In the manufacturing industry, customized sheet metal fabrication ranks as one of the fastest-changing and most advancing areas. Advancements include improved materials, machines with higher technology, and innovative processes.
However, since custom sheet metal fabrication is in high demand, manufacturers also face several challenges.
What Is Custom Metal Work or Fabrication?
Metal fabricators specialize in making both prototypes and finished products. Depending on the application and the customer’s criteria, they choose a specific type of metal. They also work with a broad range of machines to handle small and large production runs. People use these products in homes and businesses around the world.
In the coming year, manufacturers who provide services for customized metal fabrication predict an increase in sales by as much as 96 percent. While that’s great news, it also comes with several challenges.
Challenges for the Custom Sheet Metal Fabrication Sector
Hiring Skilled Labor
A key advantage of custom metal work is that much of it is automated. Even so, manufacturers struggle to find qualified workers. Roughly 44 percent of manufacturing companies agree that a shortage of skill ranks as their number one growth barrier. If not corrected, the cost of metal fabrication could increase significantly. That, in turn, could slow down production rates.
Inaccurate Inventory Management
Because of several circumstances, companies that provide custom metal work deal with a fluctuation in the availability of materials. For that reason, they find it difficult to maintain inventory. That creates yet another growth barrier. In this case, manufacturers plan to use a more efficient automated inventory management tool to prevent them from running low or out of metals.
Disrupted Supply Chain
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, high gas prices, and other factors, customized metal fabrication manufacturers experience higher-than-usual lead times. For one thing, that often causes a delay in meeting the customers’ deadline. For another, it creates frustration and distrust for those customers. Next year, many manufacturers plan to spread incoming orders across more suppliers. In addition, some may turn more to outsourcing.
Start-to-Finish Traceability
In response to the increasing demand for custom sheet metal fabrication, manufacturers must speed up production. At the same time, they strive to stay compliant with current regulations and ensure quality. However, most manufacturing companies agree that there are gaps in visibility from the start of a project to the end.
To overcome this growth barrier, they plan to invest in targeted technology. With that, they can trace every aspect of customized metal fabrication end-to-end. In particular, most anticipate they’ll use ERP software for this.
A Reliable and Trusted Source for Custom Metal Work
The experts at Weldflow Metal Products understand these four growth barriers. Always putting the customer first, they stay on top of solutions for each one. That means for custom sheet metal fabrication, they’re a reliable and trusted source. Call for more information
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