I wonder, and I ask you: should you always accept a job? The answer is no. Work is important, this is indisputable. We want to expand our business and of course meet the responsibilities that we often face in relation to those we work with.
All these factors lead us to do whatever we can to please our customers and yet
there are cases when it is simply not worth accepting a job.
Drawing on our experience, there are four main reasons for this.
ONE
Starting from what is perhaps the most mundane aspect even if often not so obvious. Working at a loss is not appropriate. Ever. Unless you have special reasons to do so, such as that of being in a situation of such a work shortage that at that time there are no alternatives. Or that of deciding to accept a job at a lower price with the aim of gaining a particular customer. In the latter case it is important to pay close attention and set the record straight immediately with our contact person (avoiding the risk of creating precedents).
TWO
A producer should not accept a job, even when asked to create an assembly, in which the internally produced components are lower by at least 50% of the total value of the product. This is not an absolute rule, and especially should only be taken into account when you are not a commercial company (such as MICROingranaggi). Having to put, for example, our mark up on 90% of the work would put us in a position of not being competitive (precisely because we are not distributors but producers), resulting in a misrepresentative image of our company, which would appear erroneously too expensive.
THREE
Accepting a job then is not appropriate where there are technical limitations when, more precisely, what is required of us is not fully compatible with our production equipment. Imagine for example that you are asked to produce a series of pieces with tolerances that are so narrow that, for the equipment that you have, those tolerances cannot be guaranteed.
FOUR
Finally, I would like to explore specific technical limitations: the case of production batches that are not commensurate with the productive capacity of our workshop. It is the case for example that our machines support the production of tens or hundreds of pieces at most and the request we receive is for large series. And, conversely, it is also the case that our production lines are such that it becomes counter-productive to activate them to produce a small series.
It is generally difficult for a company to be competitive in both cases. Usually specialization is either in one or the other and those asking us for a quote know that only too well. That being said, it can still be the case (and we have experience of this) that such requests are received.
In such cases, declining the job from the start is not appropriate, because, if well handled, it could turn into a real opportunity for growth. At the same time providing a quote without being properly equipped will inevitably result in an excessive price rise making us no longer competitive. Imagine for example that the assembly takes place manually. The cost for this operation remains fixed regardless of the number of pieces to be assembled, making the final price rise dramatically.
And so? We are clear and transparent with the customer from the outset and give them an initial quote relating to the quantity that we know we can sustain with the aim of achieving increasingly large series production gradually, perhaps over years of work and perhaps even thanks to a precise agreement with that same customer. An agreement that will allow us to invest gradually and to grow.
