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If you’re building a parts supply line for your products, you probably already realized that it’s not feasible for most small and medium-sized businesses to handle their entire manufacturing process from end to end. Outsourcing to operations that focus on a few core services becomes almost essential, since investing in the equipment to do everything from preparing the metal to fabricating parts to assembly is so costly. The traditional business model is to engage other companies for the parts and then handle quality and assembly as core business operations, at least until you build the reserves to begin bringing operations in-house. Many companies never choose to take that step, though, because their supply line relationships just work that well for them.
Offshore or Across Town?
Once you decide to engage an outside supplier, you need to decide who you’re going to trust to support your company. Often, initial quotes from companies in other states or countries will provide the lowest bid, but there are additional expenses to consider before you decide. Not only do long-distance relationships require additional communication for quality control and scheduling because of the added transit times and relative difficulty of having site visits, they often carry hidden costs in shipping and delivery. Even if those additional costs look good now, they fluctuate, so it’s worth looking at what your potential peak price could be.
By contrast, a local full-service foundry Los Banos CA can provide you with an opportunity to visit the facilities that will be helping you make your goods. You get to have face to face conversations with the project managers who put everything together, and if there’s an issue they are near enough for your own people to join their team in troubleshooting. In the long run, that efficiency can bring savings that are very real but very hard to tabulate in financial projections.
Check Out Additional Suppliers and Services
Foundries are just one B2B manufacturing service you can use to streamline your operation. Keep researching your other options to learn more about contracting for parts production for all your manufacturing needs.
