Reasons to buy American
Top 9 Added Costs of Offshore Sourcing of Die Castings
1. Market share at risk
Companies will create competitors for their die casting products by going overseas. Your confidential files could get into the wrong
hands and may be released to your competitors giving them information to your
product specifications and specialized tooling even marketing info.
2. Technology at Risk
Protect your technology! Some offshore suppliers
will sell your technology secrets to your competitors overseas and
domestically.
3. Miscommunication
Extra costs are built in due to frequent miscommunication which can prevent suppliers from implementing the correct die
design changes and assuring their proper implementation. The factors of distance, language, culture come into play
4. Long Lead Times
A problem with offshore outsourcing is that the
production lead times delays are fairly common. You could have a problem if
your die casting product demand increases or decreases due to the fact overseas
supplies commitments can't easily alter and are less flexible then domestic
suppliers. Its virtually impossible to have short term cancellations with offshore suppliers.
5. Shorter Tool Life
Diecast die steel that goes untreated or is
uncertified will have a much shorter tool life. Sometimes a reason that the cost
of a die cast die or mold is so low is due to the fact that it has no guarantees
of die cast tool life. What was supposed to
be cheaper will in return cost more due to the fact a die failure can occur
after only a few thousand shots.
6. Product Failure
There is a higher risk of product failure with offshore
die casting companies. While they may offer
lower prices it could end up costing you much more later down the road for
lower quality a die cast product. They might have lower prices due to the fact
they may use off spec metal alloys that are uncertified. This leads to a higher
risk of product failure which can cause degrading or breaking when such components
are incorporated into your products.
7. Paying before approving products
Most
of the offshore die casting companies will require advance payment even before
you review shipment quality and quantity.
8. False certification claims
Many offshore die casting companies will claim they
are ISO certified, because their country of origin does not persecute or try to
stop fraud products.
9. What Standards do they use
What standards do they use for production and
inspection? Die Casting companies in
America worby the standards provided and approved by the North American Die Casting Association (NADCA) . Offshore
die casting companies most likely do not, which makes it hard to tell if the
die casting parts you are getting are really certified or even toxic in some
cases.
