Manufacturing Process

In the manufacturing industry, it is not easy to predict how all the stages of a project will unfold. Timelines, budgets, design criteria, and materials can all be at the mercy of each other when it comes to reaching the completion of a part or assembly. For this reason, project managers devote a great deal of time to focusing on anticipating risks, extra costs, and design issues. However, some companies have stronger systems in place than others, and they are the ones which are ready to handle the undesirable outcomes—should they occur. The following four tend to be the main components of the delivery process in manufacturing operations: inputs, resources, activities, and outputs. Inputs are consumed by the process; outputs are the end result of the process; resources are what is needed to convert inputs into outputs; and activities are how the resources are used to transform the inputs into the outputs. Thus, in the case of manufacturing shims, the breakdown of components would be as follows:

• Input: Material required to make the shims
• Output: A completed shim order
• Resources: Boxes used to package the shims
• Activities: Machines utilized to customize shim shape and size

What this means for customers is that delay in getting a product manufactured and then delivered is a real possibility. In order to try to avoid this, it is best to purchase product which is already in the inventory stock of a company. This reduces the amount of stages that the order will have to undergo, meaning it will also mitigate the potential for problems that cause a halt in the delivery step.

Delivery Issues

The situation of having an order sent out on time is not foreign to manufacturers. Larger businesses try to address this common issue by specifying delivery ranges instead of delivery dates. Therefore, if a product is sent out with a delivery range of November 1^st through November 14^th, for example, there are likely to be fewer complaints if a customer receives their order on November 10^th. Whereas, if an estimate delivery date of November 2^nd was given, but not guaranteed, there would be great disappointment from the other end—having a product arrive on November 2^nd may have been crucial to a project deadline.

Factors that determine the likelihood of a delay are activities and inputs. If a machining process is slowed down by broken equipment or other priorities in the machine shop, then the time to complete a part will be delayed, which will thereby delay the delivery time. Additionally, if the material required to make a shim part is not already in house, then the time it takes to order from a third party could also affect how quickly this part reaches the packaging and distribution stage. Production capacity—how much output (completed shims) can be achieved based on other components in the process—also plays a large role.

Phoenix Specialty never wants to have an unsatisfied customer, so our team makes excellent estimates about how long a custom order will take to deliver. Typically, for a custom order, two weeks is the standard time given to clients. By the same token, the shipment time can be extensively shortened to 24-hours or even same day delivery if the shims ordered are already in the inventory. Phoenix Specialty carries 100,000 different items and has 400-million parts in stock!

Stock Inventory & Speedy Shipment

If companies can manage their stock inventory well, they will likely have success in being able to take advantage of all the materials they hold in stock. For example, if their metal resource is constantly replaced to be stocked at a certain level, it should be no problem to access the metal when a product needs to be manufactured. On the other hand, if no management exists for shims in the stock warehouse(s), then a person requesting for delivery of a product that should technically be in stock is going to have to wait just as long as a customer that wants an item customized. At Phoenix Specialty, our management team ensures that all resources are properly stocked and follow all the company policies and standards. There is no use in being able to access a large inventory of items if they have expired, are not properly stored in the correct temperatures, or do not have traceability within the company’s operating system.

At Phoenix Specialty, we have experience in customizing shims to meet client needs and have a process already in place for maximizing our manufacturing capabilities. Materials already found in the inventory selection can smoothly be taken through the delivery process and skip the planning stages of custom production and activities in a manner that reduces your delivery wait time. If you have approaching deadlines or urgent time specifications, choose from our existing stock.