When it comes to working with a cylinder supplier, you have many options. Although determining which supplier is best for helping you meet your specific requirements can be overwhelming, the functionality of your equipment, and your relationships with customers, depend on it. Whether you need to source single acting, double acting, or telescopic cylinders with integrated valves, locking mechanisms, cushions, mechanical rod locking devices, or other features, here is a checklist of qualities that you should look for in a supply chain partner.
Strong Engineering Support. If a manufacturer has engineers with experience serving the market sector you are in, that is a large plus. You should also inquire about which design software packages the engineering team uses. If the answer is AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Pro/E, or a combination of the three, that is a good sign. Some companies use proprietary design tools, and that option is also acceptable.
Rapid Prototyping and Development. The best manufacturers are adept at taking CAD designs and quickly translating them into prototypes. As your potential supply chain partner how long it takes them to create a prototype. If the answer is 20 business days or fewer (one month), they deserve a close look. Any period longer than that should raise a red flag in your mind. It usually means one of two things: the supplier is having trouble keeping up with its workload or it operates inefficiently.
Comprehensive Quality Management Program. If your potential supply partner is ISO 9001:2015 certified or compliant, that fact tells you the company is serious about making products to specification. Similarly, if a manufacturer is ISO 4406 certified or compliant it means that the company is committed to minimizing the number of solid particles in the hydraulic fluids it uses to power its cylinders. It is also prudent to ask whether your potential partner has a zero-defects quality program, or something similar.
If you are manufacturing products that can be exported for defense applications, it is a bonus if you have a supplier that is ITAR-registered.
Custom Ordering & Delivery Systems. A strong partner will have KanBan, JIT, and consignment systems that can be tailored to your specific requirements. It should also have an EDI order management system that makes it easy to send purchase orders, invoices, advance ship notices, and other transaction-related documents.
Flexible Inventory Programs. Inquiring about the volume and types of raw materials on-hand, as well as the comprehensiveness of finished goods and safety stock programs, can give you valuable insights into a potential partner’s reliability.
Domestic vs. Overseas Sourcing
Reshoring began during the pandemic and has gained momentum over the past several years for a variety of business, geopolitical, and environmental reasons. Given the possibility of a port strike along the East Coast and Gulf Coast delaying overseas shipments, that factor combines with several others to make partnering with a domestic supplier most beneficial.
Accelerated Procurement Cycles. By decreasing the lead times required to ship products and clear customs, you can receive orders in days instead of waiting weeks or months. As a result, it can be easier for you to meet your production deadlines, and it can also help your customers fill their orders.
Easier Quality Control Monitoring. Your proximity to the company that supplies your hydraulic cylinders allows you to see what is happening on the production line and gives you opportunities to participate in the quality assurance process to an extent that would be difficult or impossible otherwise.
Closely related to quality is the safety factor. By having the ability to closely monitor the quality of a domestic supplier’s products through a transparent supply chain, you reduce or eliminate the probability of sub-standard components or parts being used in your equipment.
You have probably heard stories about, or experienced, products manufactured overseas that were promised to meet a set of specifications and safety standards they did not, causing production delays, malfunctions, or worse. Through domestic sourcing, you can eliminate worries about being victimized by counterfeiting or “bait and switch” transactions.
Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Purchasing cylinders domestically results in lower shipping costs, no tariffs and port taxes, and no additional handling fees that do not add value to the transaction. Because many hydraulic cylinders are heavy items, shipping them long distances, such as overseas, may not be the best practice. In our experience, if you have to ship a 1,500-pound item more than 1,500 miles, the economics are unlikely to make sense.
Beyond technical and economic reasons for dealing with a supplier that is “close to home,” your desire to strengthen local communities within the U.S. and help to provide workers with well-paying jobs that can support families could also factor into your decision. To tell us about your experiences with overseas and domestic suppliers...
