Are you wondering whether or not your electronics business would benefit from a partnership with a contract manufacturing company? Although every company is different and has its own needs, there are certain factors that make it very obvious when an operation is in need of a little outside help. To help you make the best decision for your business, here are the top six signs that you should hire a contract electronics manufacturer.
1. You feel that your product design process could be streamlined
Time is money, so when it starts taking too long for your designers or project engineers to come up with a simple strategy for your electronics devices, it's time to ask for some help from a contract manufacturing company. This isn't to say that your current team is incapable of the task at hand, but rather, that they could benefit from a bit of outside perspective. After spending hours pouring over plans and schematics, your staff may simply be too burned out to notice that there could be a simpler, more efficient way of creating your products so as to save the entire business money. By working with engineers from a third party, your team will develop even more experience and may eventually only need help on a decreased consultation basis. Regardless, it's always good to have another set of eyes on each project.
2. You struggle to produce large product orders
Although your goal is to grow your business, you may be "stuck" if you don't have the manpower or machinery necessary to actually fulfill large purchase orders from major clients. In this case, you won't be able to meet your objectives until you have the assistance of a contract manufacturing company with the ability to turn out higher volumes of your electronic devices.
3. It is growing increasingly difficult for you to manufacture small, complex devices
As technology advances, it continues to become smaller, lighter, and more compact. Unfortunately, this means that minuscule and extremely complex components must be manipulated during the assembly process. If you're relying on human labor, or dated and clumsy machinery to put your devices together, you could be in trouble. In this case, it would be to your benefit to work with a third party manufacturer who could enable you to take advantage of advanced production technologies and robotics for assembly.
4. You're throwing away too much money on correcting design or production problems
There's nothing worse than spending the time and money on producing a batch of faulty electronics. This often happens when smaller companies feel too rushed to complete an order and lack the manpower to keep an eye on what's going on. Now you must go back and determine where in the design or manufacture process something went wrong and make the necessary corrections. When you've got a professional contract manufacturing partner on your side, however, you can rest assured that your products will be regularly and systematically tested for flaws so that they are detected and corrected early.
5. Your cost to purchase quality parts is too high
If you're spending too much money on parts, it's impossible for you to sell your products at a competitive price point. Purchasing cheap, bootlegged parts from overseas, however, creates even bigger problems for your reputation. So what's the answer? A seasoned contract manufacturing company will have established strong relationships with suppliers, meaning that you can enjoy quality parts for less of a cost.
6. You require assistance for troubleshooting and repairing equipment
When a customer sends a product back, are you able to quickly pinpoint the problem and fix it? If this is too time-consuming for your team, you should consider working with a third party company to speed up the process. Not only will this cut your costs, but it will keep your customers happier.
So what's the verdict? Should you be using a contract manufacturing company?
Image #1 sourced from (endicottinterconnect.com)
Image #2 sourced from (blog.memoto.com)