Outsourcing frees up cash for product development and provides a good ROI explains business development manager at Briton EMS, Peter Towler
If the DNA?of your company is about designing and developing new products, why take on the burden of manufacturing? That’s the question being asked by an increasing number of managers today.
As on-board functionality continues to increase, the impact on electronic complexity and manufacture is enormous. The manufacturing equipment that was satisfactory only five years ago, for example, is unlikely to be so today, which is why outsourcing is on the increase. It’s a great tool for freeing up cash. Instead of investing in buildings, plant, people and components, that money can be used for product development and marketing.
Engineers can concentrate on what they are good at, without being involved in non-core activities. Outsourcing also brings ROI?benefits, since the overall cost of outsourcing is always going to be less than the investment in expertise and equipment required to actually make product.
It is important to consider manufacturing offshore. The potential low price is tempting, but in terms of value for money and total cost, a UK?manufacturer incurs no unwarranted expenses, no time delays or language barriers and no quality or currency concerns.
Also eliminated are advanced payments, high minimum orders, complex shipping arrangements and extended travel for engineering, design and other staff. The result is greater flexibility, lower costs, speedier time to market and good ROI.
Other factors to consider when choosing an outsourcing partner include experience in a given field, contacts for component procurement, precise manufacturing and proven resources to build and test products that are reliable, delivered on time and cost competitive.
Ultimately, what is likely to provide the best ROI? The headache of producing in house, or the flexibility of outsourcing? It needn’t be a hard choice.