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FACTORS AFFECTING LEAD TIME
You want your parts in two weeks. Metalcasting suppliers weigh in on the variables that affect how soon you actually will receive them.
SHANNON WETZEL, SENIOR EDITOR W
hen your parts will be delivered is a big criterion during the casting supplier selection process, and those timelines for delivery can vary from supplier to supplier and month to month. What causes the fl uctuations?
Casting suppliers calculate their lead time in diff erent ways, but they often take
into account the percentage they are running at capacity (either in volume or sales dollars), orders placed for the next few weeks or months and future orders expected based on conversations with existing customers with long-range plans. Following are additional factors about your parts that will aff ect how quickly it can be at your warehouse dock.
When the order is placed. Lead time, in this case referring to the amount of time between when an
order is placed and when the castings are delivered, is more than just how long it takes to make a casting. A considerable portion of the lead time is aff ected by how busy the casting supplier is and how many jobs are ahead of yours
in the plant. It may be frustrating, but this time fl uctuates throughout the year. “Lead time is not a function of time to manufacture, it is the certainty of facility availability,” said George Boyd Sr., president of Gold- ens’ Foundry & Machine, Columbus, Ga . “If you ask me today what’s my lead time on a no-core, gray iron part, I would say, ‘Do you want it Friday?’ But three months from now, I might tell you 10 weeks. It’s about how many commitments I have.” T is is an important consideration
to remember when you make fi rst inquiries on a supplier’s lead time. T e
Mar/Apr 2015 | METAL CASTING DESIGN & PURCHASING | 37
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