AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE COMPONENT MANUFACTURERS
Running an Aerospace Component Shop Without Cash Getting Stuck
A purchase order lands for a bracket family, but the drawing revision on the order is one letter ahead of the copy on your shop floor. First-article inspection waits, the bar stock sits, and the buyer's schedule does not move. Meanwhile you are quoting two other jobs from memory.
We work on the business side of that shop. We look at how a job is costed with inspection and outside processing, how delivery promises are tracked, and how payment is chased. We do not advise on certification, export rules or engineering. Your quality head and the buyer decide those.
Discuss your priorities ↗COMMON CHALLENGES
The pressures
we often see.
- 01Quotes are built from the machine time alone, so outside special processes, inspection hours and certificate paperwork are absorbed by the owner without anyone noticing which jobs lose money.
- 02Small lots of many part numbers mean the shop changes setups constantly, and the delivery date promised on the phone rarely matches what the planner can actually load.
- 03A rejected first article or a revision mismatch can freeze material and cash for weeks, yet nobody tracks how often it happens or which customer drawings cause it.
- 04Buyers pay on long terms and sometimes hold payment for a document query, so a healthy order book can still leave the owner short of cash for wages.
- 05Skilled programmers and inspectors are few, and the owner often becomes the person who knows which job is stuck where.
OUR FOCUS AREAS
Where the work
usually starts.
- 01Cost sheet per part number: material, machine hours, setup, inspection time and outside processing such as heat treatment or plating
- 02Order-to-dispatch tracker showing drawing revision, first-article status and promised date for every open PO
- 03Rework and rejection log by customer, part and operator, reviewed every week with the quality head
- 04Quote template that prices small lots separately from repeat batches so setup is not given away
- 05Invoice and document checklist (certificates, inspection reports, packing lists) so no bill is held for a missing paper
- 06Receivables ageing by buyer, with a named person who calls before the due date
- 07Machine loading board that shows which spindle is free and which job is waiting for material
- 08Succession of know-how: who besides the owner can release a job to the floor
START THIS WEEK
Things you can do
before you call anyone.
- Pull the last ten dispatched jobs and write beside each the hours spent on inspection and paperwork. Seeing that number once is usually enough to change how you price.
- Hypothetical example: a lot of 40 brackets is quoted at ₹900 each on machine time. Inspection and certificates take 12 hours at ₹500 an hour, which is ₹150 more per piece. Add that line to the quote.
- Write the drawing revision on every job traveller in large letters, and ask the floor supervisor to read it aloud against the PO at release. Keep a tally of the mismatches you catch.
- List every invoice older than its due date, with the buyer contact and the reason it is held. Ring the three largest yourself and note what each one actually needs from you.
A PRACTICAL ENGAGEMENT
Start with the priorities
that matter most.
We begin by understanding how your business runs today, find the gaps, and agree the scope in writing. Recommendations are shaped around your team, your resources and your goals.
- A one-page job cost and quote sheet with lines for special processes, inspection and documentation
- A weekly delivery review format listing each open PO, its revision status and the blocker
- A role chart separating planning, quality release and dispatch so the owner stops being the switchboard
- A buyer-wise collection routine with a call script and escalation step for held invoices
Not the right fit when: If the real problem is a lost approval, a failed audit or an engineering fault, start with your quality head and the buyer.
Explore a business audit ↗LET’S MOVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD
