It’s pretty easy to stumble on a seemingly proficient metal stamping supplier, only to realize that they offer services shy of your expectations. Perhaps their hypnotizing marketing strategy may send you head over heels, or your expectations are probably way above the ceiling for them. An ideal metal stamping supplier always fits your needs and can precisely deliver what you want. And the good news is that you don’t have to look any harder. If you’re looking for an above-par metal stamping supplier with all the kicks of being a reliable partner, here are the essential things to look for.
1. Transparency and Capability
Before picking your metal stamping supplier, it’s essential that you ascertain their capability and whether or not they can sufficiently meet their needs. That’s possible if there’s transparency in what the metal stamping company offers. They must be upfront with their services and be open with whether they offer a broad range or narrow them down to just a few. The company must indicate their limits to let you judge if they’re your perfect fit.
An ideal supplier must indicate the range of services they offer and whether or not they kick it a notch further with other refined and secondary touches. A company offering half-baked explanations of their capabilities or aren’t such straightforward leaves room for doubt on whether they deliver better, or it’s just pure fallacy. Therefore, it’s good that you stay keen on how transparent your supplier is so it doesn’t end in dissatisfaction in the long haul.
2. Production Capacity
Not all metal stamping suppliers can meet your capacity for demand. That means they’d hardly offer you the suitable metal stamping product volumes to meet your production thresholds or perhaps exceed your expectations. However, that mainly depends on what you want in the first place. If you choose to work with one with low production capacities, you’ll have to sacrifice on your time to allow for quality production.
Maybe you may urge them to be apt with their production, but the impact can be profound on your product quality since it’ll be all rushed out. If you’re running a manufacturing company with a more demanding customer base, your expectations for a metal stamping partner shouldn’t be short, and their production capacities shouldn’t be limiting. You don’t want a metal stamping supplier with lengthy lead times to delay services to your customers either.
3. Knowledge of the Industry Standards
It’s good that you work with a metal stamping supplier who understands what’s expected of them rather than one who’s only in for the profit. Your preferred supplier’s production should be user-centric, focusing more on what you get than what they receive. Unfortunately, the craze and escalating demand for metal stamping products are becoming significantly huge, and metal stamping supplies are capitalizing on this opportunity. But that’s only the chaff from the grains, and you have a tremendous chance of getting a metal stamping supplier who focuses more on your needs.
High-quality standards are the difference between you being regarded as a proficient manufacturer or a bogus one by your customer. And delivering value doesn’t begin from you but far up in the chain where your metal stamping supplier perches. You need to guarantee incredible precisions and demonstrate attention to detail, but that’s pretty unachievable if your metal stamping supplier doesn’t complement that. Your metal stamping supplier should be satisfactorily high, and neither should you set the bar too low.
4. Excellent Production Metrics
More often than not, most metal stamping product clients focus on suppliers with shorter lead times and high production capacity. However, they forget that other production metrics like external Parts Per Million (PPM) and On Time Delivery (OTD) matter. PPM is the volume of defective products a supplier delivers since no production is perfect for 100 per cent quality. The goal, however, is to get the best and high-quality value product volumes with fewer defective parts to make your purchase worth the bang of your dime.
An excellent supplier must also be keen on time and have a high OTD rating of more than 97 per cent. Remember, whether you’re outsourcing stamping materials for your automotive manufacturing or robotics, your customers won’t be patient enough to wait. Besides, they won’t be so willing to give you the benefit of time and patiently stick around as they wait for your deliveries. That may urge them to fall out and seek timely deliveries elsewhere, compromising your effort to build a sturdy and loyal customer base.
5. Experience in the Industry
Experience is usually the best teacher, and it works with metal stamping. Most proficient manufacturers have been around for quite a while and understand the specifics of metal stamping production. Your preferred metal stamping supplier must understand the value and render it to you effortlessly. And without a doubt, they must also demonstrate familiarity with your industry’s quality requirements and restriction specifics. That’s capped in excellent experience and profound establishment in metal stamping.
Much better, your preferred metal stamping supplier shouldn’t only be diverse in their capabilities and profoundly acquainted with each. Some suppliers focus more on a single or just a few capabilities, enabling them to get into the intricacies of production for a specific industry due to their vast years of experience. That can only be ideal if you outsource stamping supplies for your specialized niche. And the best advantage with that is it ensures high precision and accuracy with low external PPM. But, you don’t want to continuously search for another supplier if your supplier isn’t diverse, should your preferences change.
6. Certifications of Services
One way to stamp quality and guarantee high safety standards in metal stamps is by working with a certified metal stamping supplier. These certifications assure product quality after being subjected to rigorous quality testing. Certified metal stamping suppliers are also more trustable and dependable in established manufacturing processes and measure up to customer expectations, delivering on what they promise.
So, before picking a manufacturer, ensure that they at least display a certification credential, including an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) or International Automotive Task Force (IATF). The best certifications include ISO 9001, ISO 45001 or any other valid ones. You might also want to consider those that operate under the guidelines of green manufacturing and don’t violate the green mark. That way, selling your products to your automotive, robotics or any discipline can be easy since you can assure them safety and quality. Uncertified metal stamping suppliers may be suitable and offer great metal stamps, but it gets better if their quality is merited and verified.
7. Ancillary Parts Finishing and Treatment Services
Your metal stamping supplier shouldn’t draw the line for their services in stamping alone. But, they need to kick their production and supply a notch further with ancillary parts and treatment services. While customized stamps fitting your preferences can be sufficient, the finishing determines various aspects such as durability and uniformity. A metal stamping supplier that adds value to your product instead of only selling them to you is more caring and concerned about your company and the services you render to your customers.
These services entail everything done to eliminate imperfections, including deburring, blasting, grinding and surfacing. Besides, be sure to partner with a supplier that offers services prolonging your stamped metal parts by minimizing the chances of corrosion and strengthening them further to withstand incredible pressure. Please never underestimate the power of these secondary touches since they go a long way toward determining the quality you give to your customers.
8. Reinvestment Priorities
Of course, sticking with a single metal stamping supplier for as long as possible is ideal since it builds trust and enables them to understand you better. But one sure thing is that your company won’t get stuck at producing a single product or rendering the same services on end. Instead, you’d want to grow and perhaps, venture into other areas of production as your automotive or aerospace company picks up pace, for instance. But as much as you’re willing to grow, is your metal stamping supplier ready to support your cause?
An excellent partner and supplier must offer you the chance to grow, and that’s why you must work with one offering stamp products in a vast range of capabilities. Or, if they currently can’t promise a diversity of their abilities, at least they should have it in their plans to expand and grow with you. Reinvestment is usually imminent in every company, and you should always put that in mind when looking for a metal stamping supplier.
9. Tooling Design and Customization
It’s no doubt that you have your specific preferences for stamped metal parts and that your suppliers’ general designs may not fit your production. Maybe your production goes the extra mile to be different from your competitors, and you’re incorporating a technology that begs for many more varied designs. Therefore, you may need a bit of customization and tooling design to accommodate you adequately. That should be possible without extra costs, and your supplier must be more receptive to the idea.
Excellent and five-star metal stamping suppliers tend to their customers’ needs sufficiently. They listen more and act better to help you create the metal stamps bearing your preferred designs and quality. They should also handle that professionally and be more considerate, giving you what you want precisely and with a high OTD. If not, you may need to find out further and get the best metal stamping supplier you can work with.
10. Quality Management and Assurance
In-house quality management is the pillar for shipping ideal metal stamps by metal stamping suppliers. Therefore, your priority is to find a supplier that subjects their products to rigorous tests before sectioning them for sale. It’s valid to argue that standard certifications like ISO and IATF may be sufficient and that your supplier’s products may be within the best spectrum for quality. But, a supplier having pre-established quality management and assurance department gives you much better peace of mind.
Using cross-cutting technology, your supplier must offer precise solutions for eliminating metal stamping defects. That ensures quality and zero time wasted waiting for poorly done and defective metal parts. If possible, ensure they use various coordinate measuring machines (CMM) for tactile inspections or use camera vision systems and sensors to detect faults. If not, your supplier may not measure up to your high precision standards and is better off with others than keeping them around.
11. Customer Service
Most metal stamping product clients overlook the customer support qualities their metal stamping suppliers have. But it’s essential to get you out of an imminent quagmire if you encounter a few glitches or need help with an emergency supply. Customer support is also instrumental to you if you want to raise complaints on product quality or need an improvement or sprucing touch.
As such, client support should always be available, especially during your active working hours. Even better, your supplier should be easily reachable on your off days or every house. They should also be accommodating, empathic, adequately indulging and able to warm up to you. Your supplier should walk you through the entire purchase process, introduce you to their premises and give you the nitty-gritty of their production. That and numerous other things should channel your decision to work with them or find another metal stamping supplier.
Conclusion
The metalwork and stamping industry is vast and widespread worldwide, and there’s a minimal chance that you won’t get one tailored to your needs. But, it wouldn’t be worth it if you procure subpar services and products, costing your business tremendously. It’s pretty easy to fall into advertising traps, landing you on poor-quality products and working with companies that don’t deliver as they promise. Nevertheless, always work with metal stamping suppliers with the knack for proficiently producing high-quality parts and rendering five-star services. Besides, ensure that value quality, are certified and have excellent customer service. That way, you won’t be doubtful of the services and quality depth you’re bound to receive.
One Response
It’s great that you discussed that we should choose a metal stamping manufacturer that can execute our desired design. My friend told me that their products need metal stamping. I should advise him to hire a manufacturer with vast experience in the field.