In this episode we dive in to how we see shops handling the dramatic fluctuations in material pricing. What are their strategies and how does automated quoting make them easier to implement.

We are speaking with Kevin Heins of KLH Industries located in Germantown, Wisconsin. KLH Industries was recently recognized as a Modern Machine Shop Top Shop in the business strategies and performance category. This is a follow up to a great article that was written about them and their implemenation of a company operating system.

Ashleigh Wehrle of Area Tool & Manufacturing joins us to speak openly about her experience of taking over the shop after losing her father unexpectedly in 2011. Ashleigh's family did not not have a succession plan in place and she shares her experience and lessons learned.

Scott Duncan of F&M Tool and Die joins us to ask Jay and Jeff some questions on growing his business. Jeff and Jay met several years ago through the Entreprenuers Organization. Jay, Jeff and Scott chat strategy about raising EBITDA, why you would want a high profit margin and how to achieve it.

One of the repercussions of US manufacturing moving offshore, particularly to China, is that we've weakened our industrial base, or in other words, we have lessened our ability to manufacture the equipment we need to defend ourselves. We explore this topic in more depth with Alex Gray, author of the Wall Street Journal Article America’s Industrial Base Isn’t Ready for War With China.

Today's guest is Zack Fennell of Ameritex Fabrication & Machining outside of Houston, Texas. Ameritex is an industry leader in advanced metal fabrication. We get into detail about how Ameritex made the strategic decision to change equipment suppliers and how they approached doing so from both an organizational and financial angle. We also touch on other areas of technology that have made a positive impact on their business.

Jeff and Jay get into what information can be interrogated from a 3D CAD model. How to input it automatically into quoting software and then how it can be used for design for manufacturability feedback during the quoting process based upon the parameters of manufacturability. Jay built a company around using 3D data to quote and manufacture parts, and this episode will give you a glimpse of how 3D CAD model geometry speeds quoting, and dramatically reduces errors.

Jay and Jeff take a deep dive into Analytics; data derived primarily from quoting activities. For those quoting in excel or an ERP system it may be difficult to extract information such as win rate. One of the advantages of estimating software is that all this data comes for free and very little effort is neccessary to generate reports. Jeff and Jay get into some of the ways reports can be sliced and diced both out of the box and how you can customize for your shop.

eff shares his experience at his first trip to IMTS (International Manufacturing Technology Show). It was also Paperless Parts first time exhibiting at the show. Jeff shares with us many common questions he received at the booth as well as some of the cool products and companies he saw while walking the show. Jeff shares his experience at his first trip to IMTS (International Manufacturing Technology Show). It was also Paperless Parts first time exhibiting at the show. Jeff shares with us many common questions he recieved at the booth as well as some of the cool products and companies he saw while walking the show.

Brian and Jason Korbelik of Precision Parts Fast join us on this episode. Precision Parts Fast has implemented many concepts and recommendations we've discussed on prior episodes. They are winning more work than ever and have lots of questions on how to automate estimating even more through the use of Paperless Parts. We captured it all for you. We get into pricing levers, part type categorization, and shop rates. Why complex parts can be the devil; throwing away your calculator; managing expectations and even chat about credit cards. These guys are smart, hungry, and growing fast.

In this episode we focus on pricing strategies for repeat parts and how to think of them in terms of rising costs; particularly materials, blanket orders, multiple shipments, and long term agreements. We also dive into AB testing to determine whether new customers will pay more and also how to use AB testing to test out different pricing strategies.

We explore a wide range of pricing strategies today. How to handle customers who cherry pick your quotes, stinging you with the line items you price too low and awarding the juicy parts to someone else. How to handle no quotes; when to no quote, putting a policy in place and what to say to the customer. What to do when an unknown new customer sends in a giant quoting package for the first opportunity. Enjoy!

Dan Villemaire is the President of C&M Precision Tech located in Hudson, NH. Founded by Dan's grandfather in 1979, C&M is a manufacturer of metal and plastic components and assemblies for product manufacturers across various industries. Jay and Dan touch on various aspects of running a shop from managing big mult-year contracts to certifications and much much more.

On today's episode, Jay and Jeff get into how easy it is to update pricing in Paperless Parts. Some shops may be hesitant to update pricing often because it takes time and effort. But what happens when you remove the friction and make it easy? What if you could update factors for pricing everyday? Think about what opportunities are possible when things are simple!

We are back with our 4th episode in this special pricing series. Jay talks in depth about how he believes US Manufacturing will not just survive but flourish in the event of a recession. We also dig deep into shop rates and why it is difficult to determine one rate for an entire shop. We talk strategies and considerations for coming up with these rates. Enjoy!

On this episode, Jay sits down with Mark Douglass and David Sterio of Lincoln Electric's Additive Solutions division. Lincoln Electric Additive Solutions wire-based metal additive manufacturing for large part application provides your business with several advantages over traditional manufacturing processes.

We are back with our third installment in this special series. Jay and Jeff talk about how to teach, train, and develop less experienced team members into becoming productive in estimating. Enjoy!

We are back with a second edition of our special series on Pricing. Jay and Jeff sit down and discuss getting data in and out of Paperless Parts through APIs and other methods. The importance of automated data collection and the risks associated with human error. Enjoy!

This is the first of a mini-series of episodes with Jeff Gorman, Customer Success Manager at Paperless Parts. Jeff speaks with hundreds of shops and will join us to explore aspects of pricing; from setting floor prices to maximizing profits and everything in between. Join us weekly for this special series!

BONUS EPISODE! A short Q&A session with Hernan Ricaurte of Ricaurte Precision, Inc.