At ALTEX we spend considerable time getting to know our prospects in order to understand your specific challenges and then design solutions that demonstrate how we can be of service in your search for the right manufacturing partner. If you are just beginning your search and embarking on the necessary assessments needed to make some decisions, these are some questions that you may be asking your team as you formulate your future production needs.
Many different yet co-dependent departments within your organization may be feeling these pain points at different times throughout the production process as project demands become specific to their particular process task.
If you are in purchasing and material management you may be feeling pain in these areas and should ask yourself these telling questions:
– Am I having raw material issues?
* Excess material? Lead-time issues? Price escalation?
– How level is my demand?
* Production spikes?
– How many product part-numbers could be eliminated by outsourcing my assemblies?
* Reduce scrap?
– Are tooling costs high when you launch a new harness?
* Focus on standardization?
If you are in charge of operations or a manufacturing engineer you may be feeling pain in these specific areas and wonder:
– Am I facing capacity issues?
* No available workforce? Facing too much overtime? Is floor space tight?
– Am I trying to eliminate secondary processes from my manufacturing floor?
– Would it improve process time to have harnesses come in as sub-assemblies?
* Other integration? Reduce part number count?
– What type of processing equipment do you have on your floor?
If your design engineering staff is sharing their frustrations perhaps asking these questions could help:
– Do we have a dedicated department for harness design?
* Who manages the harness design? Is this a core competency?
– How “busy” is our engineering group?
* Do we need assistance in the design of our harnesses/assemblies?
– Is application tooling an issue for us?
* How is the connector technology chosen?
– Is there a focus on standardization of the raw materials?
* Can we reduce tooling costs, lead-time or excess material?
We often hear that the first pain that manufacturer’s face is actually finding the time for the actual search for a qualified manufacturing partner once their decision has pointed them in the direction of outsourcing. The process does take time but can reap significant rewards for your company. Work with others in your organization to develop a selection process, a clear set of selection criteria, and requirements for the future contract manufacturer for quick as well as long-term successes.
For more in-depth help on outsourcing view our Outsourcing 101 white paper or for an up-close view of how ALTEX has helped one Indiana-based company make the transition from making to buying visit the IBL, LLC case study.
1-800-783-2589
customerservice@altexengineered.com
