The supply chain&#;a term once associated with the logistics, transportation and distribution world&#;has become common in everyone&#;s vocabulary. Unfortunately, because of the COVID-19 crisis and recent geopolitical events, strain remains on the collective supply chain.
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Never has this been truer than with fasteners in the off-highway mobile equipment manufacturing sector. From diesel and electric engines to hydraulic systems to electrical components, supply chain disruptions have made providing the equipment that customers want difficult. While fasteners may seem to be a small part of the overall manufactured product, they are especially important components in off-highway machines. Fast fact: Fasteners are about 50% of the bill of material and 1% of the production cost of a typical machine.
How can original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of off-highway mobile equipment mitigate fastener supply chain challenges? The answer lies in the chosen fastener supplier and what that partner has learned and applied during the past couple years to help OEMs be more competitive.
Optimas SolutionsThe value of a full-service fastener supplier and how a manufacturer works and interacts with that supplier has been reinvented and rethought to help manufacturers improve the supply chain&#;particularly those seeking operational profits, production security and product performance. When working with existing distributors or seeking new ones, OEMs should evaluate a full-service fastener supplier in five key areas&#;risk reduction, inventory optimization, elevating operations, quality, and electrification and environmental considerations. Getting an understanding of their capabilities and approach in these areas will help OEMs develop a long-term supply chain relationship.
Lost shipments, lengthy delays and mistakes in orders affect a manufacturer&#;s production. Understanding how a fastener supplier reduces risk is important. One of the first factors to determine is availability. What is the availability of parts, and how does the supplier manage inventory? What is the proximity of distribution centers to see if delivery times can be shortened? What is a supplier&#;s record of on-time delivery in respect to these regional sourcing capabilities?
A measurable positive is if a fastener supplier offers in-house manufacturing capabilities. Seeking domestic or regional sources for components is growing in popularity as a strategy for OEMs to gain more control of the supply chain and shorten lead times.
The ability of a fastener supplier to reduce risk in the supply chain through better parts availability, sourcing capabilities, delivery prowess and manufacturing capabilities will make OEMs meet their customers&#; demands.Optimas Solutions
Inventory has always been an area to discuss with a potential fastener distributor. However, in this supply-chain challenged era, it is even more important. When discussing inventory, most people think about actual products and goods sitting in a physical plant or warehouse. While this is important, so many more elements must be considered, especially in the current environment.
Optimizing inventory isn&#;t about more. Factors to consider are:
Understanding a distributor&#;s capabilities in technology-enabled demand planning and replenishment automation is critical. Are these capabilities powered by real-time data? Do they offer key insights to make inventory an operational asset? The ability of a distributor to apply predictive and prescriptive data analytics easily and accurately to inventory management may be a difference maker for OEMs.
Another area to evaluate is the ability to develop solutions that improve an application, decrease manufacturing costs, add industrial engineering to reduce the number of SKUs in a machine or perform other cost-out activities. In short, a full-service fastener supplier can help OEMs rethink fastener applications in their products to offer better production and performance and reduce costs.Optimas Solutions
Does the supplier have in-house application and manufacturing engineers to design the right fasteners for products? Can they provide heat treating, plating, coating, patching and other secondary processes through one source? In-house tool and die capabilities with immediate access to engineers and machine operators are beneficial in a supplier. The ability of a fastener producer to perform custom work to meet an OEM&#;s demands is essential.
The key is to evaluate suppliers on their ability to be flexible and offer a wide range of services to meet every need. This helps OEMs eliminate complexity, save time, reduce waste, decrease costs, and improve efficiency and reproducibility.
Well-documented quality levels are a requirement for suppliers. Fastener suppliers must meet industry standards. OEMs should ask for verifications and certifications by standard bodies such as International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Automotive Task Force. These certifications validate that a supplier has proven quality processes.
While certification of quality processes throughout the organization is essential, it might be more important in quality lab testing. OEMs don&#;t want a faulty fastener to reduce product performance. Testing parts and mitigating safety hazards by measuring them against standards are important, and one&#;s supplier needs to adhere to such certifications as ISO , among others. It goes without saying that quality best practices by a full-service distributor and their manufacturing suppliers are essential when identifying a fastener partner that you can trust.
Manufacturing continues to move toward more environmentally safe and sustainable products and equipment. Because of this, fastener manufacturers and distributors must help OEMs embrace and figure out how to advance electrification and other environmental considerations in their mobile vehicles and components. Therefore, OEMs must understand the strategies of fastener producers and distributors in the following areas:
The future of electrification is undeniably bright. The overall focus on the environment, sustainability and other best practices in manufacturing will only increase. When evaluating a fastener supplier OEMs must understand the supplier&#;s strategic approaches in both areas.Optimas Solutions
Many exciting opportunities are available for off-highway OEMs in the coming years. With rising focus on environmentally friendly equipment and federal investments in infrastructure, examining how fastener partners and their technology fit into equipment manufacturing benefits OEMs&#; production, lead times, and many other factors.
Working with a full-service fastener supplier can benefit OEMs if they approach it through a 360-degree lens. The relationship can be a partnership because full-service fastener suppliers will understand how to:
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Paul Przyby is senior vice president of sales with Optimas Solutions.
Fasteners are used in all industries and applications. They are crucial to virtually every product you see today.
When selecting fasteners for industry application, it&#;s important that you select the right fasteners for your needs. That means not choosing a specific size and type, but also choosing the right material, coating and more.
Fasteners may be the smallest component of your industrial product, but they&#;re among the most critical. It&#;s essential that you choose a fastener that meets the specific needs of your product and how it will be used.
Choosing the wrong fastener can result in a product that doesn&#;t hold up over time or under stress. The wrong fastener can also lead to expensive last-minute product redesigns or significantly increase your product cost.
As small as they may be, the fasteners you choose need to be of the same or better quality than the product they support. It&#;s not just about picking the lowest-cost fasteners &#; it&#;s about choosing the most appropriate fasteners to ensure your product&#;s reliability and lasting success.
When you&#;re selecting fasteners for your industrial applications, consider these seven questions before you make your choice.
The first thing to consider is how the fastener and the product itself will be used. For example, if the fastener is regularly opened and closed, a durable solid metal fastener makes sense. If a fastener is seldom if ever opened, a lower-priced alternative, such as plastic, might be acceptable.
Environmental factors affect what type of fastener your product might need. Fasteners used indoors in undemanding conditions can be less robust than those used outdoors or in a more extreme environment. Consider also specific environmental demands. For example, exposure to saltwater can cause 18-8 grade (18% chromium, 8% nickel) stainless steel fasteners to corrode and lose integrity. If saltwater is a key environmental factor, fasteners made from 316 grade stainless steel will be less susceptible to rusting.
As you&#;re aware, there are many types of fasteners available &#; bolts, screws, nuts, washers, rivets, anchors, inserts, rods, clips, pins, and more &#; and many variations within each fastener type. For example, you can choose from several different types of screw heads, including flat, oval, round, pan, hex, hex washer, truss, button, and socket cap. There are an equally diverse number of nut types, including hex, cap, acorn, jam, flange, square, tee, torque lock, K-lock, slotted, coupling, and castle.
Each type of fastener has its own inherent strengths, weaknesses and applications, making certain types of fasteners better choices in specific situations. You need to choose the right type of fastener for your specific product needs &#; how the fastener is being used, what materials it will be fastening, how the fastener fits within the overall product design, and more. You can choose from off-the-shelf fasteners or design your own custom fastener for a specific product need. (Off-the-shelf fasteners are less expensive and more readily available, of course, while custom fasteners may be the only way to meet unique product specifications.)
When determining a fastener type, familiarize yourself with the ASTM fastener standards. You can often use these standards to select the type of fastener you need.
Knowing how and where the fastener will be used should also help you determine the right material for your fasteners. The material you choose affects not just cost, but also the strength and corrosion resistance of the fastener.
You can choose from among these common materials:
Note that there are different grades within each material type. Choose the grade most suited for your usage and environment needs.
Coatings are often added to fasteners to increase corrosion resistance. In some cases, though, coatings are purely decorative.
The most common fastener coatings include:
More chemically sophisticated coatings may also be available for specific applications, including:
How and where the fastener is used also factors into the fastener size. Heavier-duty applications may require larger fasteners, while tighter designs may dictate smaller ones.
Most fastener types come in a variety of industry standard sizes. For example, metric bolts are sized from M5 to M30, with hole sizes from 5.5mm to 32mm.
Browse all types of fasteners at the International Fastener Expo. IFE is the largest specialty fastener show for fasteners and other industrial products in North America, with more than 650 exhibitors from around the world. This year&#;s show is at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and runs from September 21-23.
Register now for International Fastener Expo &#; September 21-23 in Las Vegas!
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Screw Manufacturers.