What is important in a manufacturing partner?

There are million questions spinning in your head and you just want to check something off your to-do list. I get it.

You sent out RFQs and received the responses. Now what?

Even if there is a clear winner price-wise, how do you know if they will be a good partner?

Here are some things to look for and questions to ask:

Longevity – Has the company been around for a long time? Do they have an establish business? If they disappear overnight, you are back to square one.

Location – A central location is convenient for shipping. Do they support American jobs? Are the products made in America so if there is a problem with importing, your parts are not affected?

Capacity – What if your business grows? Does this company have the capacity to meet your needs? Is their plant maxed out and unable to help when you need product?

Communication – Do you have someone you can call (who knows you) when you have questions? What if a challenge arises? How will you be notified?

Secondary Operations – Can they perform some secondary operations on-site? For those they cannot do themselves, do they have long standing relationships with partners that have extensive experience? If they do not have experience with the secondary operations required for your project now, you may be looking at longer timelines while they figure out who to use and less reliability if they don’t have an existing relationship.

Quality – Do they care about quality? What do they do to ensure every order meets your quality standards? Ask these questions.

Technology – What kind of technology do they have? Do they have easy access to 3D scanning and CMMs(coordinate measuring machines)?

Experience – How long have they been working with the manufacturing method that you need? Do they know what they are doing? Do they have long-term employees that know what to expect based on past experiences?

After some investigating, you should feel confident that the supplier can meet your needs (or confident that you need to find someone else).

At Smith Metal Products and Plastic Products Company, we don’t “just make parts.” We solve problems.

Working with a supplier should make your life easier, not harder. Let us show you.