The Advantages of On-Demand Manufacturing
On-Demand Manufacturing Pros
To understand the advantages of On-demand manufacturing, the first step is understanding what this process is. When a customer places an order for a custom-made product that can be immediately fulfilled, the process is called On-demand manufacturing. Within the scope of the facility and process, a nearly unlimited range of products can be manufactured in a short time frame. This contrasts with traditional manufacturing, where pre-set tooling uses raw materials that are held in inventory to manufacture products.
For a manufacturer, it is generally more challenging to offer on-demand services using traditional manufacturing processes. The budget required to provide a range of products is a constraining factor. Similarly, the production configurations and tooling will need to be pre-set to meet standard processes.
For customers, there are many benefits for on-demand manufacturing. If a customer were to seek an on-demand outcome from a manufacturer that hadn’t established on-demand protocols, they may receive special treatment with urgent processing and accelerated manufacture, but the manufacturer would be challenged to deliver the product within time and specifications for the customer.
A manufacturer that has developed comprehensive on-demand manufacturing will be able to provide many benefits for the customer. Some of these include:
- Rapid delivery of quotes–On demand manufacturers have systems in place to manage the quoting process. They will be able to provide a quote in a timely manner based on a review of your bill of materials and design documents.
- Prototype services – an on-demand manufacturer will have processes in place to provide you with prototypes in a timely manner. Of course, this can be done iteratively until the PCB design meets all your requirements.
- Management of production runs – an on-demand manufacturer will have processes in place to manage production at various scales. Whether your production is a short-run project, or you require bulk production of PCBs, an on-demand manufacturer can manage their processes to meet your needs.
- Easy sourcing of materials – the on-demand manufacturer will already have relationships in place with a range of raw material suppliers. This will help ensure the materials needed for your PCBs are available when required for your production run.
- Cost-effective production – while the relationships that the on-demand manufacturer has with raw material suppliers provide benefits in sourcing, it can also help them provide you with cost-effective materials, meaning your PCBs are manufactured at a competitive rate.
- Control of inventory – the on demand manufacturer can produce your product in line with your requirements, delivering stock as you need, so you don’t end up with a warehouse full of finished goods.
- Control of process – the on-demand manufacturer will be able to provide an ongoing update of the status of your production, so you will know when to expect your finished product. Some even provide an on-line service where you can log in to measure the progress of your manufacturing process.
These are just some of the benefits of using an on-demand manufacturer. Choosing to use such a provider will reduce the amount of time you need to put into the basics, freeing you up to designing or promoting your product.
By: RUSH PCB Inc