Adding Suppliers to your Supplier Panel

Add suppliers to your platform to quickly assess indicative prices and send RFQs.

This article explains how to add suppliers to your organization’s Supplier Panel in 3D Spark.

The 3D Spark Supplier Panel streamlines the request-for-quotation (RFQ) process for both buyers and suppliers.

Click here to learn more about the Supplier Panel

Supplier types

There are three supplier types:

1. Connected (live) suppliers: These suppliers have configured their offers in 3D Spark, so other organizations can view live indicative prices in the Supplier Panel.

2. Reverse-engineered suppliers: The buyer organization builds a pricing model for the supplier based on common knowledge or historical prices.

3. AI-modeled suppliers: The buyer organization adds suppliers without prior knowledge of their pricing model. 3D Spark’s AI then calculates indicative prices for orders.

Tip: You can mix reverse-engineered and AI-estimated production options. For example, you may have historical prices for one material-technology combination but not for another.

Adding a connected (live) supplier

Publicly connected suppliers appear automatically in the buyer organization’s Supplier Panel.
For non-public suppliers that 3D Spark connects on your behalf, contact the 3D Spark support team.

Adding a reverse-engineered supplier

This process has two steps.

Step 1 - Model the supplier’s pricing

Step 2 - Add the supplier to the panel

Step 1 - Model the supplier’s pricing

Upload at least 10 parts whose prices you know.
Go to Library ▸ select the parts ▸ Calibrate.

Under Calibration mode, choose Target pricing, then click Next.

In Process Chain, select the closest material and technology.
Enter the lot size and price per part for each part, then click Next.

For example, if 100 parts cost 2500€ in total, you should enter Lot size = 100 and Price = 25€

Review the parameters (they are not yet editable) and click Next again.

When the calibration results appear, click Save Results and give the pricing model a clear name.

The pricing model is now saved and will be used in Step 2.

Step 2 - Add the supplier to the panel

Click your initials (top right) ▸ Settings ▸ Supplier Settings ▸ Add
or open an existing supplier, click the three dots, and choose Edit.

Enter or edit the supplier’s name, email, and optional logo. If applicable, mark the supplier as Qualified.

Click + Add combination.
Select the closest technology and material, choose Reverse Engineered, then select the Pricing Configuration you created in Step 1.

Click Add combination; the new production option appears.

Add more combinations if needed, then click Create Email Supplier to finish.

The supplier is now added, and its indicative prices are visible in the Buy view (Click here for a guide).

Edit or delete the supplier in Settings ▸ Supplier Settings via the three-dot menu.

Adding an AI supplier

Click initials (top right) ▸ Settings ▸ Supplier Settings ▸ Add
or open an existing supplier, click the three dots, and choose Edit.
Enter or edit the supplier’s name, email, and optional logo. If applicable, mark the supplier as Qualified.
Click + Add combination.

Select the closest technology and material, then choose AI estimated.

Click Add combination; the AI-estimated option appears.

Add further combinations if required, then click Create Email Supplier (for a new supplier) or Save Changes (for an existing supplier).

The supplier is now added, and its indicative prices are visible in the Buy view (Click here for a guide).
You can modify or remove the supplier anytime in Settings ▸ Supplier Settings using the three-dot menu.