Northgate Precision Works (illustrative) · 38 staff · job shop, Tomball TX A five-day Floor Week · delivered Friday
Where the hours go between the quote and the invoice
Of the ~312 hours a month that go into getting an order from quote to invoice at Northgate, 173 are in three handoffs — and two of them run through the owner's desk. Twenty-two handoffs were mapped on Monday; the ten largest were timed Tuesday and Wednesday, three instances each.
The order-to-cash chain as it is run · arrow weight = hours per month
observed (timed)estimate onlythe three leaksdashed = loop-back
Estimated vs observed · the ten handoffs that were timed
Handoff
Who
Est. min
Observed
×
h / mo
H02 · Quote prepared (waits on owner for pricing)
Estimator
45
96
2.1
97
H04 · PO re-keyed into ERP, then traveller
Office
20
38
1.9
49
H09 · Chasing outside-process returns
Planner
10
31
3.1
27
H03 · Quote sent, follow-up call
Owner
15
22
1.5
21
H06 · Traveller to floor, questions back
Planner
15
19
1.3
18
H08 · Expedite re-sequencing
Owner
60
140
2.3
16
H01 · RFQ logged and drawing filed
Office
10
12
1.2
14
H11 · Finding the inspector for first article
Machinist
5
17
3.4
12
H12 · Packing list typed from traveller
Shipping
8
11
1.4
9
H13 · Invoice assembled from three sources
Office
12
14
1.2
8
Six numbers from Northgate's own records · Jul–Sep
3.5days · median quote turnaround
29%quote win rate
74%on-time delivery
7expedites per month
11days · outside-process round trip
not keptactual vs quoted variance
The three leaks · observed, priced at Northgate's rates
1
Quotes wait on the owner for pricing
Every quote stops until he's free. Twice a day the estimator walks to find him; 14 quotes a week sit an average of 38 minutes each.
$4,365a month · 97 h
2
The PO is typed in twice
Once into the ERP, again onto a paper traveller. Both are checked against the quote by hand; three mismatches found in the week.
$2,205a month · 49 h
3
Nobody knows when plating comes back
The planner phones the vendor, then walks the dock. Eleven-day round trips carry no promised date on the traveller.
$2,025a month · 27 h
The one fix · the first thing Cendia would change
Pricing rules the estimator can use without the owner
Two weeks: the owner's pricing decisions captured as written rules and a rate card inside the quote template, with the exceptions that still need him listed on one page. Returns the 97 hours a month in leak one and takes quote turnaround from 3.5 days toward one. Floor Week fee of $3,500 credits $1,750 against it.
$7,500fixed · starts the Monday after delivery $1,750 credit applied
Rates used: office $45/hr, machinist $75/hr — owner-supplied. Hours = observed minutes × times per week × 4.33 ÷ 60. Only timed handoffs are named as leaks. Dates, times and counts only; no drawings or controlled data were read.