As a sheet metal contractor, you will often depend on your industry partners and suppliers to help you source materials and tools, solve operational issues, and improve your products and workflow. However, with so many companies vying for your attention and investment, it's important to consider which partnerships will be most valuable to the growth of your business. Here some of the qualities you should be looking for in an industry partner or supplier that will help you build a relationship that will lead to continuous improvement.
Qualities of a Valuable Sheet Metal Industry Partner
- Offers training/mentoring programs. One of the offerings that sets many of the best industry partners apart from the crowd are their training and mentorship opportunities. You should be looking for a partner who offers more than a simple product or service but instead goes above and beyond to offer their expertise in order to help your team learn how to be more effective. Training opportunities are a sign that your partnership can lead to significant growth for your shop beyond simply fulfilling a need or a making a simple transaction. By partaking in these programs with your manufacturing partners, you have the chance to grow through continuous improvement and the exchange of expertise, especially with partners in other verticals within the industry where applicable.
- Drive to innovate. You should also search for and prioritize sheet metal industry partners who showcase a drive and priority for innovation in their products and processes. Valuable partners should be open to taking your feedback about and using it as the basis for improvement. By looking at your applications, challenges, and goals, your partners can develop and innovate alongside you.
- Shared values. One of the earliest indicators of a successful partnership is an alignment of culture and company values. Before choosing an industry partner, it's important to be sure that this company is dedicated to the same type of vision as yours, whatever that many encompass. In most cases, this will include values like quality, professionalism, and a focus on the end user.
By building relationships with other companies and suppliers within the sheet metal industry that are able to offer mentorship, drive innovation within and outside your company, and share your core values, you will be able to create a foundation for growth that benefits not only your business but also the industry as a whole.