Why send them to the casting buyers instead of our customers quality people?
I encourage sending to the casting buyer because he or she, in my mind, is the real customer. To me the person who places the order and authorizes payment of the bill is the customer. For most foundries the customer is the casting buyer. While there is a temptation to ask the customers management or quality professionals for their opinions, I believe the casting buyers are the ones who have the broadest viewpoint. The quality professional may be bent out of shape because you havent adopted six-sigma, but the casting buyer knows that no one is calling on him has either. The customers upper management may think youre doing a wonderful job, but the casting buyer may have just received quotes from other foundries at substantially lower prices. Youre in trouble.
