Saturday 13 April 2013

Outsourcing: 'Injecting' New Life Into Old Ideas

By Kevin Zoller


Many firms hold an unswerving belief that they must manufacture every last part of their widget. This belief can come from a sense of a commitment to quality or just because they have several older, under-purposed pieces of machinery on the factory floor. Either way of thinking is misguided: the question isn't about quality (necessarily) or forcing older machinery to produce more. No, it's about containing costs and making more profit.

When quality can be maintained -- or even elevated -- by outsourcing, and costs lowered, manufacturers should seriously consider outsourcing, despite the usual drawbacks of miscommunication and transportation costs.

Today, companies who require plastic injection molding are outsourcing to other companies who specialize in this area for their injection molded parts. Often, they were attempting to mold these parts themselves and were aware they had quality and cost problems.

Cost-efficiencies begin with the mold. High-production, high-tolerance, injection molds are an upfront cost that can be best borne by plastic injection molding companies. Many of these molders will assist their clients by helping them design molds with superior product quality and long-lasting performance. Those re-designs revolve around shaping mold cavities for their clients to achieve maximum efficiency.

Many firms use "family" molds in their manufacturing process. Unfortunately, molded parts from family molds often include quality and aesthetic problems. In these instances, it is often necessary to design multi-cavity molds for each part. These molds are then cavitated to produce parts at a better price point than the customer could produce in-house. In other words, a high-performance mold and plastic injection know-how can result in superior quality at a lower cost.

All companies should consider outsourcing as they re-think their manufacturing processes and core competencies while making sure they are getting the highest value from their factory floor. Many times they will realize they have processes which are more appropriate for out-sourcing if the core concern is quality and cost, as opposed to just price.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment