Optimization of the supply chain is a challenge for every company. A company’s supply chain starts with raw material acquisition and ends when the customer receives the final product – and is comprised of all the suppliers that participate in the sourcing, machining, testing, and distribution processes. Over time, companies often find they have acquired a large supply base that can be challenging and time-consuming to manage – not to mention inefficient. One way to streamline and strengthen the supply chain is to consolidate the number of suppliers. To achieve this objective, many companies are incorporating value-added services into their manufacturing projects.
The term “value-added services”, or secondary operations as they are often called, refer to services performed in addition to the precision machining step and are often performed after machining is completed. Value-added services are common and nearly every machined product requires some of these services. At Boston Centerless, for example, our value-added services include heat treating, straightening, laser marking, and material testing and validation. When combined with precision grinding operations, these steps often reduce costs, decrease time to market, increase productivity, enhance quality, and improve responsiveness for customers.
Value-added services are sometimes viewed as an after-thought – additional steps that companies don’t have time to optimize. Secondary operations that are not well-planned result in inefficiencies, delays, and higher costs. When considered individually, value-added operations may not seem costly or timely, but when evaluated collectively, these services are often very time-consuming and expensive – so it is well worth the effort to optimize them.
When partnering with an integrated service provider such as Boston Centerless, value-added services become an extension of the precision grinding process. This provides customers with a complete manufacturing solution, delivering value by minimizing the number of vendors involved and enhancing product quality. Fully integrated product and service providers that offer value-added services will streamline your supply chain, reducing disruptions and improving efficiency - saving OEMs time and money.
The Benefits of Incorporating Value-Added Services
When BC was established, we were primarily a centerless grinding company, and over time we expanded our offerings to include manufacturing and distribution of precision raw materials and material preparation services. We are a fully integrated product and service provider that can assist you with material selection, procurement, grinding, material testing and validation, customized inventory programs and supply chain management. Since we can procure and grind your material, we serve as your “one-stop shop” – saving time and money, and reducing risk across your supply chain.
As noted, there are many advantages to working with your precision machining partner to incorporate value-added services into your project. Each of the benefits below results in manufacturing efficiencies, saving OEMs money, resources, and time. Additionally, since every step in the precision manufacturing process builds upon the next, it is cost-effective to partner with an integrated supplier like Boston Centerless that offers a range of value-added operations in addition to unmatched precision grinding capabilities.
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Faster Speed to Market: value-added services offer companies a greater degree of control and minimize the risk of supply chain or process disruptions. Delays are often avoided since OEMs no longer need to manage production and logistics schedules across multiple vendors. These services streamline the supply chain, allowing production to run seamlessly from material selection, procurement, machining, and inventory management as well as the necessary testing along the way. These services add efficiencies that result in decreased lead times and allow for quicker speed to market. For these reasons, as well as those noted below, value-added services save time and money - and make good business sense.
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Enhanced Product Quality: regarding quality, value-added services performed by your precision machining partner often result in higher consistency and reliability of the end product. Fewer vendors handling the product also eliminates the potential for a quality dispute between vendors. Lastly, since product flow is continuous and there is minimal downtime in between precision machining and the various secondary services, production moves faster and less inventory is required. In addition, the material testing and validation steps performed by our BC team are critical to the performance, integrity, and reliability of your final product – and are crucial to maintaining your brand reputation. The time and effort required to test and validate material quality are well worth it. Not only do value-added operations save time and money, they also protect your brand.
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Improved communications: by consolidating your precision machining and value-added services into a single supplier, your points of contact decreases from numerous to one. This allows for a central, more customized level of support. This will also inevitably improve and simplify your supplier communications, resulting in a simpler supply chain and a better final product.
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More purchasing power: by consolidating your supplier base and incorporating value-added services, OEMs often gain purchasing power. This can be in the form of lower rates due to higher annual spend and more services being performed by a single provider.
Looking for a precision grinding partner that provides a full range of value-added services for your next project?
Contact Boston Centerless today to learn more about our services.
Value-Added Services Available at BC
Supply chain management is facing more and more obstacles due to ongoing disruptions to supply chains, increased shipping costs, and higher costs for materials just to name a few. Boston Centerless is well positioned to minimize supply chain shortcomings and help CNC machine shops around the world manage their material requirements. In addition to supplying precision grinding bar materials, we offer a complete scope of value-added services. By consolidating services with one vendor, you will save time, increase efficiency, and reduce costs associated with shipping and handling.
Boston Centerless’ value-added services allow our customers to reduce lead times by capitalizing on our high-quality finished materials needed for their projects. Our value-added services, combined with our vendor managed inventory programs, provide a world-class integrated supply chain management service that will streamline your business and lead to long term success. Our value-added services can be performed on our AccuRod material or with customer supplied material. Our offerings include:
- Material selection
- Centerless grinding (our raw material or yours)
- Heat treating
- Straightening
- Chamfering
- Laser marking
- Material testing and validation (Ultrasonic, Eddy Current, and XRF Analysis)
About Boston Centerless
Boston Centerless provides solutions that enhance our customer’s manufacturing processes. With over 60 years of experience with precision grinding, we grind the tightest tolerances in the industry. We have proven experience with an extensive range of materials, and our manufacturing solutions include:
- AccuRod® Precision Bar
- BC Medical Grade
- Grinding Services
- Value-Added Services
- Material Testing & Validation
- Supply Chain Management
- SwissAssist
Contact us today at (781) 994-5000 to see how with your next precision bar materials project, or click here for a quote.