What is the Minimum Order Quantity for Die Cuts?

Q: “Hey, can you make me two gaskets?”

A: “...Have you tried the home-improvement store?”

Generally speaking, any quantity is feasible if you’re willing to pay its costs. However, visiting a flexible material converter might not make much sense depending on your long-term goals and budget.

Strouse has accepted orders ranging from tens of parts to millions, so we’ve experienced and adapted to low-quantity orders firsthand. To ensure you don’t overspend, let’s break down how small quantities can affect your die cut order.

Is There a Minimum Quantity for Your Die Cut Order?

Above all else, your order quantity must cover your product needs. There is no minimum order quantity at Strouse, but larger orders are often more cost-efficient depending on your project size and material choice.

When you purchase a low volume of parts, the labor costs take up a far greater share of your budget than the machine runtime. Once assembled, a rotary press is generally quick, but the custom setup can take anywhere from hours to days, depending on the design complexity and level of testing required.

1. THE EFFECTS OF LABOR COST

Labor cost is the price of all set-up, inspection, or breakdown involved in the converting process. Labor costs often account for a large share of the total cost for low-quantity orders.

1a. WHY HIGHER QUANTITIES GET MORE BANG FOR THEIR BUCK

When you order a low quantity, the labor cost is spread across fewer parts, resulting in an exorbitant unit price.

e.g., While converters COULD build a single die cut part, it might cost $4,000. However, 1,000 units might cost only $4,200, since the bulk of the cost was in the machine setup process.

Alternatively, placing high-volume orders may allow you to pay a lower price per part by spreading labor costs across more units. Larger orders enable your converter to leverage your project setup more effectively during manufacturing.

1b. WITH PRACTICE COMES IMPROVEMENT

The more frequently Strouse runs your project through a rotary press, the more accurate the custom setup process and our adjustments become. The only way to get faster at assembling the machine press for your tailored order is for us to practice. Over time, we’ll become more efficient at setting up and building your in-spec products, taking less time and generating less material waste.

1c. COST-EFFICIENT ALTERNATIVES TO LARGE ORDERS

Because of the labor costs of a rotary die cut press, converters often suggest alternative solutions for small orders, such as laser or digital cutting.

Setting up a rotary die press and making adjustments for a custom job can take hours, if not days, to perfect. Laser and digital cutting are far easier and faster to set up, helping reduce your labor expenses. If neither laser nor digital cutting works, and regular dies are too expensive, Strouse might consider flex tooling, a far cheaper (albeit shorter-lasting) alternative to die cut tools.

2. FACTORS THAT AFFECT MATERIAL COST

The Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) dictates how much material you need to purchase for your order. MOQ becomes an issue when the number of parts you want doesn’t align with a supplier’s stocked quantities.

Material MOQs can force you to buy more material than you need.

For instance, even if you wanted to build one 5x5in part, your desired material could have an MOQ ranging from 108 to 25,000 ft. That’s a lot of extra material! Therefore, a large MOQ poses an obvious problem to customers who don’t want to buy excess material.

2a. OVERCOMING MINIMUM ORDER QUANTITIES

One way to get around minimum order quantities is to request a sample roll from a material vendor, which is available in very small quantities. This strategy can help you get through the prototyping stage, but once you move into validation, the MOQ often becomes a bigger problem.

2b. SETUP MATERIAL

Custom projects require adjustments, so some experimentation is necessary during the initial setup. Your material amount must include materials used in the setup process; therefore, the actual amount could still be higher than anticipated.

2c. SHELF LIFE CONCERNS AND FUTURE PRODUCTION NEEDS

We don’t usually stock materials we aren’t using because they’re likely to expire due to the adhesive shelf life. However, with enough material, we can make as many parts as you order. We want to make sure that your order quantity aligns with your actual production needs so you don’t have too many or too few of the parts.

What Determines Your Die Cut Order Size?

While there isn’t a specific number of parts to order to partner with Strouse, your order quantity will depend on what you need and what you're willing to spend.

Balancing the material supplier’s Minimum Order Quantity with your desired number of parts is how Strouse creates cost-effective orders. That’s why we often quote multiple quantities to show how many parts we can produce from the material's MOQ.

Request a quote today to discuss how the MOQ will affect your price and whether low part quantities are worth the built-in labor costs of converting.

The more information you can provide about your goals, the more quickly we can process your request. For example:

• Are you looking for a small number of parts to start?
• Is there a substantial likelihood of scaling up in the future?

Clear goals help us provide the most effective solution for your needs. Reach out or learn more about converting quantities on our Pricing Page.

Originally published: March 6, 2023