When it comes to sheet metal fabrication, there are two ways you can purchase your products. You can work with a fabricator that just fulfills orders and works for you, or you can invest in a sheet metal fabrication partner that has your best interest in mind.
While it may be tempting to select the first company to provide a reasonable quote to supply your product, it’s important to consider the long-terms benefits of identifying the right partner.
Cost-Savings Opportunities
One of the biggest benefits are the cost-savings opportunities they may be able to identify.
By working with a partner instead of a one-off supplier, you have a direct line of communication to your fabrication team. This peer-to-peer communication allows them to identify long-term savings, such as:
- Price reductions on high-volume, recurring orders
- Identifying design adjustments that can reduce costs
- Determining additional services to value-add that can result in overarching savings, such as powder coating or assembly
- Freight reductions for recurring orders through consolidated shipping
Over time, these savings add up and can result in huge long-term benefits.
Upfront Solutions
Having a partner that understands your company’s needs also allows them to identify potential problems before they happen and proactively provide solutions.
For example, a dedicated fabrication partner would know your typical order schedule. If they anticipate that their team will have a large order coming in from another customer, they can proactively adjust your order schedule. For instance, they may move up your order production to ensure your delivery schedule isn’t impacted.
A fabricator that isn’t invested in the partnership wouldn’t know of this need, which may result in a delayed shipment.
Advanced Technical Knowledge
It’s important to work with a team that speaks your language.
Having a sheet metal fabrication partner ensures that you have dedicated production managers and engineers that understand the technical intricacies and abbreviations in your drawings.
This mutual understanding ensures that your custom parts and components are fabricated to your exact needs the first time. Plus, it helps keep your product development on schedule by eliminating back and forth conversations to verify product specifications.
In addition to helping understand what’s on your drawings, the right fabrication partner will understand the technical requirements of your products beyond what’s written on the drawing. This allows them to identify the cost-savings opportunities and provide proactive solutions shared above.
Working With You, Not For You
Overall, the benefits of working with a partner ladder back up to one key benefit: having a partner that serves as an extension of your team.
By trusting in a partner that works with you, not for you, you gain access to a team of fabrication specialists that have your company’s best interest top-of-mind. This means that they put your interests first, finding cost-saving, timeline-reducing solutions that help improve your bottom line. Plus, the right partner will have a commitment to delivering a quality product, which typically includes an ISO 9001:2015 certification.
Find the Right Sheet Metal Fabrication Partner for Your Company
Once you’ve been working with a sheet metal fabricator for a while, it’s important to make sure that they’re serving as a reliable partner to your team.
If you are looking for a dedicated fabrication partner, we know a team that would be happy to help.