In basic terms, manufacturing of products is the process of turning raw materials or component parts into finished products. But there are 3 different ways of manufacture: 1) Made-to-Order, 2) Made-to-Stock, 3) Made-to-Assemble. Each have their own benefits and drawbacks to the manufacturer and the customer. Read this article to learn the difference between these manufacturing systems and understand why Rhinox are a Hybrid System company.
Some companies manufacture buckets and attachments to order - this means the products are made specifically for you and the manufacturer will wait until after you've placed the order to begin production. This system means that customers will have to wait longer for their item to be delivered as they are being manufactured before dispatch. But it provides a layer of safety to the manufacturer as they are not producing too much stock for the market.
Made-to-stock manufacturers, or Stocking Manufacturers, have the facilities to manufacture their products before orders are placed and store them for when an order is completed. These products are therefore held 'in-stock' in warehouses, stores or showrooms until purchased. This manufacturing type enables companies to deliver products on a much shorter lead time as the products are ready to be picked and packed once the customer has checked out. This is of great benefit to the customer as they do not have to wait for products to be manufactured and they will receive their order much faster than if it was Made-to-Order. This can be a risky system to work by as the company could over produce for the market.
This method is similar to a Made-to-Order system; however, the manufacturer will produce the product in component form, in anticipation of orders being placed. The required components will then be assembled and dispatched to the customer when completed. This method is quicker than a Made-to-Order system but not as fast as a Made-to-Stock System, as some assembly is still required before dispatch. This system means the manufacturer is ready to fulfil orders when they arrive but if the component parts are over produced with not enough demand to fulfil, they can become unwanted stock.
Here at Rhinox, our aim is to provide a quality service with short lead times, so that you have what you need, when you need it! To do this, we run a same day dispatch service, with the ability to deliver next day across the UK. For this, we work on a Hybrid System of Made-to-Order, Made-to-Assemble and Made-to-stock. This means that we keep large stocks of our buckets and attachments, for the most common machine makes and models - this adds up to around 20,000 products! However, we also keep the necessary component parts for our products in-stock, like hanger fitments or lip plates, to enable us to manufacture any product that is out of stock or less commonly sold.
Holding a large proportion of our products in-stock allows us to keep lead times down. Time is money within the construction industry - as you are probably aware! Keeping a large proportion of our buckets and attachments in-stock allows us to dispatch your orders the same day you place them so that you can reduce downtime and get back to the jobs at hand!
Keeping the necessary component parts in-stock also means that we can maintain a shorter lead time. We keep buckets and attachments without specific hangers or edge options in stock, to allow us to fit the required components before dispatch. This can add a short lead time but is considerably faster than manufacturing the product from scratch for every order - it would increase lead times dramatically, as you can imagine!
We aim to maintain high stock levels of our buckets and attachments AND our component parts to maintain our low lead time service. However, it is not always achievable so we might require 5 - 10 Working Days to manufacture your product before dispatch to you.