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Are Global Issues Affecting Your Company's Purchasing Power?

Boyd Metals
The American manufacturing sector has encountered significant obstacles in recent years. A significant bite has been taken out of the purchasing power of many small and mid-sized businesses. Every month you hear about another factory closing down or staff reductions caused by off-shoring. As someone involved in the industry, you know first-hand how manufacturing is being affected.

With that perspective in mind, let's talk about some of the most serious threats to the buying power of American manufacturers. 

Finding good people

Arguably the greatest challenge facing manufacturing is finding quality employees for your shop. When you have trouble finding reliable personnel, excessive amounts of time are wasted hiring and training new staff. This cycle can seem endless, and it is both expensive and inefficient.

Rising staffing costs

Another big challenge in manufacturing is the high cost of worker compensation, insurance, and property taxes. An employer's good decisions can be canceled out by the costs of worker's compensation and taxes. These rising costs mean forward-thinking companies are constantly being pushed back by the system.

Big data

Manufacturing is data intensive, and many businesses are overwhelmed. With big data management, predictive tools are needed, along with methods to compete with offshore competitors. Many companies don’t know how to leverage data in a competitive market. Generating the data isn't the problem, but accessing and using it can be challenging.

Gross margins

As companies lose the ability to safeguard gross margins, management tends to panic and try desperately to boost sales. History shows us that this strategy is a recipe for disaster as it transforms minor issues into major ones.

Inventory discrepancies

These are another big problem. When a portion of your inventory doesn’t move, you have two options: hang on to the products or slash prices. Either way, you lose profits. Asset-based lenders will offer more for your accounts receivable than for stagnant inventory. This means that small and medium-sized manufacturers will have more difficulty keeping their stagnant inventory available.

Growing compliance impositions

Today, American manufacturers must take compliance issues seriously. Compliance includes everything from IT security to product safety, to environmental regulations. When this issue is overlooked, manufacturers can incur serious consequences. Damage to their reputations may not be the worst of it. Decimated financial performance and ruined careers are prices too high to pay for noncompliance.



At Boyd Metals, we understand the pitfalls and obstacles that today’s global economy brings to your company’s buying power and production process. That’s why we are dedicated to providing a service that is optimized to help you get the most out of your process. We do this through advanced logistics, superior expertise, and competitive pricing. We don’t just sell you the materials and components you need. We provide full end to end service for all your needs.

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