In an earlier article, Quick Design and Deliver in the Future, we wrote about the drive for production efficiency involving prototypes. That process demands quick design, rapid scaling, and the never-ending drive for not only fast delivery but also cables and components of the highest quality. Let’s look at the benefits of USA manufacturing.
There can be no doubt that the demands of designing and building prototypes are best met with your suppliers close at hand. Cables Unlimited is precisely positioned to meet those very high demands, based on our USA locations as well as our extensive in-house services and advanced manufacturing capabilities.
Of course, prototypes are one thing, manufacturing production quantities are quite another. Or are they so much different?
Manufacturing Demands
The demands for manufacturing are driven in large part by cost factors. These include not only component pricing but also minimizing on-hand inventory, and the associated costs, through just-in-time (JIT) delivery of components. That comes with the challenge of the lead time required from placing your order to delivery at your manufacturing plant.
If those components are coming from overseas, the challenges mount. In today’s tempest-tossed COVID climate, delays are commonplace. First, there are challenges for anyone anywhere getting their hands on the required raw materials. Then, there’s the manufacturing time, along with the associated demand that you have enough trained and motivated employees.
On top of all that comes shipping challenges. Today that challenge is amplified by the availability of containers, ships, along with port availability. Overseas ports, as well as USA ports, are log jammed as all too many organizations are trying to second guess their future requirements and the availability of components.
Benefits of USA Manufacturing
Many of those challenges for overseas manufacturers also apply to USA locations. They include raw materials access and delivery as well as finding and training employees. However, there are many advantages of working with a USA supplier. Here are a few.
- Easier Communication and Collaboration. Speaking the same language and sharing common cultural factors as well as similar time zones can greatly improve communication. Not only that, but you can easily stop by the supplier’s facility to check on progress and readily solve any problems that arise.
- Quality Assurance. That improved communication ties directly to the overall quality assurance process. Not only are standards often higher in the USA, but the ability to respond to any issues rapidly before they’re compounded by large numbers of manufactured components makes domestic manufacturing very cost-effective.
- Manufacturing Flexibility. Overseas manufacturers will typically require large production runs to offset setup, sourcing, and shipping costs. On the other hand, many USA manufacturers can readily accommodate smaller production runs along with more frequent runs to match your JIT needs.
- Faster Fulfillment Times. With a domestic manufacturer, you can often find quicker turn-around times from order to delivery.
- Reduced Shipping Costs. Without customs fees and long-range ocean shipping costs, you can save on transportation.
- Higher Labor Standards. The USA has rigorous standards in place to not only protect employees but also ensure that those standards are being met.
- Protection of Intellectual Property. The USA’s rigorous standards extend to the protection of intellectual property. Given that, there’s far less likelihood that your latest, greatest, product will end up on the shelves of some other manufacturer.
We Can Help
With production facilities on both coasts of the United States, Cables Unlimited can assist customers here and worldwide with their most challenging custom wire harness and assembly requirements.
If you are in the design stages of your cabling solution, we can provide engineering assistance and prototyping. If your requirements are already specified and ready for a quote, we are uniquely positioned to meet your deadlines and pricing targets, due to our extensive in-house services and advanced manufacturing capabilities.
But we offer much more than state-of-the-art manufacturing – our dedicated team is also known for going to great lengths to meet the needs of our customers. Our team works round-the-clock to meet tight turnaround time requirements.
Our sales representatives are standing by to assist you with product questions and quotes Monday – Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern. You can also send us an email or complete our contact form and we’ll get right back to you.
