Discrete products manufacturers plan to spend more than $1 billion on quality services this year. Before your company signs on the dotted line, here are some things to look for.
Discrete products manufacturers plan to spend more than $1 billion this year on quality services, according to Quality's 2001 Annual Spending Survey. In many cases, contracting with a service provider is one way to prevent a job from falling behind schedule, or for some companies, from falling further behind schedule. Moreover, lining up work by a third-party firm that has the right kind of equipment can be a line of defense so that products don't end up as scrap or returned for rework.
Before signing on the dotted line, however, there are a number of key considerations. For most manufacturers, price, delivery time and customer service top the list.