A compilation of advice on successful supplier-customer relationships from expert casting buyer Bob Mueller Jr.

A MCDP Staff Report

(Click here to see the story as it appears in the July/August issue of Metal Casting Design & Purchasing.)

Relationships often are the key to success in business. Whether seeking a new supplier for cast metal components or optimizing an existing supply chain, certain actions can benefit both sides of the equation and, ultimately, the end customer. Bob Mueller, Jr., senior supplier quality engineer for Milwaukee-based Joy Global Surface Mining, is a 30-year veteran of the metalcasting industry. He often shares best practices for working with casting suppliers, and the following is a compilation of his advice gleaned from columns appearing in MCDP.

Ask Questions

While members of the sourcing team will have many questions, each within their own area of responsibility, some questions need to be brought to the table early. The following is a list of seven critical questions buyers need to ask when evaluating a casting supplier:

What are your current lead times? This is a cue to the amount of business moving through a metalcasting facility, as well as the potential for reliably predictable lead times.

What is your on-time delivery performance? Documentation is considered a key factor, as it enables casting buyers to form realistic expectations.

What are your rejection rates? Internal and external data can lend insight to the manufacturer’s processes and equipment, as well as quality standards and performance.

Who makes up your current customer base? Casting buyers are wise to seek a good fit with a supplier’s base, to avoid disadvantageous situations versus large customers, for example.

What end-use markets does your customer base represent, and in what percentages? A metalcasting supplier that is oversaturated in one market is at risk of losing profitability when that segment of industry trends downward.

What is your “sweet spot”? This question pertains to properties of the cast metal products themselves, as well as quantity, in relation to the metalcasting facility’s capabilities.

What value-added services do you offer? Some casting jobs require engineering support while others might benefit from “one stop” service through finishing.  

Talk About Costs

Metalcasters price cast products based on several hard-line factors such as labor, overhead and, of course, profit margins. These are costs the metalcaster has some control of. But, other costs are beyond the metalcaster’s control, such as the fluctuating cost of raw materials. It is important as metalcasting procurement agents that we understand these fluctuating costs, how to track them, how they impact the fully landed cost of cast components and how they are paid for.

Raw materials in the metalcasting industry include molding and coremaking sands, chemical binder systems for those sands, base metal (scrap) for melting and the alloying elements that make up the customers’ material specifications. All of these items are commodities that carry a fluctuating price based on global demand.

Fluctuating costs are real and need to be covered. Taking the stance that your company will not pay for these costs is not in the interest of your supplier’s long-term health or the relationship between your two companies. Address these fluctuating costs with your metalcasting supplier and choose the method that best fits both your operations. Agree on what items are covered, what is not and a publication both companies will use to track the market.  

Develop Long-Term Relationships

Take time to invite a supplier’s employees to your plant to demonstrate what you do and what you make. Do not limit this invitation to executives, but work to include shop floor supervisors and key employees who are producing your cast product every day. Once in your facility, they can view your cast product as more than just a metal casting; a real part with a true end use. I worked in a steel foundry for more than 20 years and, after time, parts just become parts.

Work with these people, and try to understand their problems and issues in a way that is positive. When issues do come up that require a more serious conversation, handle these issues in a manner that does not place you in the light of a tyrant. Every issue you encounter can be corrected if dealt with as a professional. You and your supplier are a team who truly are after the same goals: on-time delivery, quality levels within specifications and a solid working relationship that grows the business. Your ability to work with your supplier can be either a catalyst or a wedge in this process.

It is critical to establish a clear set of expectations with your supplier early in the relationship. Again, this does not warrant behavior that in some way indicates you will always be right and they must always bow down to your requests. This is a time to express your delivery, quality and pricing expectations that will drive the account and play a key role in developing your relationship going forward. As in any relationship, open and honest communication is critical. Work to establish this with your supplier and you will find your relationship in good standing.

Take a Tour

On a recent planned visit to my largest casting supplier, I took the opportunity to invite several others in the company to join me. This group included members of our engineering design team, procurement personnel and a member of our planning group. I used this visit as a chance to expose the group to the metalcasting operation and the complete process from pattern prep to shipment.

The post visit feedback from my group was outstanding. The group had not only gained knowledge of the casting operation, but it gave them a new appreciation for the casting process in whole. They were exposed to new technology and process improvements created through lean concepts. The educational adventures served to rid my team of the dirty, fiery stereotype of metalcasters held by those who are not familiar with the process. They now view the metalcasting process as the sophisticated, leading-edge operation it is.

Take advantage of these opportunities to expose and educate your company in metalcasting.

Visits to your metal casting supplier also serve as an opportunity to look into the processing used to produce your cast part. In some cases, you might find an operation that adds no value to your part based on its end use. For example, your metalcaster might be performing heavy grinding on a surface you will end up machining later, or processing a riser contact flush on a machined surface. These are opportunities to help reduce costs. Understanding your parts’ uses and the processes used at the metalcaster are the basis for beginning cost or lead time reduction efforts.

This same concept applies to your metal casting designs. Your engineering group will work to design a component that meets the design needs, but is it a good casting design that takes “castability” into consideration? Collaborative efforts will serve to lower costs, reduce lead times and dramatically improve the first-pass yield of your first article parts.