Hello, I’m Aria, an export sales representative at a titanium factory. Due to my work, I have the opportunity to communicate with clients from all over the world, learning about their needs and feedback from different regions. Through these conversations, I’ve noticed that some questions are shared by many customers.

Recently, when I was talking to my client John, he mentioned, “I was a bit confused after seeing the quotation—why does the order take over a month to complete?”

This question is not unfamiliar. Many clients have similar doubts when learning about the lead time for our titanium products. Today, I’d like to briefly discuss the reasons behind it, as some of you may also have similar concerns. Let me walk you through the answers.

Why is the lead time so long?—A Deep Dive into the Reasons

First, let’s talk about the spot market in Baoji. You may know that Baoji’s titanium material market, especially along Baoti Road, is one of the largest titanium material spot markets in China, with a variety of titanium standard parts in stock to meet most bulk order needs. However, in reality, the spot market cannot cover all demands, especially for customized orders, where spot inventory is insufficient.

Many customers require titanium forgings that are customized according to specific requirements. These requirements not only include basic dimensions and surface treatment but also often involve higher performance standards. Standard parts simply cannot meet these needs. You might wonder, why not modify the existing standard parts in stock? The issue is that modifying stock parts typically incurs higher costs. The material and processing costs required to rework a finished product are far more than directly forging a new one. This is why, even with available stock, custom production processes remain essential, contributing to the longer lead times.

You may be curious—since Baoji has so many titanium processing plants, why can’t production be more efficient and centralized? In reality, while Baoji has numerous titanium processing factories, different stages of the production process are often handled by different plants. For example, techniques such as wire cutting, water cutting, and vacuum annealing require extremely high precision and therefore cannot all be completed in one factory. This decentralized production model often leads to extended lead times.

Next, let’s discuss the issue of centralized production equipment. The equipment required for titanium processing is considered heavy assets—large investments and high upfront costs are involved. Therefore, whether expanding capacity or integrating different machines, it takes time and resources. The difficulty of equipment integration makes scheduling during production even tighter, which ultimately contributes to the longer lead times.

A Brief Overview of Possible Solutions

Although titanium processing lead times can sometimes be long, there are always ways to solve the issue. While integrating these heavy assets into a centralized production line is challenging, some companies have already improved production efficiency through collaboration and resource sharing. For instance, in the annealing process for titanium rods, if there is space left in the annealing furnace and the temperature is the same, two factories may coordinate to use the same furnace. This not only maximizes furnace space utilization but also reduces delays caused by waiting for an available furnace. Pretty convenient, right?

So, if you have procurement needs, it’s best to choose manufacturers with resource integration capabilities. They understand the lead times for each processing stage and can optimize processes to improve efficiency. This way, you’ll have a clearer expectation of the entire production process and delivery time, avoiding unnecessary waiting.

Therefore, the next time you see that an order requires more than a month to complete, remember that this is actually to ensure that every step of the process is done to perfection. After all, quality often requires time.