Which is better? More or less?

stshof

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Sep 16, 2002
Posts
1,194
Loc
Ohatchee, AL
I just got an order in for some moulding(3 patterns). It's not going to matter this time but it could so I got to wondering what y'all think.
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I ordered 30 feet of each moulding. The order was filled with 26', 27', and 26'. My feeling on this is if I order 30', I need 30' minimum. If it means throwing in another 9' stick, do it! It's a lot better then running short for a customer or paying another freight bill.

Opinions, please! :confused:
 
Bad Vendor, Baaaad Vendor (I mean, Vendor's Chopper/Saw Person). :(

I always expect to get more footage than I order and budget accordingly, but never less than! Odd.
 
I agree totally with you, Sue. If you ordered 30' of each moulding, the minimum that you should get is 30' of each. At the very least, the company should have contacted you to see if the shorter amount would be sufficient.

Just last week, I ordered 7' of moulding from a local supplier and when I picked it up, my rep asked me if I really needed the 7' or if 6' would do for the job (the sticks that they had in stock were 6' lengths). For the size of the frame, it was a close call, so I asked for the second 6' length. It ended up that I was able to get the whole frame out of the one 6' length, but at least I had that extra moulding in case I goofed when cutting.
 
I have gotten the same thing through a very well known company. It hasn't happened often and so far I haven't run out before the job is done but it is always a nail biter when I look at the invoice and see i was shorted.

On the flip side, I also hate to get an extra 9' stick only to use 14"s of it.
 
Originally posted by JbNormandog:
I have gotten the same thing through a very well known company.
Yes, this isn't a newbie company. Top 10(or top 5 if you're in the northeast). Maybe the employee was poorly trained? They were small mouldings, too (3/4" and 1"). Plenty of room in the same box! It's a mystery! I'll try to remember to tell my rep!
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I wouldn't wait until you see your rep, maybe a call to the comapny to alert them, in case it is a new employee and they're not aware of it...you could keep it from happening to someone else or to you next time. An FYI thing...
 
Sue as I keep saying it has been a wile since I actually framed. But when I did I learned that not every Supplier had the same DEFAULTS on what you would receive when placing an order. in fact ( sorry to telly you ) I never paid a shipping fee ,since all my suppliers were local to some degree.

That said could you please state what requirement you must meet with this supplier.

In the mean time let me suggest a tight wade approach that I some times used when I needed footage of moulding that went just over the DEFAULT and it was something I didn't want to stock nor eat the scrape.

If I was shipped 9.8 feet lengths (or less in imports),I would order the multiple that would come closest to the needed footage with out going over and then order a rail of the necessary length to assure me of having a little more than I knew I would need.

However you logic is sound since it it is extremely frustrating and very difficult to explain to a customer when you run short of the jobs requirements ( even By inches. Been there done that .LOL)

So with out any more info that's my 2 cents worth.
BUDDY
 
With all short length orders you need to be specific about quantity ordered and cutting instructions. ie: If 8' lengths ship 4 and do not cut. If 9' lengths ship 4 and cut 48" and balance, etc.
There is no standard in what they assume you want when you order. I once ordered 14' of a moulding from Roma, making the assumption that I would get two lengths of no less than 8 feet each. I got one length of 10' and one 4 footer; they filled the order perfectly...couldn't make the frame from that and had to order additional length...my bad.

Faxing orders and specifying exact requirements helps to alleviate misunderstandings. Still there is room for human error, and I'll admit freely to guilt in that department.
 
"Short Sticking" is as bad as being 1 foot short and adding a 9' stick for 8-over. Either way, they should have called.

I'm sure I'm going to get some flame mail on that from some of the other reps, but hey guys and gals, if your company makes it a habit to clarify or call for OK, then it makes your life as a rep easier, your company gets a great reputation, and they don't end up splatted on the Grumble.

Heads up... incoming. :D
 
Perhaps I'm naive, but it seems to me that:

1) The suppliers know (or should know) the exact moulding widths, and often the length of individual sticks.
2) Many suppliers are offering square chops, so they know how to calculate the length needed to cut a frame leg of a certain length.

Therefore, it seems I ought to be able to give the supplier my frame size, and they ship me the lowest number of sticks to meet my need, and cut to maximize my moulding usage (including leaving usable waste that I can at least make a ready-made from, if possible), and to minimize shipping costs.

Why do most, if not all, suppliers leave it to me to calculate it all?
 
If you were to order a chop of 16x20 and they sent you a 14x18, they would admit that it was "short" and wrong.

So why is 26' not "short" for an ordered 30'? It's just wrong.
 
Originally posted by Baer Charlton:
If you were to order a chop of 16x20 and they sent you a 14x18, they would admit that it was "short" and wrong.

So why is 26' not "short" for an ordered 30'? It's just wrong.
If (giving you a scenario) their terms and conditions of sale state that orders less than 100' will be shipped plus or minus 4', then 26' is not short on a 30' order - it's exactly what they said they would do.

As has already been noted, if you're buying short length so close to your requirements you should make sure the supplier knows what you need, especially if they had a policy such as the one I alluded to above.
 
I keep seeing comments that don't sound like the short ordering I was used to when I was open in the N. O. Area. But as i said I suspect that there are a lot of different Defaults from the various Suppliers and in various geographical areas ,dictated by how they must be shipped in many cases.

But here are the ones I remeber. I would receive the closest to what I ordered that the supplier had in stock with out going under my request. that included a single length.


However there was various minimums. Sum had a 4 foot minimum and others had a 6 foot minimum. Also this was predicated on whether the moulding was a domestic or import. domestics used to be a standard 10 ft. lenght but changed to 9.8 ft. in the latest orders I placed. However a few imports could default to 8 ft. lengths.

On occasion some would go over this ( like OEM metals which occaionally would come in 12 ft lengths.

So it was critical to ask what the standard lenght of a moulding was when placing a short order. If your order went over the default length you had to weigh whether the rail ( for which you might pay Chop price was worth the ordering) to prevent receiving a very short remnant of a moulding you may not have a call for in a long time.

You could however order the CHOP and have no waste or remnant but you pay more .Or you could order additional footage at a lower price and store it hoping it will be needed soon but you save the additional cost of the chop and increase your inventory. The Caveat is be very careful of ending up with 1-2-3 foot overages of seldom used profiles that may get damaged in storage before they are needed again.

All of this had an additional advantage for me in that NONE of my suppliers CHARGED shipping or handling or used any contract Carriers to reach me. This isn't true of many other shops. Also I got weekly ( at least) shipments, and most times bi-weekly or more, from ALL my suppliers .This is NOT TRUE for all other SHPS so add this to you considerations.

BUDDY
 
Originally posted by Richard Darling:
...
1) The suppliers know (or should know) the exact moulding widths, and often the length of individual sticks.
I agree with you. Isn't it utterly ridiculous not to know in what lengths your order will come in? Heck the lumber and steel industry seems to have sorted that years ago. What is wrong with moulding suppliers?

As well this should be part of the data supplied to the pos manufacturer. Then your pos system could be programmed to optimise your purchases.

This probably wouldn't be feasible for hardwood natural moulding which tend to come in random lengths(although a modestly sophisticated order/inventory system could deal with that). But I don't see why it should be a problem for pretty much every other kind of moulding.
 
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