What Makes a Good High-Precision Parts Manufacturer

What makes a good high-precision parts manufacturer, and how can you select an expert partner? Choosing a supplier comes down to evaluating their expertise, customer service, reliability, capabilities, and level of accountability to their customers. In this blog, the experts at Garland Service Company will dive deeper into these dimensions, giving you a clear guide for evaluating a manufacturer. 

Five Things to Evaluate Before Selecting a High-Precision Parts Manufacturer

Expertise

The first step in selecting a high-precision parts manufacturer is ensuring they have the proper expertise to help with your project. That’s why it’s always important to evaluate a company’s standing and history before beginning any partnership. 

Try asking prospective manufacturers the following questions to get a better idea of their history with projects similar to yours: 

• Can you tell me a bit about the history of your company? 
• How many years has your team specialized in high-precision parts?
• What is the largest order you have ever produced, and how long did the process take from start to finish? 
• How often do you use the materials we intend to use for our project? 
• Can you provide an example of a time you took a project similar to ours from start to finish? 

While it is true that some manufacturers that have been in the precision parts business for a long time still might not be a great fit for your business, finding an experienced supplier will give you a higher chance of growing a long-term, successful partnership. 

Great Customer Service

Another must in a high-precision parts manufacturer is an efficient, professional, and empowered customer service department. Typically, any issues with a customer service department will become evident quickly since they are usually the primary communicators you will interact with. 

You can ask yourself the following questions to evaluate the state of a company’s customer service: 

• Do they respond promptly to attempts to get in contact? 
• Do they communicate professionally and courteously?
• Are they able to answer questions and respond to concerns? 
• Do they take concerns seriously? 

You should be able to answer most of these questions on your own after the third time communicating with a business’s customer service department. Since this is such an important aspect of any long-term partnership, it’s always better to take precautions and take any red flags seriously. 

Advanced Capabilities

A company could check all your other boxes, but if they are unable to create the parts you need, they won’t be a great fit. The right supplier for you should be able to meet your needs in terms of volume, precision, material, design, and any other specifications you may have. 

Here are some questions you can ask a potential high-precision parts manufacturer to get a better idea of their capabilities: 

• Can you tell me more about the tolerances of your machinery? 
• Can you tell me more about a time you manufactured an order similar to ours in terms of scope, volume, material, and precision? 
• What is the most intricate part you have produced? 

During these discussions, it would be helpful if you could give as many precise details on your needs as possible. For example, bringing 3D models or schematics of your parts would be incredibly useful. 

Reliability

A good, high-precision parts manufacturer must be reliable. This means that products should arrive when they say they will arrive in the condition promised. 

Here are some good questions to ask to evaluate the reliability of your supplier: 

• Do things arrive when they say they will? 
• Do they communicate if there will be any delays in advance? 
• Does the quality consistently meet standards? 

This aspect is a bit trickier to evaluate since it is hard to know a supplier’s level of reliability until you have already been working together. Asking for references or case studies, or checking with other customers they’ve worked with, can also shed light on a manufacturer’s reputation and reliability. 

Accountability

Accountability is essential for a high-precision parts manufacturer. You need someone who will own up to mistakes and take action to fix them in a timely manner. 

There are many ways to evaluate this, but one way is by checking reviews. While it’s true that a one negative review may not be an indication of a larger problem, similar negative reviews are. 

For example, if one review says that one customer service rep is frequently rude and always takes weeks to respond, that may not be an indication of a larger problem. However, if 10 reviews say that customer service is frequently rude and always takes weeks to respond, this likely indicates a bigger problem. 

You can ask a potential supplier the following questions to get a better idea of their attitudes surrounding accountability: 

• Could you tell me about a time when you made a mistake during production, and how you rectified it? 
• How is your customer service team trained to respond to customer complaints? 
• How would you respond if a costly mistake were made while manufacturing a large order that was supposed to be shipped tomorrow? 

The answers to these questions should be very telling about the supplier’s attitudes and the importance they place on customer perception. By ensuring that you partner with a high-accountability partner, you can save yourself undue time, stress, and money in the long run. 

If you’re looking for a high-precision parts manufacturer, look no further. The team at Garland Service Company has provided engineering, design, and manufacturing services across various sectors for decades. 

Contact us here to find out how we can help with your latest project. To learn more about high-precision machining, CNC milling, and more, check out our other blogs here.