Ask Questions While members of the sourcing
team will have many questions, each within their own area of responsibility, some questions need to be brought to the table early. T e following is a list of seven critical questions buyers need to ask when evaluating a casting supplier: What are your current lead
times? T is is a cue to the amount of business moving through a metalcast- ing facility, as well as the potential for reliably predictable lead times. What is your on-time delivery
performance? Documentation is considered a key factor, as it enables casting buyers to form realistic expectations. What are your rejection rates?
Internal and external data can lend insight to the manufacturer’s processes and equipment, as well as quality standards and performance. Who makes up your current cus- tomer base? Casting buyers are wise to seek a good fi t with a supplier’s base, to avoid disadvantageous situations versus large customers, for example.
What end-use markets does your customer base represent, and in what percentages? A metalcasting supplier that is oversaturated in one market is at risk of losing profi tability when that segment of industry trends downward. What is your “sweet spot”? T is
question pertains to properties of the cast metal products themselves, as well as quantity, in relation to the metalcasting facility’s capabilities. What value-added services do
you off er? Some casting jobs require engineering support while others
A CASTING BUYER’S ADVICE FOR JOB SHOPS Sergey Ershov, D.Eng., MBA, Siemens AG Energy
Sector, power generation division, Duisburg, Germany, lends his view on what metalcasters need to do to culti- vate a business that can weather any economic storm:
Metalcasting is a tough business. Price pressure, ris- ing labor costs, quality demands and lack of qualifi ed personnel pose challenges. Daily work must not distract from the main task: long-term survival and growth. After years in a metalcasting plant and then as a casting buyer on the global market, I have observed six main criteria that are vital to the long-term success of a job shop. 1 Serve different market segments and diversify your customer base.
2 Produce a well balanced product mix and never lose contact to market reality. 3 Know your production costs.
4 Permanently optimize processes in the shop. 5 Successful metalcasting sales personnel must know and respond to their customers’ needs.
6 Train and educate your people. Long-term business success for a jobbing met-
alcaster requires diversifi cation of markets and the customer base, optimization of the product mix, a well established controlling system, process opti- mization, careful personnel selection for the sales department and workforce education. In the cast- ing business, huge leaps are impossible; we need to meticulously improve every area, every process and never stop asking self-critical questions to avoid cozi- ness and overconfi dence.
34 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | Jul/Aug 2014
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