ELECTROPLATING AND SURFACE FINISHING UNITS
Plating Unit Pricing: Per Piece, Per Kilo or Per Rack?
A fabricator drops off six hundred brackets on a Friday evening with the words, 'same as last time, Monday morning'. Nobody remembers what the last rate was, the zinc bath is half loaded for another customer, and the delivery challan still has no count.
We help the owner price and run the unit as a business: rates by part type, rack and bath loading, rejection cost, chemical consumption, and collection from job-work customers. We do not advise on plating chemistry, effluent treatment or environmental rules. Your process chemist and the pollution authority decide those.
Discuss your priorities ↗COMMON CHALLENGES
The pressures
we often see.
- 01Rates are agreed on the phone per piece or per kilo, and the same bracket can be priced differently for two customers without anyone noticing.
- 02Bath capacity goes unused when small lots wait for a full rack, and rushed lots are run half-loaded so the cost per piece jumps.
- 03Rejections are found at inspection or at the customer, and the cost of redoing or stripping a part is rarely charged to the right job.
- 04Chemicals, anodes and power are bought and consumed without a link to output, so the owner cannot say what a square foot of plating really costs.
- 05Customers pay after weeks and dispute counts, so reconciliation of challan quantities against invoices eats the accountant.
OUR FOCUS AREAS
Where the work
usually starts.
- 01Rate card by part type, plating type and size, with a minimum lot charge for small orders
- 02Rack and bath loading plan showing what is waiting and what fills each tank per day
- 03Inward and outward challan count signed by the customer, reconciled before invoicing
- 04Rejection and rework log by customer, defect and shift
- 05Chemical, anode and power consumption per hundred square feet or per kilo plated
- 06Repeat customer list with part numbers, last rate and usual order frequency
- 07Customer ageing and a standing weekly call to the three largest debtors
- 08Operator and supervisor roles for loading, inspection and dispatch written on one page
START THIS WEEK
Things you can do
before you call anyone.
- Pick your five most repeated parts and write the rate you charged on each of the last three jobs. If the rates differ, you have a pricing problem that costs money every week.
- Hypothetical example: a tank costs ₹1,800 a day to run and plates 200 parts at full rack. A lot of 40 parts that wastes the rest of the tank must carry ₹9 a piece, not the usual ₹4.
- Start counting pieces in and out in front of the customer and note the count on both challans. Disputes will fall quickly.
- List every rework job from the past month and write what it cost in labour and chemicals.
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 rate card and a minimum lot rule that prevents loss-making small jobs
- A daily loading plan sheet showing tank use
- A challan reconciliation routine so counts are agreed at inward and outward
- A cost per unit area sheet linking chemicals and power to output
Not the right fit when: If the unit faces a closure notice or an effluent or safety issue, that needs a qualified specialist and the authority before any pricing or scheduling work.
Explore a business audit ↗LET’S MOVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD
