So I'm currently having another round of sleeplessness, and decided to work on some reports. While going through the report, one of the columns of data is Lead-time. It is an important detail that every salesperson uses daily, and with every quotation a lead-time is to be advised.

Looking through the data, I see the typical 1-2 days. Some specify work days, as in 1-2 work days. Again, very typical for HPAlloy. Even 2-3 days is not horrible. We usually do not work weekends, but we do run extra shifts.

(Did you know that we do offer same day shipping? Of course you have to call early to get a spot... And it has to be able to be pulled, cut, inspected, labeled, packed, cert pulled, packing slip made, package labeled, billed and picked up)

Occasionally I'll see a creative 10-12 days, (this is actually 2-2.5 weeks). Always work in the smallest numbers possible.

A lead time is sometimes negotiable, and should never be ambiguous. If you see a lead-time that is unclear or unacceptable, the quote stage is when you should bring it up to the sales person or their manager.

PROTIP: If you know they day you need it by, tell the salesperson that it is your 
dock date that you need On or Before "OOB", otherwise known as No Later Than "NLT"

More insight into the quoting process?  DYAS is supposed to mean DAYS, and sometimes misspelled as DAUS. 

WKS is weeks, occasionally denoted weejs, clearly a typo though.

ARO is After Receipt of Order

Heraclitus — 'The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change'

Cindy Miller is retiring end of this month (March 2016) after several years with us. It's a planned retirement. We knew we would only have her time and talent for awhile, as she had already retired from Haynes a few years ago. I'm sure she will enjoy her new found free time playing golf and catching up with friends and family. If you get a chance, please drop her a line and say farewell.

We have added a couple sales assistants to sales team, Tracy Cockrum and Grant Kirchner. A few of you might recognize the names. Tracy is making a move from accounting. She has a background in Marketing and seems to enjoy helping the customer find material solutions. Grant has been involved in sales before, as well as operating equipment through different parts of the plant. He has some good knowledge of the waterjet cutting we perform as well.