# I just lost my largest customer to China. **URL:** \ **Category:** NYSpeed Off Topic\ **Created:** [March 10, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153 "2006-03-10T19:31:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![cky89](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/cky89/32/4945_2.png) [@cky89](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/cky89)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 10:32am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/61 "2008-03-20T10:32:24Z")
> [@Nikuk](#): > > says teh VW owner… > > :mamoru: lol, I know, it’s not by choice. I’d rock an f-bod, and an srt-4 if I could 🙂 Most of the parts on them aren’t made here anymore anyways 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Nikuk](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/nikuk/32/7254_2.png) [@Nikuk](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Nikuk)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 10:37am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/62 "2008-03-20T10:37:09Z")
> [@cky89](#): > > lol, I know, it’s not by choice. I’d rock an f-bod, and an srt-4 if I could 🙂 > > Most of the parts on them aren’t made here anymore anyways 😛 do you realize why those parts aren’t made here any longer? ---
**Author:** ![cky89](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/cky89/32/4945_2.png) [@cky89](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/cky89)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 10:39am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/63 "2008-03-20T10:39:53Z")
> [@Nikuk](#): > > do you realize why those parts aren’t made here any longer? Yeah. It’s inevitable that we’re going to be outsourcing everything soon. It sucks but it’s just how it’s going to be I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Nikuk](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/nikuk/32/7254_2.png) [@Nikuk](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Nikuk)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 10:50am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/64 "2008-03-20T10:50:51Z")
> [@cky89](#): > > Yeah. It’s inevitable that we’re going to be outsourcing everything soon. It sucks but it’s just how it’s going to be I guess. viscious cycle… self-sustaining. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/blue_eyed_devil/32/7292_2.png) [@Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Blue_Eyed_Devil)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:21am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/65 "2008-03-20T11:21:47Z")
UPDATE… After that customer left us our second largest became our largest(obviously) which is an areospace company. That company moved to Mexico!!! Think about that next time you fly.:eekdance: Here is what has happened since then… The areospace company awarded a large contract to us from Mexico because they needed good parts in a timely manner. I would think they will eventually get them from Mexico but for now we are enjoying some nice orders. The original largest customer took an interesting twist. The founder of the company came back to work because he didn’t like the way the new blood suckers were runnning the company. The buyer was given permission to get quotes from us again BUT he told us upfront that our 2 year old pricing was still at least 15% too high. As you may know material prices are considerably higher now. We are currently looking into offshore sourcing for some components but so far all we have received is junk. We just found a new source very recently and are looking into their quality and delivery. If we can get some offshore components it will allow us to inspect the parts and complete and test the assemblies here. I guess you could say our biggest challange currently is finding good offshore sources that will enable us to compete. It is a constant, tough, battle but no one said this would be easy.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nikuk](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/nikuk/32/7254_2.png) [@Nikuk](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Nikuk)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:24am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/66 "2008-03-20T11:24:54Z")
It sucks to hear that you have to resort to that, but if you can’t beat em… ---
**Author:** ![Eazy716](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/eazy716/32/7443_2.png) [@Eazy716](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Eazy716)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:26am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/67 "2008-03-20T11:26:29Z")
not to be devils advocate here, but you guys realise why jobs are being outsourced, right? businesses are cutting costs as much as possible, and when someone can provide the same thing for half or more than half the cost, it makes business sense…especially if that business is an international entity. i work for one of the largest financial institutions in the world, and guess what my job is…global resourcing. its truely my job to outsource jobs. now I will also say that in the 3 years i’ve been doing this, we have added about 500 jobs in India, and 100 in Philippines, BUT have not once cut an employee here to do so. The main key is an effective balance. We continue to grow in India and the Philippines, but dont get any smaller here in the US. and I can also tell you that alot of jobs will end up coming back here someday. Those countries that everyone is running to, to create cheaper labor are starting to realise they can charge more for their services, and they keep going up. So at some point in time, I believe alot of the jobs will come back simply because those countries will out-price their value. And obviously not immediately, could take a good deal of time, but I still see it happening at some point in time. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/blue_eyed_devil/32/7292_2.png) [@Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Blue_Eyed_Devil)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:26am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/68 "2008-03-20T11:26:39Z")
The new source we are talking to told us it may talk 6 months to a year to get a good first part!!! He said once they get a good part things should go smoothly after that.:bloated: ---
**Author:** ![Nikuk](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/nikuk/32/7254_2.png) [@Nikuk](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Nikuk)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:30am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/69 "2008-03-20T11:30:26Z")
> [@AWDrifter](#): > > The new source we are talking to told us it may talk 6 months to a year to get a good first part!!! > He said once they get a good part things should go smoothly after that.:bloated: I won’t pretend to know anything about machining & prototyping at that level… but are you giving them schematics, and they just can’t figure out how to tolerance them or what?? sheesh ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/blue_eyed_devil/32/7292_2.png) [@Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Blue_Eyed_Devil)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:33am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/70 "2008-03-20T11:33:22Z")
> [@Eazy716](#): > > not to be devils advocate here, but you guys realise why jobs are being outsourced, right? > > businesses are cutting costs as much as possible, and when someone can provide the same thing for half or more than half the cost, it makes business sense…especially if that business is an international entity. > Thanks. > i work for one of the largest financial institutions in the world, and guess what my job is…global resourcing. its truely my job to outsource jobs. now I will also say that in the 3 years i’ve been doing this, we have added about 500 jobs in India, and 100 in Philippines, BUT have not once cut an employee here to do so. The main key is an effective balance. We continue to grow in India and the Philippines, but dont get any smaller here in the US. > No new jobs here? Do you see where that may be a problem? > > and I can also tell you that alot of jobs will end up coming back here someday. Those countries that everyone is running to, to create cheaper labor are starting to realise they can charge more for their services, and they keep going up. So at some point in time, I believe alot of the jobs will come back simply because those countries will out-price their value. And obviously not immediately, could take a good deal of time, but I still see it happening at some point in time. Jobs will come back here, I just hope it’s not to the point where people are picking corn by hand just to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Eazy716](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/eazy716/32/7443_2.png) [@Eazy716](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Eazy716)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:36am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/71 "2008-03-20T11:36:48Z")
i fully see the problem with no new jobs here, but having no new jobs here beats the hell out of all current jobs going away because a company folds due to operating costs 5 times their competitors ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/blue_eyed_devil/32/7292_2.png) [@Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Blue_Eyed_Devil)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:38am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/72 "2008-03-20T11:38:23Z")
> [@Nikuk](#): > > I won’t pretend to know anything about machining & prototyping at that level… but are you giving them schematics, and they just can’t figure out how to tolerance them or what?? sheesh Yes. We just learned from this new supplier that the Chinese can’t read our prints. He is going to redraw anything we get quoted! They can read dimensions but really don’t understand the way we tolerance our prints. I told him anything not dimensioned is listed in the title block. For example .xxx is +/- .010. He said, “Yeah but you have to tell them that.” I said, “IT IS RIGHT THERE.” He said, “They don’t know that”. I ass-u-med that someone in their company might learn to read US prints. Bad assumption on my part, the customer does not come first in China. I am learning grasshopper. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/blue_eyed_devil/32/7292_2.png) [@Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Blue_Eyed_Devil)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:39am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/73 "2008-03-20T11:39:39Z")
> [@Eazy716](#): > > i fully see the problem with no new jobs here, but having no new jobs here beats the hell out of all current jobs going away because a company folds due to operating costs 5 times their competitors Truth. ---
**Author:** ![Nikuk](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/nikuk/32/7254_2.png) [@Nikuk](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Nikuk)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:40am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/74 "2008-03-20T11:40:04Z")
Holy :picard: That’s like 10th grade mech drafting stuff… ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/blue_eyed_devil/32/7292_2.png) [@Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Blue_Eyed_Devil)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:44am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/75 "2008-03-20T11:44:43Z")
Sidenote: We do get most of our fasteners from Fastenal now. They sell cheap, chinese, crap. They are our worst supplier by far. When you reject 20% of the crap it starts to erase the savings. I guess most of their customers don’t have in-coming inspection. We always will.😃 ---
**Author:** ![turbo\_ls1\_ss](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/turbo_ls1_ss/32/7303_2.png) [@turbo\_ls1\_ss](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/turbo_ls1_ss)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:47am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/76 "2008-03-20T11:47:57Z")
i skim through this and i shake my head at UAW AAM workers who are bitching about making XX more dollars for certain unskilled jobs. every time i drive down walden i want to kill a lamb ---
**Author:** ![Nikuk](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/nikuk/32/7254_2.png) [@Nikuk](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Nikuk)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 12:03pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/77 "2008-03-20T12:03:25Z")
> [@AWDrifter](#): > > Sidenote: We do get most of our fasteners from Fastenal now. > They sell cheap, chinese, crap. > They are our worst supplier by far. > When you reject 20% of the crap it starts to erase the savings. > I guess most of their customers don’t have in-coming inspection. > We always will.😃 See, at that point where is thebenefit? You can pay “quality” vendors or You can pay chinese Vendors, but have to bring on more staff to spend the time to inspect receivables. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/blue_eyed_devil/32/7292_2.png) [@Blue\_Eyed\_Devil](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Blue_Eyed_Devil)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 12:06pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/78 "2008-03-20T12:06:45Z")
> [@Nikuk](#): > > See, at that point where is thebenefit? > > You can pay “quality” vendors > or > You can pay chinese Vendors, but have to bring on more staff to spend the time to inspect receivables. Exactly, It’s like anything in business, “It’s a fine balance”. ---
**Author:** ![d3x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@d3x](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/d3x)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 12:20pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/79 "2008-03-20T12:20:59Z")
fortunately for the machine shop i work for, China’s quality issues and the outsourcing thats causing our competition to close their doors are the main reasons we are flourishing. you cant skimp on quality on equipment like this… ![http://www.joy.com/jmm/photo_gallery/photos/14CM15.jpg](http://www.joy.com/jmm/photo_gallery/photos/14CM15.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Eazy716](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/eazy716/32/7443_2.png) [@Eazy716](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Eazy716)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 12:24pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153/80 "2008-03-20T12:24:13Z")
^^^thats some crazy shit right there! [Previous page](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153.md?page=3) [Next page](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/i-just-lost-my-largest-customer-to-china/9153.md?page=5)