Any time a raw metal material is cut, burned, welded, machined, formed, or otherwise processed or assembled, the metal fabrication industry is hard at work. Whether it is hardware, structural metal, or manufacturing products like hand tools or even handrails, companies in this industry play a significant role. That’s partially why the industry is steadily growing at about three percent annually. But even with steady growth, the metal fabrication industry is not without its challenges.
The global economy shapes the success of the metal fabrication industry, and trade and tariffs impact where and how businesses fabricate metal. Fortunately, many of this industry’s challenges are easy to solve with technology.
Here’s what to look out for in the metal fabrication industry and how you can use technology to resolve some of the problems.
Challenges Facing the Metal Fabrication Industry
Increasing customer demands
Customers are living in a world where things happen on demand. They expect an expedited experience in an industrial setting, too. Customers want their products as soon as possible, at an affordable price, with insight into where things stand and when they’ll be delivered.
Supply chain management
Like many other industries, metal fabrication is becoming increasingly outsourced. To save money, many companies send some processes or components out to other plants or locations around the world. While this gets products to the end-stage faster and at a lower price, it also means businesses must work harder to keep track of everything.
Competitive intelligence
How can you stand out in a saturated market? Competitive intelligence is vital to the ongoing success and profitability of any metal fabrication company. The ability to accurately predict what your customers want and how you can best deliver is undeniably valuable. Without it, you will struggle to keep up.
Increased costs
Tariffs and trade wars, as well as the intricacies of various economies, contribute to increased costs and diminished profits for the metal fabrication industry. We understand that it is important to find a way to manage increased costs without cutting into profits or reducing the quality of products.
Solutions Available to the Metal Fabrication Industry
When you work with Decision Resources, Inc., you are joining a long list of happy clients in the metal fabrication industry. We have designed ERP application features specifically for manufacturers, providing the functionality and stability needed to overcome metal fabrication industry challenges.
- manage your supply chain and inventory with definable dimensions and attributes;
- automate your scope floor transactions;
- meet customer demand with self-serve web portals and project management features, and
- ensure competitive intelligence is a part of all that you do with access to real-time, centralized data.
Let’s make sure you thrive in the face of evolving needs and emerging challenges. Call us at 412.562.9660 or email info@decision.com for more information about Infor CloudSuite Industrial or to set up a consultation.
