SESmfg LLC

Happy Thanksgiving from our team to yours! We're grateful for everyone here at SES and the outstanding work they put in each and every day.?We'd also like to thank all of our clients - past, present, and future - for allowing us to work alongside your teams to build a better and stronger future for American manufacturing. Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday full of love, gratitude, and feasting! ?? . . . #ses #sesmfg #manufacturing #cnc #cncnmachining #productdevelopment #design #engineering #automation #robotics #happythanksgiving #bettertogether #madeinusa

??Can you expedite this??? Absolutely! We understand that you have tight deadlines - you may even be reaching out due to supply chain issues that left your operations at a standstill. SES and other domestics manufacturers may be able to help, but you can expect that it will come at a price. When speed is critical, manufacturing costs often rise. Here’s why expedited production comes with a premium: 1???Prioritizing Your Project: Expedited orders often require rearranging production schedules, delaying other jobs, and dedicating additional resources to meet tight deadlines. 2???Overtime and Extra Labor: Faster timelines may mean paying workers overtime or bringing in additional staff to ensure on-time delivery. 3???Rush Material Sourcing: Procuring materials quickly can lead to higher prices, as suppliers may charge premiums for expedited shipping or short lead times. 4???Increased Overhead: Accelerated timelines can result in higher operational costs, from extended machine use to additional labor hours during assembly, quality assurance, or packaging?processes to meet your deadlines. While expedited manufacturing costs more, it ensures you meet critical deadlines, maintain customer satisfaction, and reduce production downtime. Planning ahead when possible can help avoid these additional expenses, but SES is willing and able to help if you're in a pinch. #ses #sesmfg #manufacturing #production #expedite #cnc #cncmachining #fabrication #heretohelp

???What Goes Into a Manufacturer’s Quote???? Let's talk about the all-important RFQs.?When building a quote, manufacturers consider several key factors to ensure accuracy and alignment with client needs: ?? Material Costs: The type, quantity, and quality of materials required. Prices can vary based on raw material availability, market fluctuations, and the specific characteristics needed (e.g., durability, weight, or finish). ?? Production Complexity: The labor, machinery, and time needed to complete the job. Complex designs or precision engineering may require specialized equipment or additional quality checks, which influence the overall cost. ?? Volume: Larger orders often benefit from economies of scale, reducing per-unit costs. However, initial setup costs and minimum order requirements can impact quotes for smaller production runs. ? Lead Times: Tight deadlines may incur additional costs for expedited production. Rush orders might require overtime, faster shipping for materials, or rearranging production schedules to meet your needs. ?? Compliance Requirements: Meeting industry standards or certifications can influence pricing. Testing, documentation, and compliance with specific regulations (e.g., FDA, ISO) often require additional processes that add to the final quote. A transparent quote reflects the full scope of your project and sets the stage for a successful partnership. Your provider should be addressing any and all of these points during the quoting process so you have a full understanding of where your cost is coming from, and any possible ways to reduce cost without impacting product performance. Looking for fast turnaround on quotes AND finished parts? Email us today!?[email protected] #ses #sesmfg?#manufacturing #businesstips #quoting #rfqs #purchasing

As a vertically integrated manufacturing and engineering firm, SES aims to provide the support you need when you need it - and not when you don't. Companies all across the US are discussing jobs they want to re-shore, so let's talk about it! If you are looking for a partner in one of the following areas, let's connect: CNC milling (3 & 4 axis) CNC lathe (2 axis) Welding (MIG & TIG) Prototyping 3D Printing Jigs/Fixtures Assembly CAD Design/DFM Automation Solutions #ses #sesmfg #manufacturing #engineering #productdesign #productdevelopment #automation #robotics #reshoring #madeinusa

???Commercializing Your Product: Key Conversations with Your Contract Manufacturer??? Taking a product from concept to market requires close collaboration with a reliable contract manufacturing partner. Here’s what you should cover early on to ensure the most successful launch: ?? Product Specifications & Quality Standards: Document and communicate critical design specifications, functional requirements, and aesthetic requirements. This includes how you want the finished product to be packaged and branded. These discussions set the foundation for a high quality and predictable result. ?? Regulatory Compliance: Your contract manufacturer should understand relevant regulations and certifications needed for your industry and target markets as well as how to verify the compliance of product being built and have a robust quality process that supports this. This is crucial for avoiding delays and ensuring product safety and efficacy. ?? Production Scalability: Discuss future volume projections and your manufacturer's capacity to scale production as demand grows. A flexible manufacturer can adapt quickly to meet increased demand without sacrificing quality. ??? Production Costs & Timeline: Align on budget and timeline expectations early and often, including production preparation, ramp up, and delivery phases. Transparency keeps everyone on the same page and ensures that your manufacturing team and your salesforce are aligned on product cost and critical sales start and fulfillment dates. Having these open discussions with your provider sets a clear path to market and helps avoid costly adjustments later in the process. Building a solid relationship with your manufacturing partner can make all the difference in a smooth commercialization journey! #SES #SESMFG #Engineering #ProductDevelopment #Commercialization #Manufacturing #ContractManufacturing #GoToMarket

??? Testing, 1-2-3! ??? For any product development journey, prototyping and rigorous testing are crucial steps to ensure the success and reliability of the final product. At SES, we understand that an idea is only as good as its functionality in the real world. When you're looking for your partner in product development, there should be open and honest discussions early about?these key stages: ??? Prototyping: The prototyping stage allows you to create an initial, tangible version of your concept. You will want to discuss?multiple iterations, analyzing and refining elements such as materials, dimensions, and features to align closely with your objectives. This process saves time and resources by catching potential design flaws early, reducing costly revisions later in the development process. ??? Product Testing: Product testing introduces the prototype to real-world scenarios. Plan to discuss testing?each prototype rigorously for performance, usability, durability, and safety. This stage should not only validate functionality but also incorporate your valuable user feedback, allowing for essential adjustments that align the product with both market demands and industry standards. ??? Validation: The final validation phase is where all insights from testing converge to ensure that your product is production-ready. By refining based on testing data and user feedback, you will confirm that the final product fulfills your customers’ needs, meets regulatory requirements, and is optimized for quality and performance. Investing in a thorough prototyping and testing process is key to a reliable, high-quality product that performs consistently. We’re here to guide you through every step, making your vision a reality with a product your customers can trust. Ready to bring your idea to life? Let’s collaborate! #SES #SESMFG #Engineering?#ProductDevelopment #Prototyping #Testing #Innovation #QualityControl

Today, we pause to honor and thank the brave men and women who have served and fought for our freedom. Your courage, resilience, and commitment inspire us all, and we are forever grateful. To all veterans, thank you for your service and the sacrifices you’ve made for our country. Your strength and dedication will never be forgotten. ???? #VeteransDay #HonorAndRespect

They say teamwork makes the dream work, right? Whether your product development service provider is a team of one, two, ten, or hundreds of people, there needs to be a certain level of collaboration for your partnership to be successful. Working with a smaller team can have its own benefits - some providers leverage having less employees by providing exceptional 1:1 service and incredible attention to detail. Others prefer working with a larger team where more feedback can be provided from different perspectives. By taking the time to truly understand our clients' needs, SES started as the former and has grown into the latter - we now have a diverse group of technical visionaries who are responsible for bringing your idea to life and passionate about collaborating on projects with each other and our clients. Regardless of the size of that team you're considering, here are some things to consider early on in the process: ? How is the initial communication? ?? This is the first step - if communication is prompt and responses are detailed, you’re on the right path. ? What kinds of questions are they asking you in the discovery phase? ?? Are they asking about your goals? Value proposition? Target customers? Budgets and timelines? The discovery phase is hugely strategic and possibly the most critical phase of the product development process - look for a partner who cares enough to ask all the right questions and demonstrates that they're committed to bringing your vision to life. ? How vertically integrated do you need your provider to be? ?? Is your short term goal to receive a design (digital files), a prototype (working model), or go all the way to serial production and commercialization? If your goal is to bring a product all the way to market, look for a partner who can not only work with you in the design phase, but also manufacture and deliver your finished goods. This will significantly reduce your time and money spent getting to launch. ? How frequently can you expect to hear from them? ?? Ask about their communication cadence early on to confirm their methods and communicate expectations - we schedule pre-planned update meetings at recurring frequencies that align with each key project's milestones. Additionally, we also offer a single point of contact for our clients so that they can communicate as often as needed between in-person or virtual meetings throughout the duration of the project. You have the vision - now you need someone you can confidently collaborate with to execute your plan. Knowing what to look for early on in your discussions with potential partners can save valuable time and money, and make sure you find the right provider. Big or small, you're all part of the same team - and the right team of people can become unstoppable. #manufacturing #productdesign #productdevelopment #engineering #automation #robotics #teamwork #collaboration

When you're searching for your next vendor, don't be shy to ask about the tools they're using when it comes to project management. How project plans are structured, communicated, and tracked is a crucial component to ensuring the company you're going to work with can meet your product specifications and all-important deadlines with clear expectations and communication throughout the process. Here at SES, we're big fans of the monday.com platform and the versatility it provides. Our Work Management software helps us stay on track in just about every way - from building out long term timelines for large projects and managing sequential workflows across teams with real time updates to live tracking our manufacturing jobs, customer care, crafting proposals, and more. Monday offers customizable ways to organize any and everything and has become an invaluable tool for our team as an all-in-one solution for project management and customer relationship management with built in automations that save us time and improve results. What Project Management software are you using? Are you using separate software for CRM, ERP, and PJM? Let's chat in the comments and spread our collective experiences! #software #monday #projectmanagement #pjm #crm #erp #organization #tools

For any business providing engineering or manufacturing services, selecting the right design software is a critical step on the path to delivering stellar results for your clients. As you're hunting for new providers, it can be helpful to know what software your partner(s) will be using and why. Here at SES, we prefer Autodesk Fusion 360, which combines CAD, CAM, and CAE in one powerful, user-friendly tool, making it a top choice for startups and growing companies alike. ???Here's why we chose Autodesk Fusion 360: ?? ?? All-in-One Solution: From design to simulation to manufacturing, Fusion 360 streamlines every step, reducing time-to-market. ?? User Friendly: Intuitive user interface allows us to onboard new team members who come up to speed quickly and are adding real value in no time. ?? Cloud-Based Collaboration: Share designs with team members and clients instantly—ideal for remote teams and fast project turnarounds. ?? Continued investment from Autodesk: Regular updates are rolled out in real time ensuring our team is utilizing the most up to date software on the market at all times. ?? Exceptional Value: Provides all the functionality we need and more at a price that allows us to scale quickly without inflating overhead. There are a ton of different software options on the market for your provider to choose from - asking about which programs they'll be using and how it will aid them in the design process adds another layer of trust and transparency to your partnership, while also giving you confidence in the quality, speed, and reliability of your product's design process. #ses #sesmfg #manufacturing #engineering #design #productdevelopment #innovation #fusion360 #autodesk #CAD #CAM #CAE #design #mechanicalengineering #software