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From Progressive Die Stamper to Trusted Partner

Steve Peplin Discusses Talan’s Commitment to Relationship Building For IndustryWeek

In a recent IndustryWeek article, Julie Jusko discusses strategies for building mutually advantageous customer-supplier partnerships. According to Jusko, effective customer-supplier partnerships start with effective two way communication. Conventional wisdom often stresses suppliers listening to customer needs, but customers can learn from suppliers too. The result of this paradigm shift is often the discovery of cost saving ideas that benefit the customer. Jusko also points out that effective partnerships are often formed and nurtured at the C-Level. CEOs need to set the right tone for a collaborative relationship to flourish. Jusko’s emphasizes the notion of developing mutual benefits for no true partnership can be born out of a one-sided relationship.  Talan’s own CEO, Steve Peplin is cited on this score, noting that one of his company’s guiding principles is to develop relationships which in turn become integral to the success of his customers.  Jusko reminds her readers that effective partnerships require constant care and feeding, much like relationships between people. Partnerships take time and effort, but the rewards of better customer-supplier relationships will include a positive impact on your organization’s bottom line.

About IW-IndustryWeek uses print media and an online presence to connect C-level decision-makers within the manufacturing sector to share strategies that inspire action.  IndustryWeek is widely read and consulted among corporate and executive leadership; operations and plant management; along with engineering, research and development, IT, and purchasing and sourcing management.

Progressive Die Stamping Company Utilizes LEAN Manufacturing

A manager can’t pick up a business magazine or book that doesn’t extol the virtues of lean manufacturing. The benefits—reduced costs, less scrap and improved customer service, to name a few—are well documented.

But few small manufacturers are implementing “lean.” Maybe it seems like a big-company strategy requiring the hiring of consultants and additional training, and maybe it seems like it’s just not for your company. After all, everybody talks about the Toyota Production System but is anybody telling us what assembling cars and stamping metal parts have in common? Or,maybe it’s just the name of the concept itself.  After all, you’re probably pretty lean as it is. (more…)

Streamlining Supply Chain Operations in a Progressive Die Metal Stamping Company

For many companies, the most advantageous cost-savings efforts during a recession are within their supply chain operations.

But leaders know these types of changes can be the most challenging to implement. Talan Products CEO Steve Peplin joined with Patrick Lo, CEO of NETGEAR to create the PNC- sponsored webinar: “How to Drive Immediate Supply Chain Cost Savings.”

Below are some excerpts and a link to the webinar and transcript.

Given the truly global nature of today’s economy, the U.S. slowdown had serious impacts on businesses and nations around the world. Rapidly declining customer requests began to catch up with companies that had stocked inventory to meet previously high demand. Business leaders everywhere quickly found themselves pondering their companies’ futures and facing tough choices – such as which operational changes to make to help their companies survive.

In 2008 and 2009, Peplin’s progressive die metal stamping company was faced with a convergence of no sales, high-cost inventory and plummeting product value due to record-low commodity prices. The only thing to do was to explain the situation and ask for help. “It felt like we were looking into the abyss,” recalls Peplin. “When we called our vendors to ask if they were willing to work with us, to extend terms, they were concerned that we might go under, but that wasn’t an issue for us. We went into the recession with a very strong balance sheet, which helped us convince our suppliers that we weren’t going anywhere.”

Creative Strategies for Cash Flow

Peplin says that, in order to survive, his company had to become more proficient in commodities metals management. His progressive stamping company partnered with its materials suppliers to blend in spot market, low-cost metals with its existing contracts.

“We already had metal to stamp, so we had to negotiate extended deliveries on the high-priced material, and blend in some lower cost material to offset it,” Peplin says. “We asked for special terms. We also had to get people to believe in us, to know that we weren’t going anywhere – and to know that the situation was temporary until we could get back to some longer term business.”

To soften the blow, Peplin says that he pushed out the higher-priced materials, in some cases by an entire year. Because steel prices had dropped by about 65 percent, many Talan customers only wanted to pay the market price.

For the webinar and full transcript see www.pnc.com/manufacturers

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Talan Products is a progressive die metal stamping company based in Cleveland, OH.  Talan Products has the stamping machinery necessary to stamp high-volume orders of various metal products.  By utilizing progressive die stamping, Talan Products is capable of stamping parts requiring a complex series of bends and perforations.