{"id":240857,"date":"2026-10-27T10:23:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T10:23:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chemtec.dk\/?p=240857"},"modified":"2026-10-27T10:23:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T10:23:56","slug":"hybrid-coating-under-one-roof-shorter-lead-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chemtec.dk\/en\/hybrid-coating-under-one-roof-shorter-lead-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Achieve better product cost-effectiveness by using a supplier that offers both electroplating and PVD under one roof"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A hybrid coating process involving two suppliers often results in a lead time of several weeks for two processes that, together, take just a few hours. The rest of the time is spent on queuing, packing, transport and incoming goods checks, and most of this is duplicated because the work is split between two companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Chem-Tec Plating in Uldum, electroplating, chemical plating and PVD coating all take place in the same building. The workpieces move directly from one stage to the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where does the time go when orders have to go through two suppliers?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here is an example of an order, from the moment the items leave your warehouse until they are returned. Please feel free to insert your own figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Delivery to Supplier A: 1 day<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Receipt check and queue at A: 4 days<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pre-treatment and electroplating: \u00bd day<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Release and packing at A: 1 day<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Delivery from A to B: 2 days<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Receiving checks and queues at B: 4 days<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cleaning and PVD coating: \u00bd day<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Release, packing and return transport: 2 days<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The whole process takes 15 days. The items are being processed on one of them. The remaining 14 are on a pallet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why are delivery times so long with these two suppliers?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each supplier has its own queue, and the order must be in both. When the items are ready at the first supplier, the second supplier does not know that they are on their way and cannot have the capacity ready. The order starts all over again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On top of that, there are the safety margins. Both suppliers add a little extra to the delivery time they promise, and that makes sense for each of them. But you end up with both margins added on top of each other, and when one supplier delivers faster than promised, the items simply end up waiting longer with the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The whole process also becomes less predictable. When two delivery times can each be slightly delayed, the total time can be delayed even further, and your safety stock needs to keep pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the cost of the long lead time?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cost of the surface treatment itself is shown on the invoice. The rest is accounted for elsewhere: in the safety stock you hold to cover a long and variable lead time, and in the money tied up in work-in-progress held by a subcontractor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/chemtec.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20250826_111431-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"PVD plant.\" class=\"wp-image-240616\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It gets really expensive when something needs to be changed. A rejected batch has to go through both production lines again from start to finish. The same applies to sample items, where every change in colour or finish means a new round with two suppliers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What changes when electroplating and PVD are brought under one roof?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following the undercoating process, the workpieces do not need to be packed for dispatch or transported by lorry, nor do they need to undergo a further incoming inspection. The PVD stage is part of the same production schedule, so it is planned to take place once the undercoating is complete. And you are working to a single delivery time with a single safety margin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Transport is not just a matter of time. Every time items with a polished surface are packed and loaded, they may be knocked or scratched. That risk is eliminated during transport between the various stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same applies to the cleanliness of the surface. The PVD coating adheres best to a clean surface, and the less the workpieces are handled and packed between stages, the less chance there is of moisture, dust and fingerprints. We have written more about what this means for quality and liability in the article on who is liable when a hybrid coating fails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The processing itself takes just as long, regardless of who owns the bath and the vacuum chamber. The benefit lies in the days in between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do you work out your own lead time?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Take the most recent orders for a hybrid coating and find four numbers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The date on which the items left your warehouse and the date on which they were returned, having been completed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How many hours the items were actually being processed by each supplier.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How many days the items were in transit between the two suppliers, including packing and receipt checks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How large a safety stock do you maintain for the same item numbers?.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The difference between point 1 and point 2 is the time you can save.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get started<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Please send us a drawing and the specifications for a component that is currently being undercoated and PVD-coated by two different suppliers, ideally along with the lead times you are currently experiencing. Our specialists will get back to you with an assessment of how we would handle both stages as a single process, and what this could mean for your lead times. Please write to&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"mailto:info@chemtec.dk\">info@chemtec.dk<\/a>&nbsp;or call +45 75 67 92 92.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>En hybridbel\u00e6gning hos to leverand\u00f8rer koster ofte flere ugers leveringstid for to processer, der tilsammen tager f\u00e5 timer. Resten af tiden g\u00e5r med k\u00f8, pakning, transport og modtagekontrol, og det meste af den er dobbelt, fordi opgaven er delt mellem to virksomheder. Hos Chem-Tec Plating i Uldum foreg\u00e5r den galvaniske eller kemiske underbel\u00e6gning og PVD-bel\u00e6gningen [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,20],"tags":[21,19,22],"class_list":["post-240857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-overfladebehandlinger","category-physical-vapor-deposition","tag-physical-vapor-deposition","tag-plating","tag-pvd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chemtec.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chemtec.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chemtec.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chemtec.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chemtec.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240857"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chemtec.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240859,"href":"https:\/\/chemtec.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240857\/revisions\/240859"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chemtec.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chemtec.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chemtec.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chemtec.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}