Prepare for Your Customers’ Expectations
Seven casting purchasers from heavy truck to gas valve markets divulge their quality, cost and lead time requirements for casting suppliers. SHANNON WETZEL, SENIOR EDITOR
choosing and staying with a supplier, cost is the main driver for most end- users—with good reason. According to Harrison, most of Oshkosh cost is from its suppliers. Te company is motivated to drive that cost down. “What can we do jointly to take the
cost out?” Harrison said. “And notice, I said cost, not price.”
Nexteer Automotive Metalcasting suppliers’ value-
added/value engineering activities serve as major indications of whether
they can provide cost benefits to the customer. Chadde Stevens, senior buyer for Nexteer Automotive, Sagi- naw, Mich., named those activities as one of the factors considered when reviewing quotes. Nexteer purchases aluminum, magnesium and zinc cast- ings and typically sends out a request for quote on new jobs to four or five potential suppliers. “We look at cost, quality, delivery
launch and future cost savings initia- tives from material cost improvement process or value added/value engineer- ing workshops,” he said.
For existing suppliers, Stevens said
Nexteer expects 3% year over year cost reductions from its suppliers if they are winning new business. Te provider of steering and driveline systems incor- porates face-to-face meetings with its suppliers to facilitate cost reduc- tions and keep deliveries on schedule. Te company requires a minimum 25 weeks lead time for large, complex castings and 15 weeks for standard castings. Magnesium and zinc castings typically fall between 12 and 14 weeks. When Nexteer is qualifying a new source, Stevens said the company
March 2013 MODERN CASTING | 37
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