Do You Have a Quoting Process?

Having a process is especially important when quoting precision-machined parts; a flow or sequence of events that take place to ensure that production goes smoothly. What are the pitfalls that can get a shop into to trouble? By establishing a set process across stakeholders and departments, you can avoid pitfalls and refine quoting.

Five Key Areas to Consider

Material

Is it available? Can you get the material? Can you cut the material? Do you have expertise in the grade? Expertise, especially in high-temperature alloys, can make all the difference between a profitable and an unprofitable job. Machinability of the material is an element that will affect all the other aspects of the quoting process.

Manufacturability

Can your shop make it? Do you have the expertise to machine the part? Look for special processes such as thread rolling, broaching or secondary operations. Do you have the tooling required? Also consider outside operations such as heat treat, plating, grinding and so on. Does your network of processors have the expertise?

Resource Requirements

Does your shop have the capacity to machine this part? Is the diameter out of your capability range? Is this quantity too large or too small for your equipment mix? Will this overburden you with your current capacity? When thinking about capacity, think about both people and equipment. Do you have the staff to complete this job? Does the shop’s team have the needed skills?

Quality Requirements

Can the shop check it? Look for special callouts and dimensions that are not standard. For instance, special pitch diameters on threads. Is it 2A after plate thread? Are you capable of holding the dimensional tolerances? Look for close tolerance dimensions. Depending on equipment, I would say dimensions of ±0.001" or smaller are close. If multiple dimensions are that close, it’s important to keep in mind your capabilities. Think tool-to-tool repeatability over time.

Financial Concerns

Will it break the shop? Is this an existing customer? Do they pay on time? Is this a new customer? Are they creditworthy? How will this job affect your overall product mix? Will this make the shop too dependent on one customer or one industry? When analyzing quotes, you should be thinking about how it affects the business. A huge job is great, but if it becomes 50% of total sales, does it become too risky? If large capital outlays must happen to meet production demand, then contracts need to be in place to protect the company in the event a project does not go forward. If a quality issue arises, can your company afford to scrap 5%, 10% or 50% of these parts returned from a customer? War-gaming the worst-case scenario will help you anticipate major financial blunders occur.

Even though I have showcased five key areas, the steps really get streamlined in the quoting process. The questions presented are just a primer to get started. Develop questions that fit the application. Have a step-by-step process to follow that asks eliminating questions before moving forward with a quote. “Is a part too large?” is a possible eliminating question. The quoting process should be built out just a like setup sheet. Quoting is often represented as too complex to be broken down, but I think the only way to have repeatable results is to have a process. Do you have a process?