Two Ways to Win in Manufacturing

Everyone’s looking for an edge in manufacturing. Many people think all of the big efficiencies have already been milked out of the market. But there are two underutilized processes, either of which could give you more than an incremental advantage. Let’s talk about how you can get your products to market quicker and with less upfront capital than you expect.

Speed-to-Market

Everyone wants to get their products spun up and out the door as quickly as possible. That’s where the money is. In our industry, shaving time isn’t just improving productivity; it’s improving your bottom line. Getting a new product out the door can be a source of frustration and a drain on your potential revenue. It often feels like you’re working against your equipment suppliers in order to get your product to market. There are processes you need to go through that don’t have your bottom line and speed-to-market in mind.

How Buying Used Can Slow You Down

It might seem like buying used can keep your initial investment costs down. It can certainly save you some money on the machine itself. But there are a number of hidden time-sinks when you buy used that you need to keep in mind. While it might seem like a quicker and cheaper way to go when compared to buying new, that’s not always the case — especially when you factor in the amount of time invested in getting the machines ready to go. Here are three ways buying used from a dealer or broker can slow you down and hurt your bottom line.

Time Spent Looking for the Right Machine

If you decide to buy a used machine, you’ve got to find a machine yourself or else work with a dealer or broker. If you’ve got any experience dealing with these folks, you know it’s a bit of a mixed bag. You don’t always end up with a highly competent and skilled broker. Supposing you find a good broker, then there’s still the business of working out the deal and ordering the machine. Usually, they’re able to get you the machine pretty quickly, but they’re not always able to ensure the quality of the machine meets your needs. Buying used through a dealer or broker means buying it “as-is.” And sometimes, “as-is” means the machine barely works. That means you need to get it up and running.

Testing & Repairing the Machine

This leads us to the next time-sink that often comes with buying used machines. You get what you pay for — and often what you pay for is a semi-functional machine. Now the responsibility is on you to find a technician or engineer to repair the machine. If you don’t have someone internally to handle that, you’ve got to outsource those repairs. That’s more money and more time with a dysfunctional machine taking up space on your shop floor, not adding any value. If you or your hired technician do not have the parts needed for the repairs on hand you’re looking at even more time wasted waiting on parts. And that’s just to get the machine up and running again. There’s still the business of dialing in the machine to work optimally for your needs.

Calibrating the Machine

When you buy a used machine, you’re buying a machine that was set up and calibrated to fit another plant’s specific needs. Even if it shows up in working order, that doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you. You’ll need to have someone calibrate it and test it to make sure you’re getting maximal efficiency and quality out of it. 

These headaches are the kinds of things that push people to go straight to the OEMs. If you buy new, you certainly will have fewer headaches. But buying new won’t work for everyone. 

Getting a New Machine Can Sometimes Take Just as Long

When you buy new, you know exactly what you’re getting. There’s no guesswork about the condition of the machine. And the OEMs generally know their machines and what they do well. But they often take more than two months to get a new machine to your shop floor. Then you still need to find someone to fine-tune the machine to fit your needs. It’s less of a struggle than buying used, but you don’t always have 2+ months to get a line going. Sometimes you need to move much faster. Unfortunately, there’s not much most OEMs can do to help you. And if they can do something, it’s usually going to cost you for the rush order. So what can you do?

How Frain Can Help You Get to Market Quicker

We understand these struggles well. It’s why we’ve developed our business structure the way we have. We want to be the people you turn to when you’re starting a new product line and need to get to market quickly. We keep more than 9,500 fully customized machines on hand. We’re ready for you when you call. You’ll know within minutes whether or not we have what you need.

On top of that, our expert team of more than 50 technicians and engineers work to ensure every machine is production-ready before it leaves our warehouse. We will work with you to ensure the machine will meet your specific needs before we ship it. Your order from us will get to you quickly and in working order every time. Our highly specialized team will then make final adjustments to your machine on the factory floor.

Get a New Line Going Quickly and Affordably

Starting up a new line usually requires a large amount of capital to buy a new or used machine. A brand-new machine from an OEM can be pretty costly. But, depending on the machine, sometimes the used machines on the market aren’t much more affordable. This is where our pay-as-you-go pricing plans come into action.

Whatever your situation, our pay-as-you-go pricing can help. With our pay-as-you-go pricing, you only pay for the machine while you use it. We tune your machine to fit your specific needs and ship it to you. We take it back when you’re done with it. It’s as simple as that. Don’t let a lack of capital keep you from new areas of business.

A Recent Example

A contract packaging company recently got a new contract for a snack bar. This was a new customer that they had been trying to get for some time. They needed to be in production within 60 days and they needed several pieces of equipment: a wrapper, check weigher, metal detector and conveying system. They did not have the budget or time to buy new equipment. They also did not have the time or manpower available to buy from a used equipment dealer.

So they sent Frain a sample of their product. Within six weeks, Frain had set all of the machines to their specifications and integrated them into a running line. Thanks to Frian’s pay-as-you-go pricing, they did not need a large capital budget to make it all happen.

Schedule a demo today and discover what Frain can do for you.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.