Making your career in an industrial process field can be extremely satisfying for many people, as you get to see the tangible results of your hard work through the creation of important and reliable products. However, in order to guarantee that you're able to create those products, you may need to engage a custom machine design service (such as Innovative Tooling Solutions) in order to have the specific equipment you need to meet your specific needs.
Below, you'll find a guide to some questions you should be sure to ask your machine design service in order to guarantee a respectful and productive working relationship. Having this information in mind will provide you with clarity about the process and will help guarantee that you can satisfy your customers for years to come.
Ask About Lead Times
When customers place an order for an industrial product, there's often an unstated demand that their order is filled as quickly as possible. Your customers want a fast turnaround so that they can satisfy their needs, which means you have to make sure yours are covered as well.
You should be sure to have a thorough and open conversation with your custom machine service about their requirements for lead times and their guarantees to stick to them. This will allow you to develop reasonable expectations and pass that information along to your clients, strengthening your business relationship throughout the chain.
Ask About Material Substitutions
One of the most frustrating parts of industrial processes is getting hung up on supply chain issues that can be caused due to materials shortages. Rather than allowing yourself to twist in the wind, it's important that you develop alternate strategies that will allow you to find effective machining solutions.
Your machine service will be able to walk you through alternate components that can be used in your orders that may be in larger supply. While the resulting product may not meet your exact specifications, it's likely to be more than adequate in order to keep your business operating to the fullest.
Ask About Bulk Discounts
Paying for custom machine services often means passing those costs along to your customers, and this can create frustrations with clients who believe they're being unfairly charged. One good way to avoid these concerns is to purchase custom machine parts in bulk from your service, as this will often allow you to get a much lower price per unit. This, in turn, will allow you to offer similar discounts to your customers while still significantly increasing your sale numbers and profits.
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