Buying A Product Versus Buying A Solution With Adhesives

Both are equally important, especially if your business is going through a growth period. This is why, if you are a user of adhesives, you may be debating whether you should invest in equipment for the long term or take the more conservative approach of buying ‘off-the-shelf’ products and equipment to reduce immediate expenditure.

Let’s examine some of the issues involved. You may well feel that you already have a reliable supply chain for your adhesive requirements; for example, the adhesive you need for your furniture production is sourced from a local distributor that carries most makes and types. Maybe the adhesive dispensing system used in your production process was purchased from an installer and your fume extraction system came from yet another supplier.

It looks like everything is running smoothly, but you’re relying on many suppliers who have no formal connection yet must work together to keep your adhesive operations on track. So, if there’s a problem, are you confident that you can get the support you need when you need it? And are you sure that there will be no blame shifting, as Inevitably things sometimes do go wrong and when one of the links in your manufacturing chain breaks, it can leave your business vulnerable to costly downtime.

One way of minimising this risk, at least in relation to your adhesive requirements, is to find a supplier that provides a fully comprehensive service. They will look at your entire operation to provide a complete solution that includes a bespoke design, equipment recommendations, regular delivery of adhesives, performance checks, servicing and training. A customised solution that provides an answer for every aspect of your adhesive needs may sound like a costly and complicated endeavour but bear in mind that:

• Regular machines and adhesives cannot meet every need.

This is because ‘canned solutions’ address many of the needs of most companies. They come in at a moderate price point but if your company has specialised needs such as the manufacture of vehicle panels or mattress assembly, an off-the-shelf solution will be difficult or impossible to find, whereas a tailored solution will provide huge benefits.

• Off-the-shelf solutions are inflexible

Although seemingly attractive because of their relative low-price points, off-the-shelf products are often “not quite right” for a specific application, and there’s nothing that can be done about this. The adhesive, for example, may have a longer drying time than you would like, which slows down production, or it could produce fumes that require extra ventilation. Such systems may not be able to perform all the tasks you need, leaving you to complete the work manually, which increases both time and costs.

• A custom solution can help your company to grow

Sourcing a complete package from a single supplier that takes your manufacturing process from idea to production and beyond, can help you to increase productivity while giving you definite competitive advantages in terms of product quality and price. And that complete custom package will also help you handle the resulting increase in demand for your products.

Increased productivity comes from adhesives that are developed with your specific needs in mind. Having dispensing equipment that is designed to complement the adhesives with which they are being used adds further benefits by boosting throughput, reducing the risk of errors and minimising the risk of product scrappage.

Taking advantage of the knowhow and products of a total service package gives you important competitive advantages. By investing in your own adhesive technology that is ideally suited for your specific business operations and goals, you can make big gains over your competitors. You may also find a total service company can offer a solvent-free adhesive solution that gives you better environmental credentials than your competitors, a factor which is increasingly important in today’s marketplace.

Working with a single supplier for all aspects of your adhesive requirements guarantees a totally integrated solution based on a full understanding of the way you work. As the supplier gets to know you, they may even be able to apply their expertise to suggest further ways of improving speed and timings, reducing adhesive consumption and waste, increasing safety for workers and generally finding more efficient production methods.

Remember that all of these benefits can come from one single company you work with – a total service provider that instead of just offering consumables, can offer a complete solution for all your adhesive-related headaches!