Benefits of Kanban for Alloy Customers
Differentiators like experience and turnaround time heavily influence the fabrication partner you choose. But how often do fabrication companies follow-through with speed, service and cost promises, or quantify their value?
At Alloy, when a customer relationship has gained a certain level of trust, we may manage the partnership with a system called Kanban. What is Kanban and how can it benefit you? Let us explain.
What is Kanban?
Kanban is a scheduling system for manufacturing that can allow for better processing of jobs, materials and project times.
Kanban was created by an industrial engineer at Toyota to improve efficiency. While metal fabricating is a significantly different industry than automaking, the underlying Kanban principles can have very similar benefits in other manufacturing sectors.
How does Kanban Benefit You?
There are three significant benefits of Kanban when working with a metal fabricator like Alloy.
Programs are usually a signed blanket agreement covering a particular part for a larger quantity over an extended timeframe. Kanban works best with customers who need a low volume part.
Keeping Costs Down
A straight forward way to keep costs down is to buy in bulk. Metal fabricating isn’t any different.
When a customer purchases parts, they can begin to see cost breaks as their order size grows. For many of the customers Alloy serves, their part quantities might be larger over the course of year, but the monthly parts needed is often smaller. Kanban allows a customer to get that lower cost for their part for as long as they need Alloy to produce it.
Keeping Inventory Down
Many businesses need to keep inventory down for cost and storage purposes. Storing large quantities of multiple parts consumes valuable space that could be allocated to other areas of your business.
With Kanban, Alloy will store inventory for a customer instead of delivering on a long-term project all at once. This keeps stock at a manageable level and removes extra material cost and waste.
Whether the need for a part is monthly or quarterly, Alloy will deliver the necessary number at the determined time.
Removes Lead Time
Our Kanban system alerts us to the parts you need, when you need them, so your operation is never held up waiting for parts. At Alloy, typical part lead time is currently two to four weeks, but lead times at other shops can be six to twelve weeks.
A Kanban system agreement will remove these timeframes and keep your operation running efficiently.
Give us a call at 330-948-3535 or contact us today to learn more about our services and our ability to save you time and money on your next long-term project.