The FM Challenge

Other murky issues include rush fees, ordering requirements, overtime costs, turnaround times and batch production—often the bid is based on a certain turnaround time (e.g., three days) that includes a waiting period until enough work is gathered to run in more efficient batches.

When doing business cards, for example, the order may not be run until enough cards are requested to fill a sheet, but there are times when customers cannot wait, resulting in an additional rush fee. The cost for 250 business cards for a large company may have been quoted as $25 per box when multiple jobs are all run as a single batch, but may cost $125 when a single card must be run alone. The additional costs may exceed the savings gained by moving the job outside.