carlsbad contract manufacturer Archives - Page 17 of 30

Top Reasons to Partner With a Quality CM

April 19, 2019 By meiadmin

Producing products takes a lot of skill, experience, equipment, and technology. While many business owners have excellent ideas for creating new products, they often do not have the money or resources needed to bring them to market. These companies turn to contract manufacturers to produce part or all of their products. A contract manufacturer creates products under the name or brand of the company that hires them. CMs generally offer a variety of services related to the design, production, and testing of products for a wide range of industries.

There are many benefits to partnering with a contract manufacturer. Below we discuss the top three:

Improve Product Quality

The quality of finished products says a lot about your business. It’s important to ensure all products produced meet or exceed your customers’ expectations. Unfortunately, many companies do not know what it takes to create high quality products. These companies can benefit from partnering with a contract manufacturer.

A contract manufacturer provides a second set of eyes for your design plans. This helps locate areas that could benefit from improvement. Your audience is sure to appreciate the extra time and attention to detail a contract manufacturer takes to ensure the production of high quality, reliable parts and products.

Decrease Costs

In addition to improving product quality, a CM can help discover ways to reduce the cost of production. This might mean switching a type of material or changing a measurement slightly. Whatever the case, your CM can decrease the costs associated with production and logistics.

One of the biggest benefits of working with a CM is that it eliminates the need to purchase or maintain your own facility, equipment, and technology. This saves your company a considerable amount of money over producing products in-house.

Reduce Time to Market

Taking a product from idea to reality takes a lot of trial and error. When you work with an experienced contract manufacturer they can help you get it right in less time than it would take to complete the task yourself. Utilizing the help of an experienced CM allows you to create more products in less time.

Best Practices When Selecting a Medical Device Contract Manufacturer

April 12, 2019 By meiadmin

Contract manufacturers provide a variety of services to businesses across a wide range of industries. When it comes to the medical industry, you must take care to ensure that everyone understands the rules and regulations surrounding medical device creation. Humans often rely on these devices for their health, safety, and well-being. If the device fails, it can lead to serious consequences.

There are numerous benefits to working with a contract manufacturer. An experienced contract manufacturer can typically produce high quality products in less time and for less money than producing products in-house. However, it’s crucial that companies in the medical industry select a contract manufacturer with the skills and experience needed to produce high quality, reliable parts and products.

Ability to Create Complex Devices

Locate a contract manufacturer with the equipment and techniques needed to create complex electronic devices. In order to create the types of products used by the medical industry today, the CM must be competent in more than just basic electro-magnetic assembly.

Adequate Support

Make sure the contract manufacturer you choose can adequately support your project. Locate a contract manufacturer with the skills and people needed to provide a variety of services. It’s much more beneficial to hire a partner that can look over your design plans and help you locate ways to cut costs and improve quality than hiring a CM that simply gets the project done.

You also want to make sure that you choose a CM that can support the entire lifecycle of your product. While some CMs only deal with small development projects, this doesn’t leave much room for growth. If you outgrow your CMs capabilities you might find yourself scrambling to find someone else. You’ll want to avoid this type of situation.

Quality System Requirements

Make sure that you fully understand the quality system requirements for your project. Look for a contract manufacturer with similar quality systems in place. Make sure the CM has a robust method for documenting and executing quality system interfaces.

Means Engineering has years of experience creating devices for the medical industry. Please contact us to learn more.

How Different Industries Use Contract Manufacturers

April 5, 2019 By meiadmin

Businesses across a wide range of industries use contract manufacturers to design, build, and test a number of products. Below, we’ll explore how the top industries use contract manufacturing services.

Electronics Industry

Major electronics companies use contract manufacturers to produce the parts and components needed to create their products. While products produced by industry giants such as Apple and Microsoft are often assembled in China, the parts used to make these products come from all over the world. This is true for many electronics companies. Often, these companies seek out the help of experienced contract manufacturers to produce one or several parts for their device.

Automotive

50% of all car manufacturing is done off-site by contract manufacturers. Car manufacturers outsource the production of basic components such as tubing, dashboard parts, and external electronics including radios, security systems, and parking assistance devices. These companies also outsource the manufacture of suspension components, gearboxes, and electronics.

Although, car manufacturers have never outsourced the entire manufacture of a vehicle, many CMs create different cars under different brands or labels.

Robotics

The robotics industry is growing at an alarming rate. In fact, it’s growing so fast that robotics companies find it difficult to keep up. These companies often outsource the production of parts and components to contract manufacturers.

Pharmaceuticals

Contract manufacturers produce raw chemicals for the pharmaceutical industry. While this is different than producing parts or components, it’s still extremely important to the creation of a number of pharmaceutical products.

Medical

The medical industry relies on contract manufacturers to produce components for a wide range of medical devices. The devices created by the medical industry are often crucial to the health, safety, and well-being of humans. As such, they must meet extremely strict regulatory requirements. Companies in the medical industry must take care to work with contract manufacturers that understand the strict requirements of this industry.

Looking for a Qualified Contract Manufacturer?

Means Engineering, Inc. offers contract manufacturing services to businesses both large and small. Our capabilities include design, production, and testing of products. Please contact us for more information about our services.

Top Myths About Working With a Contract Manufacturer

March 29, 2019 By meiadmin

The right contract manufacturer can help your business grow and expand into new markets. A CM acts as your partner, providing a number of services designed to compliment your business and improve customer satisfaction with your brand. Unfortunately, many people go into this partnership with unrealistic expectations. This is due in part to the large number of myths about working with a contract manufacturer. We have listed the top three myths and why you shouldn’t believe what you hear. This is important if you want a successful relationship with your CM.

Always Go With the Lowest Quote

While you might think that selecting the contract manufacturer with the lowest cost per unit is the obvious choice, this isn’t always the case. It’s important to find a contract manufacturer that provides consistent, quality results. They should employ a team of professionals able to create a wide range of products for a variety of industries. This is important if you wish to expand into new markets in the future.

It’s also important to note that the price per unit only captures about 70-80% of the cost of production. Several CMs will add various fees and charges to the final number. Select a contract manufacturer that is up front about the total cost of production. This can save you a considerable amount of trouble later.

Never Work With a Contract Manufacturer That Builds for Your Competition

It’s important that OEMs find the most capable and compatible contract manufacturer to work with. Often times, this will be the same CM their competition uses.

R&D Can Handle Production

Managing manufacturing and the supply chain requires the skill and experience of professionals. Although companies often try to include manufacturing under development, this usually doesn’t pan out well. Companies that attempt to handle everything in-house without the management tools and experience needed rarely succeed.

Means Engineering provides contract manufacturing services for businesses both large and small. Our services include design, production, and testing of a wide range of products. We employ a team of skilled professionals, each experts in their field. Please contact us if you would like more information about our services.

Is it Time for Your Business to Use a Contract Manufacturer?

March 22, 2019 By meiadmin

Every business owner has the dream of creating the perfect product. However, making this dream a reality is often much harder than believed. Taking an idea from prototype to production can take years of expensive trial and error for companies that attempt to handle the manufacturing themselves.

Sometimes companies find they simply do not have the people or resources needed to keep up with demand. This is especially true for organizations responsible for the creation of electronic parts and components.

For most businesses, giving up simply isn’t an option. These businesses can benefit significantly from enlisting the help of a qualified contract manufacturer.

Experienced contract manufacturers have the tools, equipment, and knowledge needed to create high quality products. These companies often have years of experience and employ industry experts, each prepared to provide their assistance if the project requires. Contract manufacturers take extra care to ensure products are completed to exact specifications and requirements. When involved in the design process, they can even suggest ways to reduce costs and increase the quality of the finished project.

There are a few things you’ll need to consider before seeking the help of a contract manufacturer:

Will People Buy Your Product?

Perform market research or ask people through social media whether they would be interested in your product. This can help ensure you create something consumers actually want. Consider asking your contract manufacturer what they think of your product. Accept their suggestions for adding or removing features to improve the functionality of your product. Remember, these are industry experts with years of experience.

Design Improvements

Even if you’re absolutely sure your audience will want your product, it’s always a good idea to have your contract manufacturer look over your design plans. As mentioned before, an experienced contract manufacturer will know how to make improvements that could end up saving you a lot of time, money, and hassle in the future.

Choose a Partner Over a Provider

The right contract manufacturer will ensure a long-lasting relationship with their clients. This is mutually beneficial for both parties. Select a contract manufacturer that can help your business grow and expand over time.