Beyond the Part: What OEMs Should Expect from a Manufacturing Partner

Those questions still matter. But for many OEMs, they are no longer enough.

Today’s manufacturing environment is more complex. Supply chains are fragmented. Engineering resources are stretched. Products often contain molded components, machined components, sourced hardware, electronics and multiple secondary operations — all flowing through different suppliers before finally coming together as an assembly.

That raises a larger question:

At Laszeray, we believe the greatest value occurs when three things come together: understanding what the customer is trying to solve, having the manufacturing capabilities to act on those opportunities, and having experienced people who are willing to look beyond the drawing in front of them.

Layer One: What Problem Are We Really Solving?

A drawing may show a single component, but that component rarely exists by itself. It belongs to a subassembly, a finished product and, ultimately, a supply chain.

So, one of the most valuable questions a manufacturing partner can ask is:

That question can uncover opportunities that a conventional RFQ process may never reveal.

• Could multiple components be consolidated?
• Could a machined feature be incorporated into a molded design?
• Could an insert-molded solution eliminate a later assembly operation?
• Could the manufacturer source complementary components and provide the finished assembly?
• Could testing, packaging or secondary operations be moved closer to the point of manufacture?
• Could several suppliers ultimately become one?

The objective is not to manufacture more simply for the sake of manufacturing more. The objective is to help the customer reduce complexity, improve reliability and create a more efficient manufacturing architecture.

Layer Two: Having the Capabilities to Do Something About It

Seeing an opportunity has little value if a manufacturing partner cannot execute it. This is where breadth of capability becomes important — not because a long list of equipment is impressive, but because different manufacturing processes can often work together to create a better solution.

Injection molding, CNC machining, tooling, insert molding, overmolding, sourcing, secondary operations, assembly, testing and packaging should not necessarily be viewed as independent services.

They can be building blocks.

A component may be mostly molded but require precision-machined features.

A metal insert may be incorporated directly into a molded component instead of assembled later.

Several separately sourced components may be combined into a tested subassembly before arriving at the customer’s facility.

A supplier may initially be asked to manufacture one part but ultimately discover an opportunity to assume responsibility for a much larger portion of the finished product.

The value is therefore not simply in having multiple manufacturing processes available. The value lies in knowing when and how to combine them.

This shifts the conversation from:

That is a considerably different discussion.

Layer Three: It’s All About People

Capabilities alone do not identify these opportunities. People do.

A molding press will manufacture the component it is given. A CNC machine will produce the geometry programmed into it.

• Neither will ask why the product is designed that way
• Neither will ask what happens to the component after it leaves the facility
• Neither will notice that another supplier is performing an operation that might be eliminated entirely

Those questions come from experienced people who understand manufacturing beyond their individual discipline.

• People who are curious enough to ask what the customer is building
• People who understand how tooling, molding, machining, assembly and supply chain decisions affect one another
• People who recognize that the lowest component price does not always create the lowest total manufacturing cost
• People who are willing to challenge an established process when they see a better way
• And people who take responsibility for solving problems rather than simply completing an assigned operation

That is why, at Laszeray, we believe:

From Part Supplier to Manufacturing Partner

There will always be a need for highly capable suppliers that manufacture individual components exactly to specification.

But the greatest opportunities often occur when the relationship goes further. When a customer allows its manufacturing partner to understand the complete product, the BOM and the surrounding supply chain, entirely new possibilities can emerge.

• A molded component can become an assembly
• An assembly can become a finished product
• Multiple suppliers can become fewer suppliers
• A component RFQ can become a discussion about design, manufacturability, supply-chain resilience and total cost
• And a vendor can become a manufacturing partner

So perhaps the next time you are preparing an RFQ, consider sharing something more than the drawing.

Show us what you are building.