If you offer metal fabricating, laser cutting, stamping, or other metal manufacturing services, outsourcing to another manufacturer—even a competitor—may seem counterintuitive. But let’s explore three situations where outsourcing your signature or secondary services could lead to a significant increase in sales, profits, and customer satisfaction.
Outsource Before Hiring
Your metal shop is bustling with activity, and orders are pouring in faster than you can get them out the door. Is it time to hire more people? Maybe. But finding dependable workers who show up every day and take the job as seriously as you do is increasingly challenging—even with solid wages and benefits.
Plus, most new hires can’t immediately assist with welding, bending, forming, or machining without weeks of training. Meanwhile, your best employees are pulled away from their tasks to train them, slowing production even further.
To keep orders on schedule without risking delays or quality issues, consider outsourcing. A reliable manufacturing partner can help manage overflow and meet deadlines while you continue searching for the right people to join your team.
Outsource Before Buying Equipment
When faced with overflowing orders or quote requests for services you don’t offer, metal shop owners often consider investing in new equipment. Adding a press brake, laser cutter, CNC machine, or other machinery can instantly boost production capacity—but it also requires a substantial financial investment. Once the new machine is up and running, do you have the recurring business and skilled staff to keep it busy while managing the monthly payments?
This challenge presents another opportunity for outsourcing. Partnering with a trusted metals manufacturer provides immediate extra capacity and access to a broader range of services. By outsourcing, you can take on more diverse orders and meet lead times without committing to costly new machinery.
Outsource to Match Capacity with Lead Times
Balancing the inherent conflict between production capacity and meeting fast lead times for delivery is a fundamental challenge in manufacturing efficiency. Achieving maximum capacity utilization typically involves large-quantity orders to reduce the cost per part. However, if production lines are always occupied, taking on new customers or squeezing in urgent orders with fast lead times becomes very difficult.
At the same time, leaving expensive machines idle—just in case a rush order or a smaller-quantity order comes in, or in case a large quote that has been on the table for six months materializes—would confound nearly anyone responsible for profits and losses.
Outsourcing to a reputable metalworking partner like TAB Industries provides the agility needed to capitalize on the low cost of large production runs while also allowing flexibility to take on other jobs that demand fast turnaround times.
Outsourcing Success Story
When we launched our TAB Wrapper Tornado orbital stretch wrapper line, we initially outsourced the production of several metal parts to a nearby laser cutting company. As pallet stretch wrapper sales took off, we invested in our own laser cutting machine and now manufacture more than 90% of the parts in our Reading, PA, facility. However, we continue to maintain a strong relationship with our laser cutting partner to handle overflow capacity when needed.
Learn more about TAB’s turnkey manufacturing services here.
For a free quote on your project, call (610) 921-0012 or email info@tabindustries.com.