On-Demand Labor: The Workforce Strategy That MAST Members Can't Afford To Ignore

Manufacturing at a Crossroads

U.S. manufacturing is undergoing a historic shift. New trade policies, supply chain disruptions, rising customer expectations, and a tightening labor market are rewriting the rules of production. For manufacturers, the stakes have never been higher.

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Yet many plants remain tied to labor strategies built for predictable, steady workflows. A fixed, full-time workforce is designed for average demand, not today’s peaks and valleys. During slow periods, overstaffing strains margins; when demand surges, limited headcount drives costly overtime, risks burnout, and can lead to delayed orders and degraded service levels that put profitability at risk.

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This rigidity also constrains growth. Adding permanent staff is slow and risky in uncertain markets, making it harder to seize short-turn orders, win new contracts, or pivot quickly. In a volatile environment, responsiveness is competitive currency, and fixed staffing models too often leave manufacturers reacting instead of leading.

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That’s where Veryable, a proud member of the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier (MAST), comes in. By introducing its innovative on-demand labor model to the region, Veryable is helping manufacturers embrace flexibility and agility without sacrificing quality, precision, or cost-discipline.

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Beyond Historical Averages: Building Workforce Agility for Modern Manufacturing

Veryable’s on-demand labor marketplace equips manufacturers with the scalability and precision required to compete and win in today’s market. Instead of staffing to historical averages or carrying excess permanent headcount, manufacturers can maintain a lean core workforce and extend capacity on an as-needed basis with a handpicked labor pool of vetted operators.

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What this means for your operation:

• Scale Capacity With Precision: Ramp up within hours for production surges, new contracts, or seasonal peaks, then scale down strategically as volumes normalize to avoid inflated payroll.

• Maintain Quality and Oversight: Use Veryable’s rating and review system to ensure only proven, high-performing operators remain in your trusted pool, preserving production standards.

• Align Labor Costs With Demand: Match workforce expenses directly to output requirements, reducing idle time, overtime, and labor-related waste while freeing capital for process and equipment investments.

• Enhance Operational Agility: Confidently accept short-run or high-mix, low-volume orders knowing you can scale effectively without overextending your full-time team.

• Boost Key Metrics: Improve first-pass yield, reduce scrap and rework rates, maximize throughput, and shorten lead times by aligning labor capacity directly with production demand on a daily basis.

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Real-World Impact: Cummins Jamestown Engine Plant

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A powerful example of this model in action comes from Cummins Jamestown Engine Plant, a MAST member and cornerstone employer in Western New York.

Plant Manager Shawn Hricko recalls his initial doubts:

“Initially, I was skeptical of this type of workforce strategy where I can just contract somebody to come work for the facility for a day… A lot of our work is very complicated and intricate… Once we started working with Veryable, I did find out that there are ways that we can change the way that we work here within the facility. We can find some roles that people can come in, learn very quickly, and add value extremely quickly.”

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Cummins also discovered that on-demand labor could boost efficiency without compromising their standards:

“Veryable has a very good technique for us to be able to bring in people on the days that we need them and not have them on our staff on the days that we don’t need them. So we have very much come to appreciate that type of work.”

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Beyond efficiency, Hricko highlights a community benefit:

“What I found with Veryable is they are able to find these people… maybe a working mother or a stay-at-home father or a student at the local college who can’t hold down a forty-hour-a-week job but is a very, very good person to come and learn the aspects of our work and to help add value to our team.”

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Overall, by leveraging the Veryable model, Cummins has not only been able to confront demand volatility and operational uncertainty head-on, but they have also established a truly flexible workforce strategy that enables deeper engagement with their full-time employees while providing them greater flexibility and autonomy in their schedules.

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A Regional Partnership for Global Competitiveness

In an era where supply chains stretch across continents and competitors operate on razor-thin margins, regional strength is a global advantage. By partnering with MAST, Veryable is ensuring that local manufacturers don’t just keep up with national trends, they help set the pace.

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This collaboration goes beyond technology, it’s about building a manufacturing ecosystem that’s agile, innovative, and deeply rooted in the community.

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Together, MAST and Veryable are providing manufacturers with:

• Global-Grade Competitiveness: Access to the same on-demand labor model fueling innovation and efficiency in top manufacturing hubs across the U.S., so MAST members can compete head-to-head on cost, quality, and speed.

• A Stronger Local Workforce: Unlocking flexible opportunities for students, working parents, veterans, and skilled part-time operators helps keep talent and expertise in the region, where it strengthens communities and drives long-term economic prosperity.

• Resilience for the Next Generation: Building a workforce strategy that can flex with market shifts ensures that manufacturing remains a cornerstone of the Western New York economy—not just today, but for decades to come.

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This is regional collaboration with global impact: by aligning MAST’s network and advocacy with Veryable’s innovative workforce model, manufacturers in Western New York gain both the tools and the support to thrive in an increasingly competitive world.

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The Future is Flexible. Don’t Get Left Behind

Veryable’s on-demand labor model demonstrates that agility and quality are not mutually exclusive, an insight validated by Cummins Jamestown.

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To get started, connect with your MAST representative, or reach out to Veryable’s Austin Walker at:

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westernny@veryableops.com | 216.202.4363