Lead times procuring parts for holiday manufacturing vary depending on a number of factors in the supply chain but they are always more compressed during the ramp up to Black Friday and beyond. The National Retail Federation noted that e-commerce alone created $100 billion in sales during last year’s rush. SMC Pneumatics USA has four tips to make sure you can take advantage of the increase in demand and your manufacturing processes do not fail during crunch time.
Beef Up Sales/Procurement Staff for Holiday Manufacturing
The Bureau of Labor Services noted that non-durable manufacturing saw an increase of 23,000 in positions filled in July. Is your company doing the same in order to rapidly adapt to what could be a record year in e-commerce? If not, you’re going to run into retailers of whom 25 percent say one of their key needs is improvements in shipping. More importantly, doing so earlier may mean additional workforce compensation, but by doing so you ensure the on-boarding process is complete before the new employees need to put out any procurement fires.
Review Software Efficiency and Supply Chain Readiness
If a sudden order pops up, then everything above might have to go out the window. That’s why so many manufacturers are looking towards integrating the Internet of Things (IoT) and digital factories to quickly assess where there are gaps that require new or replacement parts. Retaining spare parts is not only a great preventative measure but can also save your company a great deal of time and money. For automation, this includes SMC Pneumatics USA products like pneumatics for robotics and manufacturing operations as well as air dryers to keep your products from failing before they even leave the factory door. Upgrading your software for procurement and supply chain needs speeds up reaction time for unseen issues.
Check Your Existing Parts Needs and Submit Purchase Orders Now
Your procurement team already works with the lead times necessary for your electronics or automotive parts to come off the assembly line and meet customer needs. If you’re looking to upgrade or replace existing equipment to meet the demand for products during the holidays, putting in orders for pneumatics for manufacturing now is going to limit the number of hassles you have. As distributors, we often hear about a customer's line being down due to a single failing part which in turn could carry a long lead time if not in stock. This not only puts your company at risk by not being able to deliver product but also can impact your customer's business as well. SMC Pneumatics USA offers not just parts for robots but also high-quality fluoropolymer tubing and fittings for heat resistance and corrosion protection.
Start Taking Stock of Your Manufacturing Process Needs Early Next Year
The demands of the holiday season are always going to be fluid and the key to success is reviewing where you had the fewest issues. If you added the right number of seasonal staff or spruced up your your software to improve efficiency, you may only need to make a few tweaks. Working with SMC Pneumatics USA earlier in the year, to meet your pneumatics for manufacturing needs for the coming crunch, is also a great way to get a head start. To decrease the likelihood of work stoppage, we have a few suggestions of pneumatic parts to keep on hand, especially to combat moisture. First, AMG series water separators help remove the moisture downstream from your compressors due to the temperature changes at night and relative humidity. Second, AW series filter/regulator combos are used to adjust and stabilize your supply pressure and remove moisture moisture and particulates of up to 5 microns. With these suggestions, we hope you will have a successful holiday manufacturing season.
SMC Pneumatics USA, powered by Orange Coast Pneumatics Inc. (ocaire.com), is a National Elite distributor for the SMC Corporation of America. SMC offers 11,300 general pneumatics products, with over 560,000 variations, engineered to meet applications in every sector of the market, including pneumatics for wet environments. From Semiconductor to Automotive, Medical to Petroleum, SMC's products are designed to fit your unique requirements.
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