There’s traditional outsourcing of component parts, including fab and machining as needed. And then there’s strategic outsourcing. This is the story of how Ace partnered with one of our customers on strategic outsourcing. The result? Big wins for both!
A global leader in process technology, our customer manufactures complex equipment for the food and pharmaceutical industries. Outsourcing component parts on an as-needed basis was an expensive and time-consuming process. So Ace talked to the customer about how we could collaborate to simplify outsourcing and make it both faster and less costly.
ACE came up with two options:
Option one: outsourcing by machine type. This option includes kitting, where components parts are grouped together so that the customer doesn’t have to worry about all the component parts being at the right place at the right time. This option also includes mechanical assembly and subassembly of windows, doors and conveyors.
Option two: full machine release; which allows the customer to send us an order for equipment that might have as many as 700 different parts. Ace manufactures all component parts, inspects and sends kitted component parts to the customer, sequenced according to how they build the machine.
How does the customer benefit?
Our customer reduced and, in some cases eliminated, internal processes like:
They also experienced gains in:
How did ACE win?
That’s what we call a win-win!