Means Engineering, Inc.

Product development engineering in medical, industrial, semiconductor equipment & military with a standard of excellence in form, function and design.


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(760) 931-9452 | info@meanseng.com
5927 Geiger Court, Carlsbad, CA 92008-7305

Choosing the Right CM for Your Business

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Working with a contract manufacturer provides numerous benefits to businesses both large and small. The right contract manufacturer can help a business grow and expand into new markets. They can help improve the quality of products produced, increasing customer trust and loyalty. In the electronics industry, a contract manufacturer can help businesses keep up with changing demands. While partnering with a CM can help improve the success of a business, it’s important that organizations take care when choosing a partner to work with.

Service Offerings

Contract manufacturers offer a wide range of services. While some offer production services, others offer everything from design to testing. Businesses should consider their unique needs and requirements when selecting a partner to work with.

Flexibility

Flexibility is one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a contract manufacturer. The CM should have experience working with a wide range of industries. This is true even if the business does not plan to expand into new markets. Most companies find that things change as their businesses grows. Working with an experienced CM ensures that options remain open if plans change in the future.

Quality

Quality is important when producing products. This is especially true for businesses providing products and components for the medical and defense industries. Companies should look for a CM with a respected Quality Management System in place. This helps ensure the quality and consistency of every product produced.

Ensuring high quality products increases the chance of success. This is true for both new businesses and well-established companies.

Cost

Contrary to what most business owners believe, it’s not a good idea to choose the lowest priced contract manufacturer. Businesses often find that low prices become much higher once production begins. Companies should consider their needs and look for an experienced CM that can provide the services they require. Taking the time to research capabilities and strengths can go a long way towards preventing problems in the future.

Means Engineering, Inc. offers a variety of contract manufacturing services. Our team has years of experience working with numerous industries. Please contact us to learn more about our services.

 

 

Avoid These Common Mistakes When Choosing a Contract Manufacturer

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For many people, selecting a contract manufacturer is a complicated process. From geographic location, to services offered, there are so many things to consider. Even though you might be tempted to go with your first choice, it’s important to learn all you can before selecting a contract manufacturer to work with. The time and effort spent now is sure to pay off in the future.

Through years of experience, we’ve identified the most common mistakes people make when choosing a contract manufacturer to work with. Unfortunately, mistakes related to price, time, experience, and quality often cause more harm than good.

Price

It’s a common belief that cheaper is better. While this might be true for some things, it isn’t true for electronic components. Cheap components can lead to the creation of poor quality products. This can impact the reputation and credibility of your brand.

When choosing a contract manufacturer to work with, it’s important to remember that several issues can affect the price of your product including changes you make to the design. If materials, finishes, or processes change, so will your price.

Time

It takes time to develop high quality products. While working with an experienced contract manufacturer can help reduce the time it takes to go to market, they aren’t miracle workers. Be reasonable with your production timeline expectations.

Experience

It’s easy to find a contract manufacturer that can promise to create the product you desire in the timeframe you need. Unfortunately, it’s a lot harder to find one that can actually deliver what they promise. This is why it’s so important to work with an experienced contract manufacturer.

An experienced contract manufacturer knows how long it will take to create your project. They can provide you with realistic timelines. They also have the people, skills, and technology in place to complete the work. If they can’t do what you request, they can usually direct you to someone who can.

Quality

Forgoing quality for speed is never a good idea. While high quality products might take a little longer and cost a little more to produce, you can rest assured that you’ve done all you can to ensure the quality of your products. This improves consumer trust and increases the chance of repeat sales and referrals.

Best Practices When Selecting a Medical Device Contract Manufacturer

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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

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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

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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.

 

ABOUT US

MEI features depth of experience in medical, industrial, semiconductor equipment and military products. All product development efforts start with a unique set of requirements, yet we deliver results that share a common standard of excellence in form, function and design.

Our turn-key capabilities provide smart, simple solutions to cumbersome outsourcing issues, and provide our clients with an intelligent route from concept to market.

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