Means Engineering, Inc.

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

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

4 Ways Your CM Should Support Your Business

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Working with a contract manufacturer is an excellent way to improve the quality of your company’s products. While you probably already know that using a CM can help reduce costs and improve time to market, it’s important to consider your future goals and whether or not the selected CM can support them. Before choosing a company to work with, make sure that they are able to offer your company the following:

Flexibility

It’s important that your business isn’t restricted by your contract manufacturer’s limitations. Make sure you take the time to find a quality CM that has a flexible team, extensive experience, and a robust quality assurance system in place to support a wide range of needs. Even if you aren’t considering expanding into new markets now, you want to make sure you have the option later.

Scalability

Choose a contract manufacturer that can grow with your business. Many start-ups and small businesses begin with small volume projects. Over time, these companies often find their needs change. The last thing you want is to have to locate a new CM if your needs become too much for your contract manufacturer to handle.

Technology

Technology changes all the time. When it comes to developing new or improving existing products or components, your contract manufacturer should have access to the proper tools and people. This is especially important for companies looking to create electronic devices. The contract manufacturer you choose should utilize the latest techniques and have access to up-to-date technologies. Their people should know how to leverage these technologies to create consistent, high quality products.

Business Contingency Planning

No matter how much you prepare, unforeseen circumstances can occur and impact product supply. It’s crucial that you select a contract manufacturer with a solid contingency plan in place. This helps ensure continuous supply of product even in the event of a natural disaster or other major event.

Means Engineering, Inc. offers contract manufacturing services to businesses across a wide range of industries. We have the tools, people, and technology needed to help your business succeed. Please contact us for information about our services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Choosing the Right Contract Manufacturer for Your Needs

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Many companies struggle to find the right-size contract manufacturer. It’s important to learn as much as you can before selecting a partner to work with. This puts you in the best position to make an informed, educated decision.

Strive to Be At Least 10% of the CM’s Revenue

Although you might need to spend less than ten percent at first, you’ll want to strive to become at least 10 percent of the CM’s revenue within a year. Maintaining a steady revenue for the CM ensures a mutually beneficial relationship for both yourself and the contract manufacturer. It’s important to note that this rule applies to the actual plant that produces your products.

Stay at or Below 50% of the CM’s Revenue

Although you’ll want to ensure a consistent revenue stream for the CM, it’s important to avoid a potentially unstable situation. If your CM relies on you to sustain their business, you could find yourself in trouble if your business takes a downturn. You never want to be more than 50% of your CM’s total revenue.

Ask to Speak With the Plant Manager

Most contract manufacturers will not disclose financial information. This can make it difficult to determine plant revenue. When choosing a partner, ask to speak with the plant manager. If your potential spend is well below ten percent, they likely won’t take the time to meet with you. This is also an excellent way to gauge your relationship with your CM.

Be Honest

While you want to make sure the contract manufacturer you choose wants to work with you, it’s important not to lie or mislead. Don’t imply that you plan to spend more than you actually have available to spend. This will only cause problems.

Final Thoughts

Searching for the right-size contract manufacturer for your needs isn’t about getting the best price. It’s about ensuring the CM values your relationship. This can go a long way towards your success. Look for a contract manufacturer that takes the time to listen and understand their clients.

Means Engineering offers a variety of contract manufacturing services. We work with each of our clients to evaluate their needs and develop a customized solution. Please contact us for more information about our services.

 

Ensuring a Successful Relationship With Your Contract Manufacturer

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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.

Medical Device Companies Can Benefit From Partnering With a Contract Manufacturer

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Most people think of contract manufacturing as a way to reduce the costs of production.  While it is definitely true that outsourcing can significantly reduce production costs, what you might not realize is it also provides the unique opportunity for companies to gain access to the knowledge and experience of existing manufacturers.

Utilizing a CM helps companies improve product quality and avoid large capital expenditures on the machinery and people needed to create new products. Although contract manufacturing provides numerous benefits for companies in almost every industry, it provides unique benefits for those responsible for the creation of devices for the medical industry.

Do You Have the Specialized Equipment and Highly-Skilled Staff Needed to Produce High Quality Medical Devices?

Medical device creation requires special machinery with the capabilities to create precision-dependent products. It also requires a well-trained and highly skilled workforce. These requirements often act as a barrier for companies looking to enter the medical device industry. The right contract manufacturer can help these companies bridge the gap and ensure the creation of high quality, dependable medical devices.

Using a contract manufacturer allows companies to tap into valuable resources including people, machinery, materials, and more. Outsourcing is much more cost-efficient than acquiring these resources in-house. Outsourcing eliminates the need to purchase, store, and maintain specialized equipment. It also eliminates the need to locate and train qualified staff.

An experienced contract manufacturer maintains the appropriate staff, equipment, and technology needed to produce a wide range of products. They understand the unique requirements of the medical industry and have quality management systems in place to ensure the creation of high quality devices.

Choose an Experienced Contract Manufacturer

Creating medical devices takes specialized equipment and experienced staff that understands the unique requirements of the medical industry. When looking for a contract manufacturer to work with, it’s important to find a company with experience working with the medical industry.

Gather as much information as you can prior to your selection. This helps ensure you’re well prepared to make an educated and informed decision.

 

Benefits of Reverse Engineering

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Companies today are under a lot of pressure to create new products. While the design process requires a certain level of creativity and innovation, many new ideas come from older, existing products. Through reverse engineering, manufacturers can find new ways to utilize old ideas.

What is Reverse Engineering?

Reverse engineering involves taking a product apart and analyzing each individual component and the way it works. Manufacturers then use this knowledge to create new products.

In the electronics industry, electronics manufacturers often use reverse engineering to make improvements or upgrades to existing products. While some similarities between the new and existing product may exist, the two are never exactly the same. Reverse engineering isn’t about recreating an exact match, it’s about figuring out how to produce a better and more efficient product.

Benefits of Reverse Engineering

Reverse engineering makes it possible for manufacturers to incorporate older inventions into new products. This improves time to market and enables product enhancements and improvements. Simply put, the reverse engineering process expands the knowledge and capabilities of electronics manufacturers.

There are numerous reasons why contract manufacturers utilize reverse engineering:

  • Incorporate old ideas into new products
    Reverse engineering allows contract manufacturers to take existing parts, processes, and structures and re-purpose them for other uses.
  • Product improvements
    Reverse engineering involves a detailed analysis of the various components of a product. This helps locate areas that could benefit from improvement. This is one of the most common reasons electronic manufacturers utilize reverse engineering.
  • Locate vulnerabilities in an existing product
    An important part of product improvement, reverse engineering helps locate any faults in existing products that could affect the safety and well-being of the people that use them.
  • Bring less expensive products to market
    Reverse engineering helps lower manufacturing costs and helps electronic manufacturers improve the overall quality and consistency of products produced.
  • Inspire innovation
    Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of reverse engineering is that it inspires innovative design. Electronics manufacturers often find systems and processes during reverse engineering that could benefit a completely different product or industry.

Means Engineering offers a variety of contract manufacturing services. Please contact us for 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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