The Benefits of Buying Stainless Steel Locally vs. Internationally

Stainless steel, known for its remarkable durability, corrosion resistance, and versatility, is a staple material in various industries, from construction to manufacturing and beyond.

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The choice between local and international sourcing is no trivial matter. It wields the power to mold not only the financial contours of your project but also the temporal rhythms it follows. Perhaps most crucially, it bears weight upon the very quality and integrity of the stainless steel materials that will find their way into your hands.

Local Sourcing of Stainless Steel

When considering the benefits of buying stainless steel from local suppliers, it becomes evident that several advantages can positively impact your procurement process:

• Lower Shipping Costs and Shorter Transportation Times: One of the most significant advantages of local sourcing is the potential for substantial cost savings due to lower shipping expenses. Stainless steel is heavy and often shipped in bulk, making transportation costs a significant factor in procurement. When you source locally, you can substantially reduce these costs.
• Improved Communication and Reduced Language Barriers: Effective communication is the cornerstone of successful procurement. When working with local suppliers, you can expect streamlined and efficient communication due to shared language and time zones.

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International Sourcing of Stainless Steel

Exploring the advantages of buying stainless steel from international suppliers reveals several compelling reasons why some buyers opt for this sourcing method:

• Access to a Wider Variety of Products and Materials: International suppliers often offer a broader range of stainless steel products and materials, including specialized alloys, finishes, and sizes. International suppliers may also provide access to cutting-edge innovations and materials not readily available locally.
• Potential Cost Savings Due to Lower Labor or Production Costs: Another advantage of international sourcing is the potential for cost savings. In some regions, lower labor and production costs can translate into more competitive prices for stainless steel products.

However, international sourcing of stainless steel also comes with its set of challenges and drawbacks:

• Longer Lead Times and Shipping Delays: One of the primary challenges when buying internationally is dealing with longer lead times and potential shipping delays. The distance between the supplier and the buyer&#;s location can result in extended transportation times, which may impact project timelines. Buyers must carefully plan and anticipate these delays to mitigate their impact.
• Currency Fluctuations and Financial Risks: Currency fluctuations can affect the overall cost of international procurement. 
• Quality Control and Communication Challenges: Maintaining consistent quality control can be more challenging when sourcing internationally.

Cost Considerations

Let&#;s look deeper into the cost-related aspects of sourcing stainless steel locally:

• Explain How Reduced Transportation Costs Can Impact Pricing: When sourcing stainless steel locally, reduced transportation costs can have a substantial impact on pricing. Stainless steel is heavy and typically shipped in bulk, which means that shipping expenses can account for a significant portion of the total cost. However, by sourcing locally, these costs are minimized since the materials do not need to be transported over long distances.
• Discuss the Potential for Negotiation and Cost Control with Local Suppliers: Another advantage of local sourcing is the potential for negotiation and cost control. Buyers can discuss pricing structures, bulk discounts, and payment terms with local suppliers, potentially leading to cost savings.

Now, let&#;s consider the cost considerations associated with international sourcing:

• Factors That Affect International Shipping Costs: International shipping costs are influenced by various factors. The distance between the supplier and the buyer&#;s location is a significant determinant. Longer distances typically result in higher shipping expenses. Additionally, the volume and weight of the stainless steel materials, as well as the shipping method chosen (e.g., airfreight, sea freight), play a role in determining shipping costs.
• How Currency Exchange Rates Can Affect Pricing: Currency exchange rates can have a profound effect on the pricing of stainless steel sourced internationally. Fluctuations in exchange rates can lead to unexpected changes in the cost of materials. For example, if the buyer&#;s currency weakens relative to the supplier&#;s currency, the cost of stainless steel may increase.

Lead Times and Timeliness

Let&#;s first address the issue of lead times when buying stainless steel locally:

• How Shorter Lead Times Can Benefit Projects with Tight Deadlines: Shorter lead times are a significant advantage when sourcing stainless steel locally. Local suppliers can often deliver stainless steel products promptly, reducing the risk of delays caused by material shortages. 

Now, let&#;s turn our attention to lead times when buying stainless steel internationally:

• Explain How Longer Lead Times May Require Better Planning and Coordination: International sourcing typically involves longer lead times due to the distance materials need to travel. Longer lead times can pose challenges for project planning and coordination. To effectively manage these lead times, buyers need to implement meticulous planning. This includes forecasting material requirements well in advance, creating buffer time in project schedules to account for potential delays, and closely coordinating with suppliers to ensure timely production and shipping.

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In writing the sourcing segment of my Boot Camp F round up, I discover I should have written about using jobber fabric well before now. If you&#;re not sure what a jobber is, cribbing from this entry:

A jobber is a fabric supplier who sells mill ends (also called over runs), odd lots and seconds. Jobbers buy fabrics from textile mills and sometimes clothing manufacturers. Jobbers sell goods to individuals, one-off designers, small manufacturers and fabric stores. Jobbers typically have very small minimums.

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Buying from a jobber is advantageous because you can get fabric in low quantities although some jobbers might have a one roll minimum if they have a lot of a particular item. In my opinion, using jobber fabric is best suited for items for which you will not need replenishment. This is because jobbers cannot ensure continuity (if I had a magic wand, I&#;d make you read the jobber post so I don&#;t have to repeat myself). The cost of yardage is actually higher than what the wholesale price is from a mill but it is affordable in that you don&#;t have to purchase yards if you only need 100. When we made the coats for Fall , we bought quilted lining fabric and pocket lining fabric from a jobber (Big Z). The goods weren&#;t perfect but they were a good value and exactly what we needed for the project.

Buying from jobbers is a problem for many reasons. Read this carefully so you&#;re prepared for the possibility of cost over runs or even, missing production deadlines altogether.

Now that I own a factory and have had to deal with the jobber fabrics that my customer send me, I&#;m becoming less favorable toward using some jobbers for most production runs. It is not that jobber fabrics are wholly unsuitable, only that purchasers aren&#;t aware of the variables and condition of fabric we receive which then increase our costs of operation. It has become so problematic with certain jobbers that we will not give a per piece quote on production but must charge separately for cutting. Some reasons for unsuitability are:

Seconds: the easiest problem to define is that the fabrics are not excess production but fabrics that failed to meet quality specifications. If the fabric comes in with the face rolled on the outside, we are instantly wary.

Misrepresentation: some jobbers take advantage of newcomers and won&#;t even mention that they&#;re jobbers (the customer wouldn&#;t know what that meant anyway). They will extol the virtues of their fabrics, imbuing them with magical properties (some so oversold that I describe them as farted out by fair trade fairies in Italy). When we get the fabrics and find them unsuitable -for example, extreme bowing in an otherwise gorgeous plaid- the customer often assumes that we are the problem rather than their supplier with whom they&#;ve established rapport. If someone will routinely sell you 10-20 yards of purported exemplary high end goods, you are not dealing with the mill or the mill&#;s representative.

Flaws are a given in all fabrics, even high end mill goods. Expecting perfect goods is akin to expecting to find identically sized and shaped tomatoes in the grocery -without flaws- and having identical taste. It just isn&#;t possible. Still, better goods have fewer flaws and any flaws on a roll are marked along the selvedge with a silver foil tape or colored price tag fasteners (the plastic stem that is applied with a tagging gun) . If a roll of fabric comes in from a jobber and there are no markings (evident by examining the roll end), I am thinking that the roll is either very good or very bad, but usually the latter. If there are too many flaws in the roll, it is often not marked at all. When calculating the yardage needed for a production run, we add a small percentage to cover splicing for flaws (and lay ends). Fabric from a good mill need less than 5% over. For jobber goods (and why your factory may want to know who you are buying from), I add 10%, sometimes more. Some jobbers are so bad that I won&#;t accept the order because we have spent more time spreading and splicing, than we have in sewing.

Roll cores are another issue; some of these are so beat up that we can&#;t get the spreader bar into the core. Roll cores are damaged if they&#;re knocked around too many times and also, if they&#;ve been soaked in liquid -that happens more than one would imagine.

Labeling is a legal matter; by law you have to indicate the nation of origin for your goods and sewing. Often, jobber goods are not labeled with content or nation of origin so there is no way to comply with FTC care label laws. To be sure, one could do a burn test to determine fiber content and to be safe, indicate &#;imported&#; for nation of origin but failing to identify goods is but one indication of shoddy practices. We recently got one roll that was labeled &#;Made in USA&#; but the roll had an internal label indicating Pakistan as the nation of origin. It was first run goods tho.

Chemical usage by the jobber or their supplier, is also a problem. Aging inventory fabric rolls are often sprayed with nasty stuff to keep bugs away from the goods. I have no way of knowing what has been sprayed or how often so if it smells funny, we don&#;t want to touch it. We usually wear masks when spreading and cutting but rarely, hand protection. I was dismayed to see one colleague using a fabric we had returned but there was nothing to be done about it by the time we saw it. That fabric was a disaster even before the chemicals.

Variations in cuttable widths are another common defect. For this reason, I do not like to make the markers until the goods have arrived because the widths often vary between the point of sale and delivery of the goods. We have to make the marker for the narrowest width but we often won&#;t know that when the latter is concealed on the interior of a roll. If the segment is short, we often cut it out and hope we have enough left to make the customer&#;s full order.

Summary: Okay, this is but a short list of issues that a contractor will have in using the goods you send and I know that many of you have no other option than to use goods from a jobber. If this describes you, make sure that you can return the goods if they cannot be used for any of the above reasons. Be advised that no one, not even mills, will permit the return of goods that have already been cut into product. They will accept returns for spliced sections if they are inordinately large or numerous. You will need assistance from your contractor to document the problems so this is part of what it means to have a good contractor -they&#;re looking for ways to lower your costs at all times.

If you are uncertain as to the reputation of your jobber, be sure to tell your contractor and whoever makes your marker (hopefully that person is experienced enough to know what this means although many providers I see these days, have no idea) so that an appropriate allowance can be added to your fabric yardage requirements. I have one last thing to say about any jobbers I&#;ve dealt with; they are, for the most part, honorable business people. I have never had a problem returning defective yardage although in one case, I had to wait longer for a refund than I should have.

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