When companies are smart enough to take advantage of the expertise of their molding partners, the result is to have the most effectively molded parts possible.
The value of design outsourcing experience
According to field experts, poor design creates product flaws that will emerge during the fabrication process. This leads to expensive redesigns and compromises the integrity of the product.
When injection molding experts apply their knowledge with experience, the result is a high-quality component or product. To get the best product, designers should begin with the mold design, the use engineers with plastic tooling experience, as well as 3D simulation software for variability assessment. Lastly, the design team should be augmented with experience in manufacturing and materials function.
The procedures used to achieve these results include clean room molding, insert molding over molding and family molding.
Quality operation controls for precision injection molded components
FDA registration and ISO 13845:2003 certification emphasizes documentation to verify procedures that provide controlled conditions to ensure consistent, reliable products are produced.
Process validation procedures include installation and operation qualification, process performance qualification and product performance qualification. With each stage of documentation, details must be kept with inspection results, parameter settings or any deviations from the expected performance.
Process validation has been proven to provide the most consistent and highest quality for precision plastic injection molded component manufacturing.
The value of outsourcing supply chain management
An essential part of the supply chain is customer support. This aspect often requires real-time information, as well as product availability and scheduling details. A fully qualified injection molder will have a method for the selection and qualification of suppliers.
These tasks usually involve approved supplier lists, documentation, corrective actions and the supplier history. The most effective supply chain strategies include moving any finished product directly to the buyer. Most inventory strategies use Kanban shipping, Just-In-Time delivery and other blanket-delivery orders. This helps limit inventory buildup while scheduling out deliveries to different points in time.
The project management office (PMO) controls budget and keeps projects on schedule
An effective PMO delivers project updates and information to both internal personnel and the customer. This decreases confusion and increases successful project completion. The Gantt chart is one of the tools used by a PMO to track project activities with accurate time assessments.
The allure of injection molding for manufacturing parts is due in large part to the versatility, speed, and quality of the finished molded parts. From the outside, these qualities appear to be inherent parts of the injection molding process, and because injection molding seems fairly straight-forward, many manufacturers consider scaling to bring the process in-house for their needs. But to maximize the benefits of the injection molding process, it requires a sizeable team of knowledgeable technicians and engineers operating high-end, large-scale equipment — a structure and process more easily found in a dedicated plastic injection molding manufacturer. Which is why, for manufacturers looking to get the best quality parts for their money, outsourcing injection molding needs makes the most financial sense.
If you use outsourced manufacturing, you retain full control over the injection moulding production process. To get better control over production time, you can order and schedule deliveries of raw materials for your contracts.
The challenge will be calculating plastic raw materials, but fortunately, there is software on the market that can assist.
With that in mind, let’s move on to outsource manufacturing.
How Does Outsourcing Custom Injection Moulding Work?
Costs for outsourcing custom injection moulding in China vary depending on the tooling company you choose, the political climate, the manufacturing company’s demand, and transportation costs.
Generally speaking, outsourcing custom injection moulding means that a business hires a third-party company to perform services that it would normally perform in-house.
A large percentage of outsourcing injection moulding parts occurs in China as a means to reduce costs, especially labour costs, which is the primary reason for outsourcing.
Most of the time, a business can find it more affordable to hire a third-party service than to hire its own employees.
Outsourcing injection moulding manufacturing costs should also be considered when assessing how much it costs.
injection molding
The most common reason for companies using custom injection moulding manufacturing is to cut costs; however, if your company is considering outsourcing manufacturing, you need to determine what your goals are:
Are you interested in reducing costs;
Resources can be reallocated; or
Production should be increased.
Those who support outsourcing custom injection moulding believe that the tactic encourages businesses to allocate resources where they will be most productive, as well as helping maintain free markets on a global scale.
The decision of offshoring your product manufacturing can seem stressful and would feel as if you are losing control over your product, however most successful businesses are moving their product development offshore for a number of reasons.
What is production outsourcing / offshoring?
Production outsourcing / offshoring is physically relocating your product manufacturing to another country to saving capital and operational costs.
Overseas contract manufacturing of your plastic products, parts and components comes with a lot of advantages provided you have chosen the right partner.
Dedicated focus on your core business activities
Manufacturing is not an easy endeavour. When you outsource your product manufacturing enables you to focus on your core business activities like increasing sales, retaining customers, focusing on sustainable and consistent growth.
Lesser startup cost and capital investment
Manufacturing in-house can set you back millions of dollars in capital investment into infrastructure, machinery, equipment, construction, insurance and runnings costs not to mention a significant amount in monthly fixed costs. By the time your first batch gets out into the market you would have tens of millions of dollars poured out there.
It wouldn’t make sense investing millions of dollars into molds and machines to manufacture a small number of products. When you outsource your product manufacturing to us there is no minimum order quantity. Strategic production planning enables your to strategise your investment into inventory.
Working with a large scale plastic manufacturer gives you access to a diverse range state-of-the-art injection molding machines, labellers printers, palletises and so on.
Cost Efficiency
Large scale injection molding contract manufacturers like us usually manage to achieve economies of scale and can manufacture your product at a significantly lower cost by leveraging various commercial variables to reduce costs significantly.
We buy enormous quantities of raw material ensuring a year round supply hedging ourselves from increases in raw material prices not to mention the huge discounts that come from bulk buying and handling.
We have access to cheaper labour and resources. Pakistan Polymers has invested heavily into energy saving technologies that enables us to reduce our production costs significantly.
We can manufacture just-in-time or keep stock of your products ready to supply anywhere, anytime to anywhere in the world saving you a lot of resources in warehousing and supply-chain costs.
Reduced Supply Chain Costs
Truly global companies understand the long-term benefits of near to customer manufacturing. A manufacturer is US will incur significant costs in logistics if they were to export something to let’s say Bangladesh not to mention the lead times of 40-45 days while the cargos in-transit on vessels. An American company outsourcing their plastic products manufacturing to let’s say Pakistan will save significant amount in freight costs and reduce their lead times by less than half ensuring fast to market as well as increased profitability.
Access to Global First World Markets.
Offshore manufacturing doesn’t always have to be from the first world to the third world to reduce costs. A Jordanian company wanting to expand into North America could outsource their production to a manufacturer in the US for better market accessibility and penetration.
Specialisation
A manufacturing company specialises in manufacturing. When you outsource manufacturing to a contract manufacturer, they are utilising in entire infrastructure of purpose specific technologies, equipment and skilled labour working in sync for one single objective – manufacturing.
Many companies utilize plastic injection molding processes in-house. Heated plastic substrate gets injected into a mold whereas the liquid is allowed to cool to a solid, etc. That said, in-house injection molding isn’t always easy or cost-effective. There can be both cost and logistics concerns. What if the product’s quality isn’t up to par? What if there’s a problem with the process in-house and time is of the essence?
OUTSOURCING INJECTION MOLDING PROJECTS
Sometimes it just makes sense to outsource injection molding projects to an expert company who does it and does it well so your business doesn’t have to have the headaches of “issues” that may go wrong.
MACHINERY
Rather than invest tons of money on your own molding machinery, let someone else do that! This is especially true if you only need small quantities produced and it wouldn’t make sense to own and store your own equipment. Furthermore, outsourcing gains you guaranteed expertise and increased quality. You don’t want unpredictable results with inconsistencies, right? Then give the job of injection molding over to a company that focuses on injection molding and can handle all sorts of scenarios you might not be prepared for– or have time for!
IMPROVED EFFICIENCY
Plastic injection molding involves an optimized flow rate with factors such as rounded corners and uniform walls. There also needs to be uniform cooling time. Gussets and ribs can be incorporated to increase strength and to use material efficiently. And efficiency is important, right? Of course.
MORE AFFORDABLE
What’s more, outsourcing your plastic injection needs will actually help your bottom line when you factor in the amount of money, resources and manpower that hiring the right machinists and training them on how you want the projects completed would take.
Injection Molding of Plastic Parts
In addition, if the job is not done correctly, you will have to reject the parts and start all over again from scratch. When you go with an outside expert, you can be rest assured knowing the job will be done correctly to your specifications and will be completed on time.
Once the decision to outsource the molding business has been made, the next major decision is who to outsource it to. Choosing the right partner is a complex process in decision making. Further, since the medical molding landscape is crowded with many injection molders—and not all are created equal—the decision is anything but simple.
A contract molder with internal horsepower in tooling, molding equipment, and automation can more easily overcome major challenges—like ongoing capital investments, troubleshooting, and designing the right process—and remedy situations swiftly. Whether launching a new part or seeking to improve existing product lines, consider the information needed to make the right decision.
Simplifying Complexity with the Right Custom Molder
Once a thorough evaluation of the barriers to molding a part in-house has been performed—ongoing resource investments, intellectual property, personnel concerns—it’s important to do the same evaluation of outsourcing molded parts. OEMs must consider the following factors when evaluating potential partners:
Experience: Finding a partner with an extensive body of work in the field of integrating large transfer projects into their facilities or taking over yours is critical. Many custom molders will also excel at supporting new product introductions. This experience helps molders specify the right process for a company’s specific needs.
Extensive Capabilities: Choosing a custom molder that is vertically integrated is also important for success. Finding a partner who builds tooling, automation, and also molds parts in an ISO-compliant environment—and can help manage FDA approvals—will help drive value for a project.
Streamlined Supply Chain: Greater cost savings can be realized simply from streamlining the supply chain through a successful relationship with the right molder. The right partner will be able to act as a single source of supply, helping to design a part for manufacturability, build the right mold, select the right materials, mold the part, and provide any secondary operations required.
Accountability: Within a streamlined supply chain, the accountability of an outsource partner will increase. If an issue with the molded parts exists, it’s fairly obvious whom to turn to for assistance to minimize risk and increase accountability.
Not just any custom molder will bring together these four elements to support a company’s need for high-quality parts. It’s important to thoroughly vet each custom molder to ensure the right “make vs. buy” decision.