How do you handle rush orders?

[bdw99]

Reaching out on here to see how you guys handle rush orders.. To give some context, I am the production manager at my company, I have nothing to do with sales, completely separate department. Throughout the years rush orders have always been around. How it used to go is the front would always come back and ask me what my lead times are and Id give them an answer based on what I have going on in the back. Me just trying to go above and beyond would always say yes even if it put me in a bind and I would figure it out.. Fast forward to nowadays, it feels pretty much every order that comes to me is either needed the same day or the day after. I am never asked anymore. I don't know its just annoying.. I've been in this position for 5 years now, and regardless of rush orders or not, I am never more than 3 days out on orders being complete. With constant rush orders I'm constantly just having to stop everything I'm doing to get things done. Then the lead times on other jobs suffer, plus we end up wasting so much material because I'm constantly loading up something just to print one job rather than me being able to print large batches.. I'm typing this right now printing a job that I just got at 3:30 and needs to be done by 5. I'm not posting this out of laziness or complaining... but there's just gotta be a more efficient way of doing things.

 

[Boudica]

I feel your pain - I'm sure many do. I'm also a PM. On one hand, it's the nature of the beast, on the other hand, people need to be realistic. You can't let other projects suffer because of someone else's poor planning.

We started implementing a Rush fee if they want same day (if that's even possible) or next day. The fee is only used at the owners discretion, it's not automatic for everyone. We have it because we have some customers who fall into bad habits and take it for granted that we can turn things around quickly. So we warn them that we are starting to implement a rush fee. Once they hear that, people either pay it, or start planning better.

Rush jobs will always be requested, but setting some boundaries (aka manage your customers) and add a rush fee - will help it to not be the norm.

Sounds like someone needs to have a word with the people up front making all the promises

 

[bdw99]

I feel your pain - I'm sure many do. I'm also a PM. On one hand, it's the nature of the beast, on the other hand, people need to be realistic. You can't let other projects suffer because of someone else's poor planning.

We started implementing a Rush fee if they want same day (if that's even possible) or next day. The fee is only used at the owners discretion, it's not automatic for everyone. We have it because we have some customers who fall into bad habits and take it for granted that we can turn things around quickly. So we warn them that we are starting to implement a rush fee. Once they hear that, people either pay it, or start planning better.

Rush jobs will always be requested, but setting some boundaries (aka manage your customers) and add a rush fee - will help it to not be the norm.

Sounds like someone needs to have a word with the people up front making all the promises

I know a big contribution to this is the fact that we switched to working 4 10 hour days instead of 5 8 hour days.. In turn, the front has stopped charging rush fees and just expects production to get things turned around so fast.. So on one hand I get it but there's gotta be some sort of balance. There's just a huge disconnect.

 

[signheremd]

Also a Production Manager here. Rush jobs are a fact of life. They lead to a few dollars more each year and sometimes increased business. Some customers will always send in late jobs once they see that you can do it that quickly, but for others you just saved their day. How do you deal with leaving room for them? You live by the slogan "work ahead, work ahead, work ahead" as much as possible. If you always just make target date/time, you live under too much pressure. My 2 cents...

 

[Bxtr]

I feel your pain!

For us it's a scale depending on the customer. We will have one off rushes that we charge a fee for or just send them to another shop. Long standing customers usually aren't in a bind that often and we just take the job on without a problem.

I also will get asked about accepting them, and then randomly others just get pushed through... and then the sales team wonders why jobs get pushed back. It's an annoyance of the job that's for sure.

 

[Smoke_Jaguar]

Quickly.

 

[Gino]

Someone is always first and someone else will be last...... all the rest fall in between

If so many jobs are creating such a chaotic situation, either raise all your prices across the board and get rid of the late comers or just charge an excessive amount. Does your boss wanna be known for not turning down a job or not satisfying his good customers ??

 

[mcallister]

I’ve been in the screen printing business (signage) my whole life. I remember dropping off a job at a local offset printing company and noticed a wall of shelves packed with boxed business cards for many of their customers. I asked him why there were so many cards waiting for pickup and he told me it only takes a day or two to print these but we always tell the customers it takes two weeks to complete. They quickly learned that any fast turnaround was now when their customer would expect the job.

 

[Signstein]

At least your rush orders get picked up! I'm an internal shop so rush fees aren't a thing for me, but nearly all my 'emergency' signs end up sitting in the shop for days/weeks waiting for pickup

 

[JSIGN]

Amazing to see a bellicose customer saying it MUST be ready Friday, but when they are told it will be $100 cheaper if they can wait till Tuesday - all of a sudden "Tuesday will be fine "
( that's the best thing about a rush fee policy : )

 

[cwstevens]

Been in this position for a good 30+ years now. Any resistance to whether these jobs can be done will usually be met with something to the effect of "They have been a good client, they understand it is asking a lot in short time, but they also believe in us." or a dozen different spins on that, despite the fact it is usually during the already busiest time of year and you are totally swamped. So I empathize in this plight, and about all I can offer in consolation is that I too, am not alone in the battle!

 

[Geneva Olson]

Quickly.

i came here to say just that.

 

[Geneva Olson]

I am also the production manager. (I didn't know that's what I was). I'm also the owner, so believe it or not, production is a little easier for me. Here's why: I stay later in the evening and come in on weekends to get the production out. I know that isn't normal or best for everyone, but it's what has to be done.
I will say that in recent weeks, not only have we gotten busier, but everyone wants their orders processed yesterday.
Case in point, I have a long standing customer who orders various decals for personal use. I don't really take him too seriously, but I don't throw his order to the side.
Monday he came in and wanted decals made of items we had to scan in on our office printer. Literal tags off of shirts. (Yes, the paper tag). They were "specialty" shirts, but still, very odd request. He wanted them sized out to 12"x12". Ok, I finally take a look at the order yesterday and price it out (mind you, it's been 2 days). I send over a proof and invoice. He calls and says, "when can I pick them up today?" I'm thinking, today? wtf? So, I had an order that I was about to print and I was able to throw his items on the order I was printing.

I think the difference for me is that since I'm the owner, I make those decisions when the work orders come back to me. My husband manages the business time lines and runs sales. I just run the production room. He will come back and talk to me each morning about what I need to print first. Then as the day goes on, if we have to shift things around, we do. Yesterday was a pretty "hairy" day for me. I was able to get everything done. And a rush order was complete by 6pm. (closing). Guy is coming today to pick it up.

 

[StarSign]

Cash up front. I can't tell you how many rush jobs I have done over the years, that a week later, were still sitting in the shop.

 

[Geneva Olson]

just out of curiosity, how many people receive payment when customers pick up their orders?

(all of our orders are paid for before we produce). We do have a couple of customers who order and pay when they pick up, but not many.

 

[flyplainsdrifta]

PM also here. Between all of our print sectors (dyesub fabric, banner, vinyl, and UV Board), it very much depends on standard production time on each product. For board printing and rigid substrates, as long as its a stock item and quantities arent that huge, most jobs are able to go to pickup or shipping in under an hour. Banners, depending on qty and print method, 2-3 hours, vinyl 2-4 hours, from print to boxing for shipping/pickup. Fabric is very much a fluid game as production runs range from 2-6 hours depending on quantity in a run. For all fabric, we offer 24hr production on most orders and scaling back from there, 48,72, and standard (4days). Same day is an option as well if the order and artwork is ready by 9 am. Any of the fabric production rushes have fees associated which definitely helps weed out people who really really really screwed up and need it in hands ASAP vs the people who are Amazon trained and just want it quick. Most people dont actually need it that quickly, especially if youre tacking a pretty chunky fee for 24 and same day production. For us, its all about workflow setup and setting production rules and making that clear while placing the order. We have redundancies on most printers and have automated cutting on all of our workflow which speeds production way up. On top of that, streamlining all of your finishing procedures and setting up "production lines" for multi step fabrication and what have you realllllly helps out in this area. Finally, getting staff on the same page and keeping everyone informed of rushes and priority when you have 30 jobs come off at the same time and pushed into your area is an absolute must. Clear marking on invoices and job orders to note ship by dates is key, organization in a big shop is of peak importance in keeping track of all that. Any more questions, feeel free to reply!

 

[Boudica]

just out of curiosity, how many people receive payment when customers pick up their orders?

(all of our orders are paid for before we produce). We do have a couple of customers who order and pay when they pick up, but not many.

Pay at pick-up. New customer with a large ticket job may need to pay a 50% deposit. We have a lot of regular customers that have a net 30 (or whatever) and they pay when they pay - but they are good long standing customers and we will get payment from their AP dept.

 

[flyplainsdrifta]

Adding to my post, continually looking at your processes and streamlining choke points so you have the capacity to handle rushes is also key. We're constantly doing little refinements to make everyones day easier so that when crazy rushes come back for the person who forgot to order 120 24x36 foam boards for a conference that starts at 1pm the next day, we can adjust and handle it. Timing out how long it takes to produce a particular product in a vacuum vs full production environment with all the distractions and whatnot, and then disseminating it to your sales staff so they can use that info to gauge whether something is possible, and keeping that comm line open with production so they can check in quickly to confirm if something can be done to hit a customers deadline is also key.

 

[flyplainsdrifta]

just out of curiosity, how many people receive payment when customers pick up their orders?

(all of our orders are paid for before we produce). We do have a couple of customers who order and pay when they pick up, but not many.

We've moved away from in-person customers for the most part, and will require payment with CC, ACH, check, or Net30 depending on customer. In person cash payments are extremely rare for us. Orders over 5-7k for first time customers require payment in full, longtime clients and Net30's can do 50% down or whatever deal is worked out. Local customers do sometimes pay on pickup if theyre VERY regular, otherwise all paid in full before production starts. Our businesses are primarily online based. We keep a small demo room for how to vids and do tours for prospective clients of our production area and facilities.

 

[JBurton]

Quickly.

Or poorly. Or Expensively. It just depends on which one the customer wants to sacrifice to make it happen...