southern california contract manufacturer Archives - Page 13 of 15

Avoid These Common Mistakes When Choosing a Contract Manufacturer

April 26, 2019 By meiadmin

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.

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.

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.

What You Need to Know Before Launching a New Product

March 15, 2019 By meiadmin

Companies need to launch new products to stay ahead of their competition. While a new product launch is an exciting time for your business, it’s not something you should rush into. Before launching a new product, take the time needed to learn what it takes to make the launch successful.

Research Your Target Audience

Prior to launch, you need to learn as much as you can about your target audience. Market research can help you develop an effective marketing plan. In fact, market research provides the foundation for all other steps in your product launch strategy.

When conducting market research, focus on learning what your target customers want and need and the most convenient distribution channels for your audience. Use the answers you receive to determine the best way to market your product. You might want to figure out which social media outlets your target customers use and whether they are more likely to purchase products based on logic or emotions.

Develop Your Message

Once you understand your target audience, you can develop your product messaging. This should include a solid value proposition. Make sure your messaging highlights the product’s best features and the problems they solve.

Promote Your Product Launch

Well planned and efficient promotion of your product launch ensures the success of your product. Create a product launch promotion strategy that educates your target audience and gets them excited about your product. This might include posting about your product launch on social media or through your company blog. Attending trade shows can also help promote your upcoming launch.

Plan for Post Launch

Your work isn’t finished once you’ve launched your product. You need to make sure you have a plan to maintain momentum and excitement after your launch. This is crucial to success. Your post launch plan should include tactics to keep your target audience engaged. This might include posts on social media, email marketing, and regular blog posts.

If you’re ready to create new products, Means Engineering Inc. can help. We have years of experience providing design, production, and testing of a wide range of products for numerous industries.