A part can be cut, formed, and welded exactly to print, shipped on schedule, and still sit unusable in a customer's receiving dock. That happens more often than people expect, and it usually comes down to paperwork rather than the part itself.
We catch this problem long before a part reaches the shop floor, during a step called contract review. We do contract review on every purchase order we receive, before the PO is even entered into our system. It's one of the most important parts of what an account manager does between orders, and one of the least visible to the customer.
Here's what that process looks like, and why it matters as much as anything that happens on the shop floor.
What Does An Account Manager Do?
An account manager's job is just beginning once a quote turns into an order. Between purchase orders, our account managers coordinate with engineering and production on scheduling, track parts through the shop, and stay in touch with customers as questions come up. One part of their job happens earlier than the rest, though, and it often determines whether everything downstream goes smoothly. That part is contract review.
Contract Review Is More Than Checking Price and Revision
It's easy to assume contract review just means confirming a purchase order matches the quote on price, revision, and delivery date. Bob Borgerding, HPM's Vice President of Sales & Marketing, helped build the process, and he's quick to point out that's only a small piece of it. "We don't just check the revision and the pricing and then enter that PO," he says. Checking those details is "an element of contract review," but the real work is reviewing every specification for each line item on the order, not just what's listed at the top of the PO.
Matching Every Line Item to Each Customer's Standards
Every purchase order covers one or more line items, and each one gets reviewed against its own specifications. Two customers can send nearly identical prints and still expect very different things back, because the review has to account for who's behind the order.
Certificates of Compliance, Material Certs, and First Article Inspections
We work across markets ranging from general industrial to medical, and each one has its own expectations for supporting documentation. Whatever those expectations are, our account managers make sure we identify them and meet them. As Bob puts it, every customer has "their own expectations regarding supporting documentation, things like certificates of compliance, certifications for finishing and metals," and some require "first article inspections at all kinds of different levels." Some customers want a certificate of compliance and nothing more. Others need material certifications, finish certifications, First Article Inspection Reports (FAIRs), or process data studies before a part can be used. None of that shows up on the print. We capture it during contract review and build it into the job packet before a part goes to the shop floor.
Why 200 Customers Mean 200 Different Requirements
We work with roughly 200 active customers, and each one gets exactly what they need. Some just want usable parts. Others need Cpk or gauge R&R studies before they can use them. Bob puts the range simply: "200 different customers, 200 different expectations.” Some of those requirements come wrapped in detailed documentation packages, and during the contract review process, we apply the relevant requirements to the work order. Translating them into what matters for a sheet metal order is part of the job. Customers sometimes send documents covering all requirements, and our account managers wade through them, summarize them, and make sure we consistently deliver on them across different parts.
Understanding what applies to a sheet metal order, customer by customer, is part of how we work to meet each customer's expectations, even when the customer never sees that work happen.
What Happens When Documentation Is Missing
Getting this right matters a lot to our customers. The clearest example Bob offers comes from the medical market. A part can be fabricated "perfectly to print" and shipped on time, but if one piece of documentation, "like the certificate of compliance or the material certs," is missing, the customer still can't use it. In the medical market specifically, "they can't release it to production until all the documentation is captured," Bob says.
A Documented Process, Not Tribal Knowledge
None of this depends on one account manager remembering the right requirements for the right customer. Bob makes it clear this is deliberate. "This is not tribal knowledge," he says. "This is a documented process, because it's baked into our DNA." We've built and refined that process over the past several years. It defines how we handle every order, tied to the same ISO 9001:2015 quality system that governs the rest of our operations.
While it does take more time upfront, skipping this step “creates headaches internally and externally downstream," he says. "Sometimes you've got to go slow to go fast, and this is one of those times."
Conclusion
Contract review is one part of working with us that a customer rarely sees, but it often determines whether an order ships on time and arrives usable. It's also one of the clearest examples of what an account manager actually does between purchase orders. They make sure every certification, inspection requirement, and piece of documentation a customer needs is identified and captured before a part enters production.
Explore our account management capabilities to see how that process works, or request a quote to start your next order.
