In the Fabrication World there are no Silver Medals

The Summer Olympics are finally here. Athletes from the four corners of the world have convened in Tokyo to compete for the ultimate gold medal. Your company is also competing against some solid competition – and like these athletes, the first in will likely take the prize. Responsiveness is critical in the winner take all world of metal fabrication; and there is no consolation prize awarded to second place finishers.

With all due respect, the difference between your shop and the others vying for that order is minimal. You provide quality laser-cut parts, they provide quality laser-cut parts. You offer bending, grinding, and painting – so does your competition. You preach customer service… And so on. So, what sets one fabricator apart from the pack? The answer is responsiveness.

“Buyers have come to expect immediate RFQ turn-around,” said Dewey Josephson, Operations Manager for Modern Tool (Coon Rapids, MN). “In many cases if the quote isn’t in the hands of the prospective customer within twenty-four hours, they’ve moved on. Simply put, first in usually wins.”

In many ways, Modern Tool is a typical job shop. The quoting process (largely reliant on a mix of spread sheets, experience, and a semi-automated quoting system) generally took three days or more. And jobs requiring nesting could take up to a week for a nest to be built and run-time and material calculated.

What’s not so typical about this fabricator is a willingness to embrace change. Today taking the business to new levels means breaking from the tools, processes, and mindset that limit growth. Realizing the shortfalls of their current estimating process, Moden Tool began searching for a robust quoting system created especially for the fabrication industry. Coming across SecturaSOFT web-based quoting, the company decided to put the software to a test.

“We received an RFQ for a very complex job,” explained company COO, Dale Pahan. “It consisted of well over a hundred parts, welding, painting, sub-assemblies, sawing, outside purchases, you name it. Honestly, we probably would have passed on the opportunity to bid as it would have taken several days to quote. But I wanted to see what the software could do.” Four hours later the buyer had the quote and Modern Tool had the job.

In today’s digital world everything is accelerated, even expectations. And the first quote in generally wins the contract. Take a closer look and see why more and more fabricators are turning to SecturaSOFT as their faster, more confident, and more profitable quoting solutions partner.

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