Why Outsource Engineering and Manufacturing Together?
Maintain a Competitive Edge
At Owens Design, we believe manufacturing what we design sets us apart from other engineering firms and is a critical element to being successful. There are three key benefits to outsourcing integrated design and manufacturing for low-volume, complex capital equipment:
Higher Customer Satisfaction
The most important reason we manufacture our designs is it results in a higher level of customer satisfaction. Our customers enjoy a single point of accountability related to issues such as cost, performance, reliability and safety. If the product fails to meet any of the criteria, we are responsible for making it right. No finger pointing between the design and manufacturing companies. The result is a considerable reduction in risk and headaches for our customers.
Compressed Development Cycle
Manufacturing our designs also makes the development programs run faster. One of the most difficult aspects of any program is managing the transitions from prototype to beta and beta to pilot. In each of these transitions, there is not only a hand-off of technology, but also a hand-off of leadership. With control of the entire process, we can significantly compress the prototype development cycle and the beta-to-pilot transitions by overlapping design and manufacturing tasks.
We Get it Right in Design
One of the challenges in the capital equipment business is the unique combination of high systems complexity with low manufacturing volumes. We have all experienced designs that are virtually impossible to manufacture at the required price point, ultimately leading to unpredictable schedules, rework, redesign, and high costs. Due to low manufacturing volumes, there isn't time to "get it right" in manufacturing. Our concept is simple. If you know you are the one who will build it, you will do a better job designing it in the first place.
Manufacturing our designs is an essential element of our business. We find it results in better designs, faster developments and an improved customer relationship. Obviously not every product fits this model, just as every product is not suitable for outsourcing. For low-volume, complex capital equipment, integrating design and manufacturing is the right approach.
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