Consulting

Outside judgment from someone still in the cut.

Most machining consultants stopped running production years ago. John Miller runs his own shop. When Way of the Mill weighs in on your process, it comes from someone whose skills are still sharp.

Who This Is For

Both sides of the supply chain.

Way of the Mill is built for high-volume programs on both sides of the supply chain. If your work runs in the thousands and the process has to hold, you're in the right place.

You're a product company managing a machining vendor.

You need someone who knows what good manufacturing looks like from the inside — someone who can work by, with, and through a vendor, and protect your interests before you're locked into the wrong process.

You're a manufacturer scaling toward volume.

Prototype scale and production scale are different animals. What may have worked in low volumes can crack the moment real pressure gets applied. You need someone who can walk in, diagnose and execute, and take you as far as you want to go.

How It Works

It starts with a conversation.

No defined process, no onboarding paperwork, no meter running. The engagement takes the shape the problem requires. Some situations are resolved in a few calls. Others require a site visit, a deep process review, or ongoing involvement through a critical production window.

A phone call

We talk through the situation. You describe the problem, the pressure, and what you've already tried. Initial conversations are always complimentary — if there's a fit, we'll both know it.

Scoping the work

If it makes sense to move forward, we define what the engagement actually looks like — what's needed, what's in scope, and what a useful outcome looks like for your situation.

The work itself

Process reviews, site visits, vendor evaluations, DFM feedback, troubleshooting — the form follows the problem. The goal is always the same: a process that holds, at volume, reliably.