contract manufacturer Archives - Page 14 of 33

Ensuring a Successful Relationship With Your Contract Manufacturer

September 6, 2019 By meiadmin

Companies considering moving part or all of their production to a contract manufacturer need to take the time to learn all they can about the contract manufacturing process. This is important if you wish to develop a long-lasing, mutually beneficial business relationship with your contract manufacturer.

Design Considerations

The quality of a finished product depends on the quality of its design. Although utilizing the help of a contract manufacturer allows companies to shift some of the responsibilities to the CM, it’s extremely important that the OEM takes the time to clearly define the requirements and specifications of each project.

Parts created during the design phase should not be cost-prohibitive and they should function as intended once completed. This is crucial to the success of the finished product. During the design process, it is up to the OEM to define the manufacturability and functionality of each part. This involves numerous factors including material composition, product life cycle, and any required standards during manufacture and use of the product. It’s important to figure out the answers to these questions before transitioning to the manufacturing stage.

Choosing a Contract Manufacturer

Companies should take care when choosing a contract manufacturer to work with. Make sure you fully understand the strengths, weaknesses, and relevant experience the contract manufacturer has with similar products. Make sure the CM has experience working with the specific industry you plan to create products for. This is especially true for companies looking to create products for the medical and defense industries. An experienced contract manufacturer will understand the unique requirements and ensure the creation of high quality dependable devices.

Development Process

Once you’ve located a contract manufacturer, you’ll need to develop the manufacturing process for the product. Make sure that everyone fully understands the needs, expectations, and requirements of the project. All meetings should include not only engineers and operations managers, but also the production and assembly workers that will be working on the project. This allows you to collect knowledge and wisdom from as many sources as possible.

A little knowledge can go a long way towards a successful relationship with your contract manufacturer. This is why it’s so important to learn all you can before beginning the CM process.

Testing Materials

August 16, 2019 By meiadmin

Consumers today expect high quality products that perform as expected time and time again. Unfortunately, companies often struggle to meet consumer demand.

Testing finished products helps catch potential problems that consumers might experience after purchase. However, testing shouldn’t only take place at the end of production. Testing each component throughout production helps catch issues sooner when they are easier to fix.

Regular testing provides important information about materials, prototypes, and product samples. This information can help engineers, designers, and production managers meet the requirements of regulatory agencies, evaluate product design, and verify a production process.

Proving Compliance

Products used in critical applications such as those used by the medical, aerospace, and defense industries must meet extremely strict requirements for both quality and reliability. This is because failure of these products could cause harm or affect the livelihood of the people that use them.

In order to prevent problems, government agencies set compliance guidelines that manufacturers must meet prior to sale. Companies responsible for the creation of certain products must adhere to these guidelines which include test procedures used to prove compliance.

Material Testing

The quality of materials used is as, if not more important, than the processes used to produce new products. With so many different types of materials available, it can be extremely difficult to know which type is best for each application or use. Testing materials helps manufacturers determine whether a specific material is appropriate for its intended application. This can have a significant impact on the quality and reliability of finished products.

Design Improvements

Regular testing helps locate areas that could benefit from improvement. This might include a simple change of material type, or it could mean changing the design completely. It’s much better to make these changes before or during production than waiting until you’re faced with a defective product or prototype.

There are several different ways to test products and materials. The method used depends on the intended use of the finished product.

Working with a quality contract manufacturer ensures testing takes places and potential issues are resolved quickly and efficiently. This helps prevent defective products which can lead to costly returns and/or recalls. Please contact us to learn about our testing policies.

How Can a Contract Manufacturer Help Your Business?

August 9, 2019 By meiadmin

Contract manufacturers provide a wide range of services. While some companies utilize the help of CMs to fulfill periods of high demand, others enlist their help for all parts of production. Contract manufacturers provide numerous benefits regardless of when or how a company uses their services.

Choosing to Work With a CM

Deciding when to use a contract manufacturer depends on several factors. Start with a thorough evaluation of your business needs and requirements. For example, your company might not have the time or resources needed to produce the products your consumers demand. Maybe you’d like to launch a new product but aren’t sure where to start. These are both excellent reasons to consider enlisting the help of a CM.

Contract Design and Manufacturing Services

Quality contract manufacturers provide assistance with all parts of production. When used during the design process, the right contract manufacturer can help locate ways to improve the quality of finished products and/or reduce the costs of production.

Experienced Contract Manufacturer

When you work with an experienced contract manufacturer, you gain access to a wealth of knowledge and experience. Contract manufacturers often work with several different industries. This puts them in the best possible position to assist with numerous projects. Many companies use contract manufacturers to help them grow and expand into new markets.

Manufacturing Services

Manufacturing requires a lot of equipment, machinery, people, and space. Many businesses simply do not have what it takes to produce products in house. This is especially true for new businesses just starting to consider the possibility of production. These companies are often surprised by the amount of space and resources required to produce even simple products.

Using a contract manufacturer for production eliminates the need to purchase and maintain expensive equipment and technology. It also reduces the amount of staff and space required by your business.

Product Testing

Contract manufacturers often have processes and procedures in place to help ensure the quality and consistency of every product produced. They thoroughly test all components throughout the entire production process. This helps catch issues sooner, when they are cheaper and easier to fix.

Mean Engineering provides turnkey contract manufacturing solutions to businesses across a wide range of industries. Please contact us to learn how we can help your business succeed.

How a Contract Manufacturer Saves You Money

August 2, 2019 By meiadmin

Working with a contract manufacturer takes a certain level of trust. After all, these companies are responsible for the creation of your products. It’s important to learn all you can before hiring a CM.

In addition to finding a CM with the tools necessary to handle the unique demands of your project, it’s also important to find a contract manufacturing company that can save you money as well. The right CM can provide you with the long term savings you require, while increasing the overall profitability and reputation of your business. This is crucial to success.

Choosing a Quality CM

Considering the basic elements during the proposal process can tell you a lot about the contract manufacturer you’re considering. This is especially true if you wish to reduce the number of suppliers your business requires.

The basic elements for consideration include:

Production Costs
Lead Times
Warranties and Support
Validation of Business Processes

While the right CM can help you save money through product and process improvements, you need to consider the potential long term value of using a CM as well. Although elements beyond the basics are harder to quantify, these elements represent the greatest value to your business.

Consider the Entire Manufacturing Team

It’s critical to ensure the capabilities, procedures, and business practices of the outsourced manufacturing partner you choose. However, the most valuable long term gains will come from the entire manufacturing team.

When considering a CM, look at the company as a whole. Factors such as ethics, tenure length, and employee satisfaction can say a lot about the firm. The manufacturing team should consist of engaged, empowered, long term employees. You need to know that the people responsible for the creation of your project have the drive and experience needed to continually examine both the product and process to discover ways to improve them.

Instead of simply auditing the processes, make sure you take the time to actually talk to the manufacturing team. This typically provides all the insight you require.

Please contact us for information about our contract manufacturing services.

Should Your Electronic Business Use a Contract Manufacturer?

July 19, 2019 By meiadmin

Hiring a contract manufacturer provides numerous benefits to businesses in the electronics industry. Working with a quality CM has been shown to reduce costs, improve quality and customer satisfaction, while reducing time to market. With access to experienced professionals and high quality tools and technology, the right partnership can provide the extra boost you need to grow and expand into new markets.

If you’ve been wondering if your electronics business could benefit from hiring a contract manufacturer you’re not alone. Many people struggle with the decision of outsourcing. While outsourcing might not be the right choice for every business, failing to explore your options could cost you a lot of time and money. Read on to learn whether your electronic business could benefit from working with a contract manufacturer.

Your Design Process Could Benefit From Streamlining

The electronics industry is extremely competitive. Consumers today expect new products to hit the shelf at an alarming rate. Electronics businesses often find it difficult to keep up with consumer demand. This can cause problems when the competition consistently beats your products to market.

An experienced contract manufacturer can help streamline your design process and reduce holdups that are common in house. This makes it possible to bring new products to market sooner.

You Can’t Fulfill Large Orders

If your business struggles to fulfill large orders it’s probably time to consider outsourcing. It takes a lot of time, people, space, and equipment to produce large amounts of electronic products. Outsourcing takes the stress and expense off your shoulders, making it possible to fulfill large orders without requiring additional time or money.

You’re Spending Too Much on Design or Production Problems

Problems with design or production can cost your business a lot of time and money. A contract manufacturer can help if you’re spending too much money and effort fixing design or production problems. The right contract manufacturer helps you spot problems sooner, when they are easier (and less expensive) to resolve.

Means Engineering provides contract manufacturing services designed to help our clients succeed. Please contact us to learn how we can help your electronics business.