Sign Companies on Subcontracting: Why or Why Not

PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO

QUESTION:

Do you routinely subcontract any sign services (not special circumstances)?

Yes: 75%

Suppliers that have capabilities we don’t have. — Charles Counts, Crownmax, Dunbar, WV
Only if needed or if manufacturing constraints dictate subcontracting. — Matt Robinson, Eastern Sign Tech, Burlington, NJ
Installations requiring bucket trucks. — Steve Rowe, Speedpro Affinity Solutions, Sarasota, FL
We sub out some manufacturing like channel letters when we get really busy. — Corey Shano, Associated Sign Co., Phoenix
We outsource for capabilities as well as for capacity. We sell more than we can produce. — Melanie Harden, Creative Sign Designs, Tampa, FL
Larger excavations, some electrical final connections, out-of-region installations. — Matt Brasel, Indigo Signworks, Brasel, ND
Much easier than hiring, training, insuring and managing additional team members. — Jonathan Elam, Creative Sign Solutions, Statesville, NC

No: 25%

NO! It is the only way we can fully control our quality and destiny! — Harold Pedley, Sign Engineering, San Juan, PR
We are a full-service fabrication and installation shop with full-color large format and routing capabilities all in-house. — Karrie Brock, Fastsigns of Toledo, Toledo, OH
I can handle the work myself. — Louise DiGiacomo, Signs of Art Graphic Design, Philadelphia

One Quick Question:

What is the primary reason you don’t routinely subcontract certain sign services?

Those services are where our talents apply
20%
Better profit margins
26%
Greater quality control
28%
Tighter grip on schedule
8%
Other (all of the above, focus on our core competencies, out of area)
18%

What’s the Brain Squad?

If you’re the owner or top manager of a signage and graphics company in the US or Canada, you’re invited to join the Signs of the Times Brain Squad. By taking one five-minute survey each month, you will receive access to some of the industry’s freshest data on sales — including your fellow members’ comments on what’s selling and what isn’t — and can make your voice heard on key issues affecting the sign industry. Sound good? Sign up here.