It’s time to future-ready your business

Without a clear understanding of what exactly is happening on the shop floor at any given moment of the day, a metal fabricator is not ready to take advantage of future manufacturing opportunities . Getty Images

The pandemic pushed plenty of metal fabricating companies to question how they operated because 2020 was anything but business as usual.

The many shops that were able to establish themselves as essential businesses during the early days of the COVID-19 crisis pushed forward to keep up with the many opportunities that awaited as manufacturing led the economy back from the shutdown in the spring. Fabricators turned to more automation as they tried to figure out ways to retain productivity when they couldn’t find the right skilled labor to help with the increased business. They needed to stay on top of skills development and cross-training while juggling employees’ unplanned and extended absences because they or their families or friends had COVID-19. Finally, these shops had to cope with huge increases in steel prices, which jumped from $440/ton for hot-rolled coil in August to $700/ton in November. (With prices surpassing the $1,100/ton level this spring, shops can look back on the closing weeks of 2020 as the good ol’ days.)

That’s a lot of upheaval for any business, but experience has a way of making manufacturing companies wiser. The Great Recession was a harsh teacher, but ideally shops now have diversified customer bases and maintain a core of talented employees, instead of laying off everyone, which allows them to get up to speed when the manufacturing economy bounces back.

Information also helps company leaders to make smarter decisions. Access to real-time data gives an organization the ability to take immediate action—not waiting to see how things turn out. As competition grows, that type of responsiveness keeps customers satisfied and the shop’s revenues up.

Aptean, a developer of enterprise resource planning software for metal manufacturers, calls access to this type of real-time information as one of the steps to making a fab shop “future-ready.” Timely and smart business decisions assist a company in being agile when responding to ever-changing market dynamics, scaling to grow with new opportunities, and maximizing its profitability.

In its new white paper, “The 4 Pillars of a Future-ready Manufacturing Business,” Aptean explores how manufacturing companies can take steps now to better prepare them for dealing with future unknowns. By having a clear perception of how the organization is truly operating, which can be done only by analyzing real performance data, a metal fabricator can begin the process of optimizing performance. More efficient operations lead to a stronger cash flow, increased capacity, and improved processes, which all create the foundation for bold moves, such as targeting new markets or growing with current customers.

If you want to learn more about making your shop future-ready, download the white paper here.