Reduce, Reduce, Reduce! – Improving Your Bottom Line
We’ve all been hearing it, “reduce your costs and reduce your lead times.” Most of the time, it’s easier said than done. We have found however that streamlining your special processes is a great way to improve your bottom line. Just as if you were to streamline your manufacturing processes in house. Let’s take a look at some potential cost drivers: Handling damage, shipping expenses, downtime between processes and paperwork/administrative expenses.
Handling damage is a very costly problem and occurs more common than any of us would like. If we minimize the handling of the parts then possible handling damage will be minimized too. Meaning, the fewer times a part changes hands the less exposure to handling damage it’s subjected to.
Shipping expenses can add up fast whether you use your own truck to move your parts or if you use a common carrier. Using your own truck for multiple stops means more fuel used, more time for your driver to deliver to multiple stops and less time for your driver to do other tasks. Shipping using a common carrier will add up in the form of invoices for each outbound and inbound shipment. Using one special process supplier versus multiple suppliers will save you shipping expenses in the form of both time and money.
Decreasing the downtime between special processes will without doubt reduce your lead time. Parts having to travel to multiple locations are not being worked on when they are in route. Using a supplier that has multiple processes may be the difference of your part traveling 50 feet to the next process which takes a matter of minutes versus 500 miles, which may take several days of non-value added time.
Using multiple special process suppliers creates the issue of redundant paperwork. There’s an added cost in having to generate several separate purchase orders to various suppliers. A One Stop Shop option means less paperwork for your purchasing agents to complete which allows them to do other tasks with the time they will save.
Streamlining your multiple processes with one vendor results in fewer shipping costs, less paperwork for your purchasing agents, less exposure to part handling damage and less down time between processes all which will help you to reduce your costs and lead times. Reduces costs and lead times will result in an improved bottom line for your business.
Want to learn more about PTI’s special processes? Click the links below for more information on each process that we offer:
Congratulations to the Connecticut aerospace community for their designation as an “Advanced Manufacturing Community” (AMC) by the federal government. As one of twelve recipients selected by the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMPC), Connecticut manufacturing in the aerospace industry will continue to impact the state’s economic future.