Barry Walker, president of MagnifiCast Die Casting, had never stopped smarting over the loss of Ready Read’s business two years ago. Now his best salesman was on the phone – calling from Ready Read’s parking lot – saying there was a chance of winning the business back.

MagnifiCast had 75 employees and about $16 million a year in revenue. It had managed to avoid being hurt too much by competition in China and Taiwan by focusing on markets that demanded precision and flexibility. That’s why it had been such a blow when Ready Read, a manufacturer of medical monitors, began ordering its die cast components from a no-name company in China.

Now, Barry’s salesman had learned, things weren’t going well. Quality was down; and large runs with long lead times made it hard for Ready Read to modify products.

But winning back Ready Read’s business wasn’t a no-brainer. Barry had already replaced the volume of work that Ready Read had once offered – to customers that may have been a little less profitable, but were also, frankly, easier to please.

MagnifiCast was running one-and-a-half shifts, with a lot of labor dedicated to hand-finishing – mainly grinding off gates and trimming flash. Adding Ready Read’s volume would require more people to remove parts from dies and hand-fixture and finish them.

The additional payroll cost would raise overhead just enough that Barry wasn’t sure a bid for Ready Read’s work would be any lower than when he lost the business two years ago. And Barry knew the culture at this customer. He’d need to demonstrate how MagnifiCast had spent the past two years learning to deliver more value than before – whether through shortened lead times, lower prices or some other improvement. Just putting in a bid for Ready Read’s business wasn’t going to bring it back.

What can Barry Walker do to add value to MagnifiCast’s metalworking processes? How can he demonstrate a reduction in cost, an increase in speed or some other qualitative improvement that will make his bid for Ready Read’s business more attractive than ever before?