An increasing number of machine builders and OEMs are choosing strategic outsourcing as part of an overall production and supply chain strategy.
When you’re looking to grow but there are space, people and production constraints to contend with, PP Control & Automation get to the root of the problem and help you to unlock your true potential.
Partnering with a trusted strategic outsourcing arm allows you to delegate non-core activities and win back the time you need to focus on your core competencies: Product innovation, Research & Development and sales & marketing to name but a few.
Module or assembly based, part or full machine build – whichever provides the optimum solution, PP C&A’s uppermost pledge is to make outsourcing easy.
The facility comprising 5,500m2, utilises lean 6 Sigma manufacturing principles with a high degree of production automation. This award-winning facility allows you to have full confidence in the ability to provide both the capacity and the quality you demand.
Your focus is on growing sales revenue and market share. PP C&A share this focus with you. By working together in a collaborative manner, strategies that deliver measurable success will be developed for you.
A comprehensive outsourcing solution is a strategic enabler to that success and is best considered as a long-term partnership. This partnership between you and PP C&A is built on alleviating constraints to growth by first identifying business pains.
Your particular barriers and pains will be varied but typically revolve around available resource (people, space, cash) or process capability (resulting in extending lead times or increasing costs). PP C&A’s role is to work as partners to help minimise and eliminate such constraints and work together to help you grow revenue and profitability.
PP C&A are perfectly positioned as leaders in strategic outsourcing to some of the world’s largest machine builders and OEMs to support your production requirements and take ownership of the supply chain.
Optimise costs associated with production and related overheads
Reduction in total manufacturing costs
Reduces the financial risk and exposure, especially in markets where demand can change quickly
Elimination of unnecessary stock and reduction of Work In Progress
Improves cash flow
Improves manufacturing lead times
Access to highly skilled and trained workforce
Flexible/responsive production to the ‘peaks and troughs’ of demand
Reduces the likelihood of redundancies during quiet times
An extension to your own engineering, supply chain and production support capabilities
Reduces the need for costly sub-contract labour at busy times
The faster the machine development, production readiness and commercialisation, the faster that revenue stream can be delivered.
Provides you with price stability
Time to market and scalability
Creates a fixed cost of ownership
In today’s competitive global market, lead times are often the critical difference between winning and losing orders. Ask yourself…
1. Which activities do you currently undertake that generate profit?
2. Which activities do you currently undertake that drain profit?
Invest in what you do best and delegate non-core processes to organisations that specialise in those areas. This is how you focus on production agility and an efficient machine assembly. Work with partners who can supply at a higher level to reduce your production build times and consequently reduce your sales lead times to your customers.
Number of skilled workers available and training requirements, or an ageing workforce and loss of key tacit knowledge
Lack of space available to build additional machines
Lean exercises have eliminated waste, yet you are still struggling to build machines quicker
Assuming you have correctly identified the areas suitable for outsourcing, the single biggest threat is selecting the wrong partner.
There are considerations you must not ignore and as such, your decision to outsource should be contemplated by giving those considerations the right attention. They should include…
Can the outsourcing partner do a better job than you can? Do they have the expertise, people, skills and plant/automation to improve the production process, boost quality and help develop designs in the future?
The last thing you want to do is develop a strategic partnership with a company that is financially weak. Do credit checks, look at accounts and ownership.
Consider the complexity and scale of your outsourcing needs, not just for today but for the mid to longer term. Ensure that you would not represent either too large or too small a part of that company’s sales revenue.
For outsourcing to deliver the maximum benefit, then the activities associated with purchasing and supply chain management should be included. The outsourcing partner should have the capabilities and skills to inherit, manage and develop the associated supply chain. If you still must manage parts of it and the associated costs of purchasing/logistics that go with it, then you are not going to see the true benefits.
Look at who they are working with now and which manufacturers and markets they are involved in. You can tell a lot, very quickly, from the quality and standing of existing customers.
Outside of the obvious ISO approvals, do you require any specific approvals relevant to an industry sector or for a given export geography, such as UL/CSA for the US or Canadian markets?
Does the outsourcing partner have the types of engineering skills and innovation to help you develop your products and services? Skills, such as design for manufacture, should be strong and you should expect them to play a big part in improving the product from a technical and commercial perspective.
Asia and Eastern Europe, as well as other low-cost geographies, have held significant appeal for certain outsourcing services, particularly those that are labour intensive such as machining and casting. Again, consider the true cost of the relationship, including lead times, agility, and risk, including the need to retain design IP (a problem often seen in Asia). The current trend in the UK, as well as the USA, has been reshoring of outsourcing activities. Many companies have recognised the escalating costs, political unrest and other risks associated with managing a long-distance supply chain, resulting in identifying partners that are more local to them.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is becoming increasingly important for businesses when considering a new supplier. Many companies now factor in a supplier’s CSR practices and policies as part of their decision-making process, as it can impact the company’s reputation and relationship with customers, employees, and other stakeholders.
Additionally, CSR can also help a company to identify and mitigate potential risks, such as environmental or labour violations, and to ensure compliance with laws and regulations.
A supplier’s commitment to CSR can be an important indicator of their overall business practices and values, which can be important considerations for companies looking to form a long-term strategic partnership.
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There should always be a process of consideration when selecting the right outsourcing partner and understanding how that partner delivers against your requirements. That’s why PP C&A introduced the 3D process. It clearly defines the whole journey into three specific stages: Discovery, Decision, Delivery.
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This collection of case studies examines some of the recent strategic outsourcing partnerships delivering against several business pains for machine builders and OEMs. This guide collects case studies published during 2021.
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This guide highlights key technical supplier relationships covering a broad set of categories, from industrial design support and access to academia, and automation and legislation partnerships, to packing and shipping finished goods, all designed to add sought after value to customers.
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We believe in meeting you, listening and understanding your needs first and foremost.
If you are considering outsourcing for the first time or you wish to review your current outsourcing strategies, we would welcome the opportunity for discussion.