have the challenge of getting found by the customers in their sweet spot.  

 

If you are a chemical supply chain or procurement leader and want to learn more about how to find a service provider for your next project, read more here. If you are chemical toll blender, custom chemical manufacturer, contract formulator or packager, or offer contract warehousing, bulk storage and fulfillment, read on to learn how to get started on the ChemVM platform. After reading this, you'll be ready to start getting found by the exact customers you built your business for. 

 

Your First Step: Get Profiled

The first step chemical suppliers need to take to get started on the ChemVM platform is to set up your online profile. This is free - there is no cost to set up your company's profile. To do this, use this link to schedule a  phone interview with our technical team. During this call, they will review our extensive capabilities questionnaire with you to capture your company's capabilities. Depending on the complexity of your service offerings, this can take anywhere from 30 - 90 minutes, and may require one or more experts from your company to attend to answer accurately and comprehensively (we can always schedule a 2nd call as needed to cover our bases with all the right people inside your company). 

For instance, if you offer chemical blending as a service, during the interview, we'll do a deep dive to accurately capture your exact blending capabilities, such as:

Types of blending

Dry or Liquid

Maximum viscosity capability (CPS)
Mixer types

Tank 

Impeller (speed - RPM, power - HP)

Turbulent flow impeller

Gas dispersing impeller

Gas and immiscible liquid dispersion impeller

Hydrofoil impeller

Double helical ribbon impeller

Anchor impeller

Screw (auger) impeller

Circulation pump

Paddle

Ribbon/horizontal mixer

Double-cone tumble mixer

V-type tumble mixer (V-blender)

Horizontal rotating mixer

Dual shaft high viscosity agitator

Liquifier

Paddle blender

Zig-zag blender (continuous)

Tri-blender (continuous power-liquid mixing)

Thermal screw

Triple shaft mixer

Cowles Blades

Ragless agitator

Laminar flow (static mixer)

Spray bar for liquid addition
Blending vessels

Stainless 

MS

SS304

SS316

SS316L

Jacketed

Carbon steel

Fiberglass

Glass-lined

Rubber-lined

Polyethylene

Polyurethane

Hastelloy

Heating (max temp, deg F)

Steam

Hot oil/transfer fluid

Jet cooker

Water

Cooling (min temp, deg F)
Pressure (max, psig)
Minimum liquid batch size
Maximum liquid batch size

 

We ask this same level of detail on a myriad of other services such as reactions, milling, packaging and warehousing. We also go into great detail to understand your analytical lab capabilities, permits and certifications (ie, USDA, cGMP, etc) and industry expertise. 

In addition to accurately capturing your capabilities, another critical aspect of the profiling interview is learning what you "can do" vs. "want to do". Said another way, we want to learn what differentiates you from other service providers and better understand your core competency. For instance, do you have extensive retail packaging capabilities, from high-speed auto-filling to blow-molding and flow-wrapping services? We want to know that. Or is your specialty in reaction chemistry of complex organic molecules used in pharmaceuticals? By learning your core competencies, we can help differentiate your company on ChemVM and make sure the customers who need exactly what you are expert at find you. 

Very soon, this step will be accessible at your fingertips via the Service Provider Portal, where service providers can set up and manage their profile themselves.

 

Next: Let the Matching Begin

Once we have your company fully profiled on ChemVM, we'll begin sending you ideally-suited projects that match the capabilities and core competencies documented in your profile. There is no obligation to accept a project, but if there is a match, next steps often include:

  1. Questions to the customer to clarify aspects of the project (SDS/material details, etc)
  2. RFQ to formally bid on the project
  3. NDAs (sometimes needed, but not always)
  4. Invoicing and ChemVM transaction fees

If a transaction is completed between you and the customer, at that time, ChemVM will indicate the transaction fee owed for the project. This fee ranges from 5 - 10% and is based on the complexity of the project. At the time of transaction, if not before, when you officially join ChemVM as an official service provider, we will then get out of the way and let you and the customer work through the final details and close the deal. 

 

Ready to get started? 

To schedule your service provider profile session, use this link to schedule your interview with our technical team. If you'd like to see the project entry side of the platform, where customers enter their project data, you can explore at your leisure here. If you want to email us to ask questions or learn more, you can send a message to us info@chemvm.com and or contact us here and we'll get right back to you. 

 



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