If you haven't recently looked into the advantages of American-based electronics manufacturing, it might be time to do so. US manufacturers have been hard at work improving their service offerings, to compete in a global market against cut-rate manufacturing options.
America is already a highly-competitive option for electronics manufacturing, and when you partner with domestic firms, you can get services far beyond what most overseas partners can provide.
Of these, the inclusion of PCB repair services and other post-sale support is perhaps the most crucial, as it addresses a huge ongoing cost in electronics that's rarely factored into the initial manufacturing decisions. Rather than treating post-sale as an afterthought, American electronics firms can bring you a fully-integrated all-in-one solution for introducing new products to market.
In-House PCB Repair Services Bring Value Throughout The Process
There are numerous benefits to having integrated repair and support services within your electronics manufacturer, which can ultimately pay off with reduced savings at practically every stage of the process.
1 - Genuine tech support expertise.
If a company hires Outsourcer A to produce the equipment and Outsourcer B to support it, that means B is starting from scratch. Their people have to learn the hardware and the software, and are often left using second- or third-hand materials.
When the support services are in-house, the expertise is right there and ready for use. If a tech support agent needs in-depth information, they have the ability to contact the actual engineers who created the product. This immediately pays off in improved customer relations.
2 - Repair can be cheaper than replacement.
One of the most unfortunate trends we've noticed in this sort of outsourcing buffet is companies sending out entire new units to deal with relatively simple hardware malfunctions. It simply costs too much in time and money to ship products to an overseas manufacturer, fix them, then ship them back.
Why swallow the loss of a $100 unit because of a $1 defective component?
When the PCB repair services are in-house, that means actual repairs are cost-effective and can be done in a timescale that fits the needs of customers. Additionally, it means customers get their own device back, which can be critical in cases where the device is customizable or might have irreplaceable data on it.
3 - Predictive failure analysis.
When everything is in-house, including manufacturing, testing, and repair services, that means a manufacturer can produce highly-accurate estimates of per-component failure rates as time goes on. This, in turn, allows you to pre-produce only the extra components which are expected to be needed, rather than over-producing everything "just in case."
This allows much more precise and cost-controlled component buys, with an eye towards their future ROI.
4 - Integrated feedback loops.
Engineers do their best to predict the failure rates on components but, of course, sometimes things don't go to plan in the real world. In-house servicing options allow a direct feedback loop between post-sale support and the engineers.
If a particular component inspires too many customer calls, this information can quickly make it back to the engineers, and allow them to refine the design for future production runs. Disconnected outsourcers can't offer this level of feedback integration.
ZenTech can bring fully-integrated electronics manufacturing to any organization. Contact us today for a free consultation on our service offerings.
