Hi all,
I have learned a lot in starting a business. Some of the lessons have been
hard.
The biggest lesson has been getting postage right. Dealing with postal
services from deep in the heart of Texas has been one of the must
frustrating experiences. Packages that disappear, or that I visit the
shipper a week after mailing and they're still sat there...
I had a heart to heart with my mailman. He has become something of an
acquaintance of mine, and I have broken the protective shield so I get the
'real deal' from him. The handwritten international mailing labels and
customs forms are the problem. Handwritten labels are examined at the
portal where they go on the plane so they have a security mindset. If the
labels were computer generated, the details are pre-submitted to the USPS.
If anything is flagged,they know before you even give USPS the package.
SO: I have invested over $200 in a digital USB postal scale, postal account
with stamps.com (a USPS provider, who allows me to enter and print the CN22
customs form on the same mailing label) and a 4x6 large format postal label
printer. With these I'll get all the benefits of digital mailing, plus I no
longer need to go to the post office. Instead, I can just hand the mail to
my carrier and he'll scan it - it will be in the system already.
Other benefits include easy tracking numbers and email notifications for
my customers, reduced price insurance and it checks and formats
international addresses correctly - something I suck at.
I will switch over to this new system gradually during this week.
The next problem I have is parts. I have thousands and thousands of
components here. The SuperRAM alone has 19 different parts. Many parts are
unique to one product, but some apply to more than one - like SMD BAT42
diodes, for example. The hard part is when i have two almost identical
parts but with a small difference for different product lines.
Until now, I have used divided trays/cases for each product. That 'sort of'
works, but it also doesn't. They aren't suited to when I receive tape or
reel components, which come on a long reel suited for automated machine
mounting. I am loath to remove them from the reel to put them in the cases.
Also, some components have no markings identifying them, so I mark the
reels.
I need to devise a system where I can identify and locate any component,
easily and quickly. Where I can have a kit list to kit assembly packs for,
say, 50 UltimIDEs. Some components will appear 5 or 8 times on an UltimIDE,
so the kitting sheet should know how many, their component names, etc. I
think I'll need to create a spreadsheet template for this. If it can also
keep track of what the components cost on a per unit basis that would help
me with cost accounting.
In the mean time I have three wire rack shelves and a table surface covered
in bags, reels, strips and cases of parts. Very unsatisfactory.
I have the utmost respect for Rich at RWAP, who has hundreds of items and
also very limited space. How does he do it?
Dave
--
Dave Park
Sandy Electronics, LLC
d...@sinclairql.com
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