When you’re sourcing a new service center, differentiating between the good and the suboptimal is often easier said than done.
In an ideal world, every manufacturer would be able to get their hands on the metal they need, when they need it, at their preferred price. As a result, their cash flow would always be healthy, operations uninterrupted and metal quality impeccably consistent. Unfortunately, the real world doesn’t work this way.
There’s no avoiding it—as with many business activities, purchasing metal comes with an element of risk. Rather than striving to eliminate it, the key is to mitigate it—and that starts with recognizing and managing your vulnerabilities.
If your must-have metal products were out of stock a lot over the last year, you’re not alone. Tight market conditions made it difficult for many service centers to maintain their metal inventory, leaving countless manufacturers high-and-dry.
We spoke with André Granger, Vice President & General Manager, Manitoba/Saskatchewan, Samuel, Son & Co. about trends in agriculture, the importance of pivoting in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how Samuel is uniquely positioned to help customers succeed in the fast-evolving environment.
Winning business as a custom plate fabricator isn’t easy. In this highly competitive industry, you not only have to offer the fastest assembly and lowest cost, but you need the ability to accommodate a wide variety of projects.
With an influx of long-time purchasers retiring, a new generation is filling their well-worn shoes. The hand-over is bringing fresh ideas and processes into many manufacturing purchasing departments—but it’s also bringing a few growing pains as well.
Regardless of what industry you’re in, there are countless reasons why you might come across a need for Aluminum 6061 plate. Maybe you need to engineer fixtures, tooling or molds—or a protection plate for an electric car battery. Or maybe you simply need a locally-sourced material for the defense or semi-conductor sectors.
If you experienced metal supply chain disruptions in 2020, you’re not alone. As a result of COVID-19, many businesses across a wide range of industries found it difficult to find the metal they needed, when they needed it.
Navigating the world of metal procurement is no easy feat. Figuring out which material is best-suited to a specific application, or knowing when it’s okay to go with a lower-quality product at a lower price, takes years of training.