Gardner Research conducts annual surveys of CNC machine shops to help identify common traits that breed greater success. Naturally, much of their findings involve a focus on advanced machining technologies as a way to improve productivity and profitability. However as important as it is to have the right equipment and applications expertise, there are a number of less obvious factors that higher performing CNC machine shops have in common. Here are 5 important ones:
- Focusing on the customer. Owners and managers of top performing shops understand that their reason for existence is to satisfy their customers. It’s easy to get caught up in doing what we love: making quality parts and products. But if we aren’t meeting the needs of our customers, all our technology and craftsmanship means nothing. Successful shops get to know their customers, understand their desires and look for ways to not only meet customer expectations, but to exceed them.
- Investing in people. As great as high-tech machining centers and other technology may be, you still need qualified people to get the most out of their tools. That’s why smart shops hire only top-drawer talent, and help them to grow. Could your operators benefit from advanced training on programming? Setup procedures? Workflow analysis? Or how about attending trade shows to see new technologies and experience workshops and symposiums on machining techniques. Top CNC shops keep their staff educated and up-to-date.
- Finding niches. Successful CNC shops find a variety of specialty niches that they can exploit. Perhaps they develop techniques for making parts from hard-to-machine materials, or add capabilities to produce high-precision parts for narrow industry segments, like specialized medical products. Typically these are higher margin customers.
- Diversification. It’s great to be respected as an expert in a highly specialized field. However if your entire business depends on serving one industry, what happens when that industry falters? The landscape is littered with shops that became captive suppliers to the auto industry and were unable to find other work when the bottom fell out in 2008. That’s why it’s important to have a balanced roster of customers and capabilities.
- Marketing. Smart shops understand that they must have a strategy for marketing their company. That strategy must include differentiating the shop from the competition, having a consistent, compelling message that resonates with their customers, and effectively using appropriate marketing media. These shops either have a marketing team on staff or hire a competent marketing firm to develop and execute the strategy.
Again, these characteristics of top CNC shops are in addition to having high-performance machine tools and other equipment. Your Torrance Haas Factory Outlet consultants can help you select the right CNC tools for your specific needs, such as the new ST generation of Haas CNC lathes and turning centers. To learn more call (310) 381-0750, email: jphillips@haasfactoryoutlet.com, or visit www.haasfactoryoutlet.com.