SilcoTek Now Offers Expedited Service for Coatings

First, Some History

Since the initial vision for SilcoTek was formed before our company's inception in 2009, we have always been solely focused on providing game-changing coatings and services rather than manufacturing or reselling products from inventory. Providing coatings that turn the previously impossible into possible for technology leaders in semiconductor, analytical chemistry, life sciences, energy, and several other industries is our passion and what we do best. Manufacturing and selling the products that we apply our coatings to is what our customers do best, so we have always viewed ourselves as enabling technology partners to our customers who represent the world's leading technology brands.

Many of our customers work on a project basis and make-to-order, so when their customers ask them to move faster due to a tight timeline or already late project, they have regularly requested expedited lead times for our coating services. Knowing our role as a specialty service provider who is the finishing step in many manufacturing supply chains, we have always invested heavily in coating production capacity and technology to ensure we have not just competitive lead times, but the best lead times in the industries we serve. Our customer base has consistently applauded our turnaround times since the beginning, but some continued to ask us to guarantee faster turnaround. But still, until 2023, SilcoTek's response was always "we'll do our best, but we cannot promise."

As a company who believes our value and differentiation come most from our ZIP Code - Zero Disappointments, Integrity in all we do, and Plus 1 customer service - and not only our game-changing coatings, we were always scared to make a promise we couldn't keep. What if a thunderstorm caused a power outage overnight and our processing equipment went down, forcing us to re-work customer orders? What if our incoming inspection found a problem with the customer's parts and now require significantly more time to get coating results that meet our high quality standards? 

Stepping Up to Meet Today's Supply Chain Demands

If you're old enough to read this blog article, you know that the COVID-19 pandemic drastically disrupted and permanently altered the dynamics of supply chains all over the world, as we continue to experience the effects of today. Many of SilcoTek's customers now require a guarantee for faster turnaround as a result of current supply chain conditions, so the frequency of expedite requests have exponentially increased in the face of months- or even years-long lead times for products requiring coating. We understand the importance of delivery and have strategically committed to saying "yes" to our customers whenever possible.

So, late in 2022, we decided to conduct a small trial expedite program with a handful of customers who frequently asked for faster service. We were overwhelmed with the positive response. We also learned that our fears about potentially not being able to meet an expedite commitment were well-intentioned but a bit out of touch with reality. Our trial customers told us that the most important things to them were not necessarily turning their orders around as quickly as possible, but more so being able to promise them that we would meet the expedited commitment and communicating transparently and promptly if anything changed.

Our customers and fellow employees put their trust in our world-class coating technician team, engineering capabilities, and customer service to meet every promise we made. There was one small hiccup amongst over 200 successful expedite requests. The expedite program was an obvious success that added considerable value for our customers.

As of June 1, 2023, SilcoTek launched a formal expedite program that is now available to all customers!

If I don't need expedited coating services, will my normal lead times increase?

Absolutely not. This was a fundamental non-negotiable for SilcoTek internally while building this program and the main reason it took us so long to offer this higher level of service. 

With each expedite request, we review our real-time facility capacity and lead time commitment data to ensure no other ship dates will be negatively impacted. It is not uncommon for us to decline expedite requests during busy times. We structured the fees to encourage customers to plan around our standard lead times and de-incentivize expediting if possible, but we are now able to help customers who are in a bind.

Fee Structure^{*, **}

Expedite Coating Service

The expedite service tier is used to improve lead times by 3-4 business days. For orders less than $1,000, a $500 minimum fee will be imposed. Orders over $1,000, the expedite fee will be 50% of the order total. 

For example: 

• If your order comes to $200, your total charge will be $700. 
• If your order comes to $2,000, your total charge will be $3,000.

Priority Coating Service

The priority service tier allows customer orders to be pushed to the front of the queue, which can decrease lead times by 5 or more business days. For orders less than $1,000, the minimum fee will be $1,000. Orders over $1,000, the fee will be 100% of the order total. 

For example: 

• If your order comes to $200, your total charge would be $1,200.
• If your order comes to $2,000, your total charge would be $4,000. 

Download our Expedite Program handout to learn important details about the new expedite program, terms, and associated fees:

SilcoTek will provide a promised ship date on your order acknowledgement upon receipt. Your representative can estimate a ship date prior to receipt if your parts will arrive at SilcoTek within 3 business days from the time of the request. We will contact you immediately and waive all fees if an expedited commitment date is not met.

Important note: while we hope to accommodate every expedite and priority processing request to assist customers who are in a bind, there will be times that we must decline due to high order volumes at our facility. It is critical to us that no customer who accommodates SilcoTek's standard coating process lead times ever experiences longer turnaround as a result of honoring expedite requests.

If you have any questions about our new expedite and priority coating services, please reach out to our team at Service@SilcoTek.com. 

*Lead time estimates, prices, and terms are subject to change at any time. You will be notified of current terms at the time of your expedite request prior to any commitments or charges. Due to fluctuating customer demand and capacity, we may not be able to always offer expedited services. Please plan around SilcoTek’s standard lead times to the extent possible.

**SilcoTek reserves the right to charge fees that vary from this structure. Unforeseen circumstances e.g. power outage could affect our ability to meet faster turnaround requirements. SilcoTek will contact you immediately and waive all fees if an expedited commitment date is not met.