Do you remember the good old days, circa 2018, when your main concern in supply chain management was visibility and consumer demand? Goods were plentiful and there were almost no concerns about sourcing or risk.
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Global shifts are sharply impacting the way companies in the United States do business. Carrying on the trend toward expanding e-commerce, businesses are increasingly shipping goods directly to customers – which means they need their products ready to go at a moment’s notice.
When you think about supply chain risk mitigation, what are the first things that come to mind? For us, the usual suspects are:
- Controlled costs
- On-time delivery
- Freight capacity utilization (proximity and load efficiency)
- Quality control
- Correctly designed packaging
Maintaining an inventory of what a client needs for production is a delicate and complicated balance. As inventory ages, it can depreciate to a level that no longer adds value for the producer. This is especially true in metal forming processes.
There’s nothing new or mysterious about “just-in-time” or JIT manufacturing. The idea has been around since the 1970s, and all it means is that you receive what you need, just when you need it -- hence the popular term just-in-time delivery.
Yet, when it first came into practice, it shook up metal[...]
Keeping control of inventory requires intentionality.
Insufficient inventory management leads to more waste, higher costs, and a poor vendor/customer relationship.
But how do you manage steel inventory, which is a big investment with a limited shelf life? You need a lean inventory management[...]
The idea behind a supplier agreement -- whether with a roll forming company or another manufacturer -- is pretty simple. The supplier provides everything a customer needs for a particular service, and the customer can count on a specified price and single-source service.
You’re a busy manufacturer that can’t afford to wait for materials to come back from the roll former. You’re also keeping a close eye on your budget.
Does your roll former bring you value beyond simply just doing roll forming?
To be competitive, a manufacturer has to offer value throughout your supply chain, from beginning to end of the project.
A roll forming manufacturer has experience in optimizing designs, processes, and post-production[...]
While it's certainly niche, roll forming is still like any other metal manufacturing process. A little collaborative engineering and a lot of lean manufacturing practices equal mutual success.
