A few tips for reducing lead times:
Experiencing long lead times? Delays and setbacks? This seems to be a common challenge within many industries, especially Defense and Aerospace. There are many factors that impact supply chain lead times, but here are a few that can be in your control prior to engaging a custom assembly manufacturer. Ensuring you are prepared can really positively impact the outcome of manufacturing lead times for your company.
Here are four things you can do as an organization to help improve lead times with your manufacturing partners:
1. Provide all information required for the custom assembly
Make sure you have as much information as possible to provide to your manufacturer. Time can easily be swallowed up by back and forth requests to discuss requirements and clarifications. If there is a debate over the design, involve your manufacturer early on so they can offer advice that can help keep lead times lower, and they often offer innovative solutions. These circumstances can be further frustrated by personnel absences and additional approval requirements that can sometimes extend communication times, thus elongating your lead time further. Do you have drawings? Are those drawings updated? Do you have a BOM (Bill of Materials)? Do you need consultation on your project? Have you communicated important dates? Even initial documents can take time, such as NDAs and supply partner onboarding steps. Providing a list of expectations, documents, and information about your project to your manufacturer is our #1 recommended step to help reduce lead times with your supply partner.
2. Consider alternative components
Sometimes lead times get pushed out because there are lead times on the components themselves that are used in manufacturing. Reducing lead times and getting your manufactured components faster can sometimes be achieved when considering alternative materials. Your manufacturer should be able to give you substitutions with the same form and function that are more readily available. The most important aspect of considering alternative components are to ensure they perform as expected and a FA (First Article) can help with that. Often times, utilizing alternative (but comparable) components also means lowering costs. While these options aren’t always available, especially for things such as proprietary materials, many times a manufacturing partner that has a strong industry knowledge base will be able to offer alternatives to help reduce lead times and improve the bottom line.
3. Make use of KANBAN / Stock Agreements
A great way to ensure that both your lead times and your supply chain is managed well, is by utilizing a Stocking Agreement. If you know you are in need of a design for a long period of time and have consistent demand, you can look at arranging a KANBAN agreement or Stocking Agreement with your manufacturer. These types of agreements occur between a purchasing company and a manufacturing supplier. In this method, the manufacturer will continually produce enough units to meet the agreed upon delivery schedule for the buyer—ensuring to avoid delays. It allows for a commitment from the buyer to purchase for a future duration and ensures that your manufacturer regularly schedules your production needs to meet deadlines. Considering these types of agreements benefits your both companies to effectively manage lead times and expectations.
4. Choose the right manufacturer
Choosing the right manufacturing partner is a really key step to ensure you are working with someone who knows proper lead times and reduces unmet expectations. How do you know who is a great partner? We talk about it more in depth here, but you want to ensure your manufacturing partner has certifications in their area of work. For example, for cable assembly manufacturing, being IPC certified is an important certification to ensure you are engaging a professional. In addition to being certified, the right manufacturer will be up front about the lead time on your design. They will also be able to work with you to find ways to lower that lead time—from design advice, substitutions, stocking agreements, to things such as bonded inventory agreements with vendors that allow for priority delivery of key components. Delays are costly for many reasons and working with professional experts helps reduce the likelihood of those delays.
At MRO, we do all of these things and more to make sure you get your order as quickly as possible. If you are in need of a manufacturer who understands your needs, and who works hard to ensure your dates are met, please get in touch with us today!
To discuss your project and needs further, we welcome you to contact us, and thanks for considering us for your electronic solutions manufacturing: