Client Industry: Medical
Part Production: CT Scanner and MRI Components
Material: Steel
Challenge: A West Ohio Tool medical customer relied on quick turnarounds to regrind drills and get them back on the production line. The motivation for this fast-tracked approach came from the customer’s desire to minimize tool inventory in their quest to keep tooling costs minimal. Unfortunately, the costs of expedited regrinds exceeded what the customer would have spent to maintain a larger tool inventory in the first place.
Solution: Tooling inventory management
Results: West Ohio Tool analyzed the customer’s order patterns and quickly saw a $50,000 difference between their annual expediting fees and the cost of maintaining a large-enough drill inventory to increase the interval between regrind orders. Every company wants to make a profit, but this particular profit didn’t set well with West Ohio Tool’s focus on solving customers’ problems.
In an account review, West Ohio Tool showed the customer that they could save $50,000 annually, buy more drills and avoid the last-minute stress of constant – and expensive – expedited regrinds. Astonished at the idea that a supplier would volunteer to cut five figures off its annual revenue from an ongoing account, the customer agreed with West Ohio Tool and implemented an inventory adjustment.
This customer hails West Ohio Tool as a true partner, saying that “It’s not often you find someone willing to lower their dollars without us even asking.” For West Ohio Tool, it’s business as usual, putting customers first.
