How NWPS tripled revenue and cut RFQ time in half
The Supplier Perspective: Northwest Production Source gains speed, performance visibility, and stronger relationships with streamlined order management and improved workflows.
Northwest Production Source (NWPS) partners with aerospace, defense, and advanced manufacturing companies to source and deliver precision components. As a trusted supplier of modern hardware, NWPS ensures that their customers’ complex projects meet the highest quality standards and stay on schedule.
Managing complex supply chains
Before Silkline, NWPS relied on a patchwork of tools to manage their procurement: email for RFQs, separate tools for ITAR-controlled files, and unwieldy spreadsheets to track quotes and orders. POs were cobbled together into PDFs that were scattered across inboxes, and all of it was stitched together with knowledge that lived in team members’ heads.
“Success or failure of an open order was subject to a hopeful search in our inbox to find the right thread, “said Chip Jameson, CEO of NWPS. "We were spending hours a day checking and rechecking orders to prevent mistakes. Inevitably, things would slip through the cracks.”
The company invested in new tools, but significant gaps remained. NWPS had no way to connect RFQs to quotes and then to orders; they couldn’t effectively manage communication with their upstream suppliers; and they weren’t able to understand or manage performance in a structured, visible way.
This lack of orchestration had real consequences:
- Certifications were buried in inboxes
- They were conducting redundant supplier check-ins
- They had no reliable performance tracking
- They sunk hours into setting up and sending RFQs
The turning point for NWPS came somewhat unexpectedly. One of their customers issued them a PO using Silkline. Chip had experience with ERP systems, but had never seen procurement software built for suppliers that makes their involvement simple and powerful. “I called the buyer and asked how to get in touch with the company enabling the order.” The next day he was talking with the Silkline team and saw a clear path forward through his company’s supplier challenges.
Silkline as supplier orchestration layer
Silkline became the orchestration layer NWPS had been missing. Instead of bouncing between spreadsheets, emails, and manual data entry, the team now manages RFQs, orders, supplier communication, and performance metrics in one connected system. Since NWPS started using Silkline, the company has improved topline growth and accelerated turnaround times on quotes.
“We’ve grown year-over-year revenue by more than 300 percent since adopting Silkline, and the time it takes us to process RFQs and release POs has been cut in half,” said Chip. “Not only has Silkline enabled us to triple our growth while reducing costs, the platform also puts safety checks in place so nothing slips through the cracks. The cracks are gone."
In addition to quantifiable improvements, NWPS has experienced several operational benefits using Silkline:
- Streamlined RFQ and order management with set-up times cut from 15 minutes per RFQ to less than 5 minutes
- Easy supplier tagging and segmentation, organized by capability, certification, industry, or tier
- Visibility into real-time KPIs, quote-to-order linkages, and supplier performance
- Integrated communications with personalized emails to increase efficiency
The benefits go beyond operational improvements. Silkline’s design strengthens NWPS’ relationships. In industries where automation can limit human connection, Silkline actually enhances it. “With Silkline I can send one message to my entire supplier network, and each one receives it as if they were prioritized individually,” said Chip. “This cultivates high response rates and higher win rates for everyone.”
NWPS’ journey reflects a broader shift across aerospace, space, defense, energy, and robotics. Supply chain management can no longer be a disjointed patchwork of spreadsheets, PDFs, and inboxes. Orchestration and resilience across engineering, operations, finance, compliance, and suppliers are the competitive advantage.
“Time is money, and Silkline saves time repeatedly. Just one feature alone pays for itself every week,” said Chip. “Stop shopping and buy it.”
