In this column, I review how the Materials Solutions Network was formed and remains, to this day, a business model that is being adapted to service a range of needs, from ASM members to the materials community at large. The ASM Materials Solutions Network was formally launched in May of 2018 after about a year of testing the business model with Parker Hannifin, the founding client member.
How It Works
In the simplest terms, the Materials Solutions Network is a match-making exercise in which ASM Operations acts as an objective, trusted agent. ASM gathers the requirements of a client member and matches the client’s needs to the capabilities of one or more provider members. ASM’s value lies both at the beginning and the end of this matching process.
In the beginning, the client member usually requires assistance to turn their problem set into a series of tasks that can easily and effectively be completed by a provider. ASM’s operations process is integral to the formation and agreement on standard statements of work that are readily and fully executable by Materials Solutions Network provider members.
At the end of the project, multiple providers supply information/results, as required by the statement of work, at various times and in various formats. ASM’s consolidation of all the information into a usable format (typically from or in our Granta cloud instance) greatly reduces the clients’ hours required to digest the project deliverables, and greatly increases client ability to take action from the statements of work completed by provider members.
Why It Works
The need for and shortage of materials expertise has been on the rise in recent years, with the continual push for more fuel efficient transportation, increased demands on electronic devices, and advances in medical devices and biomaterials, to name only a few of the many market drivers. In a 2013 McKinsey study on 12 disruptive technologies, five were in advanced materials markets.
At the same time, an American Society for Engineering Education survey showed that materials science engineers comprise less than 2% of undergraduate engineering degrees.
ASM’s ability to locate experts in our membership, communicate needs, hold to deadlines, and aggregate results (all in place from our successful publishing business) rendered the activation of ASM’s membership to help solve physical materials problems (the Materials Solutions Network) a natural progression.
Performance to Date
Between 2017 and 2019, the Materials Solutions Network has grown on a pay-as-you-go basis into a multi-million dollar annual line of business within the ASM Operations P&L. To date, the line of business has achieved 60+% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenue and 89% CAGR in net revenue. This performance has been a significant driver in ASM’s positive cash flow and improved operating net achieved during the ASM Renewal.
At the same time, client satisfaction has remained very high. For example, Parker Hannifin recently presented ASM with an additively manufactured pure titanium model of the Dome, as a gift for the Materials Solutions Network helping Parker’s aerospace division become operational with additive manufacturing.
Who Wins
The membership of ASM is realizing the outcomes of the Materials Solutions Network, some directly, and some indirectly. Direct benefits currently accrue most readily to ASM members who lead companies that become client and/or provider members of the Network.
Indirect benefits are beginning to accrue to the general membership as well. The non-proprietary, pre-competitive know-how gained by ASM through facilitating Network projects is contractually reusable by ASM; with the option to publish, create education courses, develop trouble shooting and safety guides, and more. A key business structure within the Materials Solutions Network has enabled the ongoing buildup of Dome educational laboratories and related new courses.
Finally, the materials community as a whole will increasingly realize the continued innovation and progress of key emerging and disruptive technologies through the Materials Solutions Network. By accelerating through the Network the provision of materials knowledge transfers and other expertise to corporations, which are investing in materials-intensive products and processes, ASM is delivering a new way to fulfill its scientific, technical, and educational mission.
If you would like more information on ASM’s Materials Solutions Network, please contact Ryan Milosh, chief sales and marketing officer at [email protected].
William T. Mahoney, CEO, ASM International
[email protected]
This excerpt is from the February / March issue of Advanced Materials & Processes (AM&P).
