Banner Image

American Contract Manufacturers Can Take You All The Way

Posted by Matthew Turpin on Tue, Feb 10, 2015 @ 07:00 AM

pcb assemblyIt's hardly a surprise that following a decade or two of using low-cost, low-frills overseas assembly plants that electronics companies would want more from their contract manufacturers.  It's a new market these days, with a much better-informed customer base who demand higher quality from their products.

Also, over the years, the ROI on overseas production has dropped rapidly.  Between cost-of-living increases, supply line difficulties, and communications problems, Asian production centers are now nearly at parity with onshore electronics manufacturing.  

Plus, American manufacturers haven't been sitting on their heels.  They've been steadily upgrading their factories and adding services you can't get overseas.  A modern domestic assembly partner can assist in every aspect of product creation, from initial design all the way through to post-sale support.  

The result is a full package of services that make American contract manufacturers a superior option.

Local Contract Manufacturers Bring Far More Benefits

1 - R&D And Prototyping

If all your company has is an idea a domestic manufacturer can still see your product become reality.  Extensive R&D and prototyping services can quickly build test platforms, add or remove features, and refine your concept until it creates a product that fits your market profile.

2 - Design Optimization

Few good designs can't be made better, especially with the latest in manufacturing technologies involved.  When you partner with an electronics assembler with latest-generation equipment and skills, they can very often reduce the size, weight, or component count in existing designs.

The result is a better product at less cost to you.  A little money spent optimizing and prototyping beforehand can pay off with big savings on the main production run.

3 - System Software

Few overseas electronics manufacturers provide their own system software to match the devices, and would you necessarily want them to?  However, today's American electronics firms can provide all the software you need, designed to exactly match the specs of the device being produced.  

This eliminates the need to contract out the software, cutting another middleman out of the process.

4 - Bankable Certifications

Thanks to much more robust regulations on western electronics manufacturers, you have a lot more guaranteed security that you've got a partner who's truly capable.  Major electronics certifications don't come easily, and they're usually one of the most reliable indicators available of a company's competency.

And if the company is certified to send electronics on NASA missions, they're going to be well-equipped to handle your terrestrial needs too.

5 - Extensive Failure Analysespcb assembly

No piece of electronics lasts forever, and every component on a board has a certain lifespan.  When working with a company that has controlled supply lines, they can predict with great accuracy both the average lifespan and average failure rate of every component on the board.

In turn, this can be used to pre-stock components likely to become needed in post-sale support, eliminating costly special production runs to correct for defects.

6 - High Mix Capacity

Right now, you can't release just one version of a product to the market.  The customer demand for personalization makes it a near-necessity to have several variations in a range of colors, sizes, capabilities, and whatever else is trendy among buyers.

Relatively few overseas suppliers are prepared to produce a wide mix of final products from similar specs.  It usually involves retooling the plant at great expense for each run, whereas domestic facilities processes optimized for multiple simultaneous runs.

7 - Repair And Support Services

Another major waste that often occurs with overseas production involves support costs.  It's just not cost-effective to send products overseas for repair, not to speak of the timeframes involved.  So, companies using oversea manufacturing generally just hand out new products in any defect.

Why waste good products?  Domestic manufacturers can support and repair their own electronics, vastly reducing the cost of warranty claims.

You truly can get a lot more for your money from American electronics manufacturing.  Contact ZenTech today to learn more

Electronic Interconnect Cabling Whitepaper from Zentech

Topics: contract electronics manufacturer, American based product assembly, american electronics design services, contract manufacturers