Keeping Up With Commercial Demand in 2023
Commercial demand has rocketed back to its pre-pandemic levels. As a nation, we are back to work. While it feels great to welcome back a true sense of normalcy, new stressors have emerged. Ensuring that supply can keep pace with demand led to a breakneck sprint to keep the market flush with OEM parts. Supply chain management has been a singular focus for suppliers. Everything that foundries do has been centered around ensuring they are able to fulfill their commitments to their strategic partners. From raw materials to turnaround time, there are many different ways in which foundries review their supply chain management to keep up with commercial demand in 2023.
Materials to Move Foundries Forward
The foundry can’t fulfill orders if the floor isn’t humming along. The need for raw materials is a never-ending chase. This is the one aspect that is largely out of a foundry’s control. Obviously working with a reliable supplier is a must, but with the disruption of the pandemic, even the most trusted supplier faced issues providing raw materials to the market. Thankfully, foundries have been able to once again consistently source materials as needed.
Rebuilt Processes
The best way for foundries to keep up with commercial demand is to reimagine how each task is completed on the floor; to reinvison each step with efficiency in mind. Shaving seconds by ensuring there is no wasted movement can give a foundry a competitive edge with their turnaround time that makes it difficult for other foundries within the market sector. Every aspect that can be adjusted in-house deserves consideration. While some of these adjustments may require some investment in order to implement, that investment will pay off as productivity increases.
Shipping Partners You Can Count On
Much like sourcing raw materials, shipping is another aspect in which foundries have less control. Unlike with their materials, foundries have more options at their disposal in order to improve the timeliness of their shipping. Not only can a foundry choose their shipping partner, they can also choose how they engage with them. Often, foundries will have their outgoing orders packed and ready to be picked up. However, they can’t always be sure their shipping partner will pick up the order on time. Foundries also don’t have any control over how their shipping partner will go about delivering their orders.
With that said, foundries can take matters into their own hands, to an extent. Rather than tossing their hands up and saying “oh well” to shipping issues, foundries can bring at least some of their shipping in-house. If they have the means to take on the cost of having a truck at their disposal, foundries can complete local deliveries on their own. This may seem like an extreme solution, but it may be worth exploring as the shipping world continues to lag behind other industries in their recovery.
Learn to Evolve
At Prospect Foundry, we have learned our fair share of lessons and found ourselves looking inward. We worked diligently to not only return to our former output but to exceed it as well.. We sought to reach the next stage of our evolution. And we believe that we have reached that stage.
If you are in need of quality OEM parts from a foundry that prioritizes supply chain management, or if you need a strategic partner and not simply a supplier, reach out today!