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January 14, 2009
Issue 15
Greetings,
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
I am excited for the year ahead. Although many in the industry have seen a slow down, I have been pleasantly surprised by how many are still doing well and even growing.
As we all know, this industry is very cyclical. Fortunately, that knowledge allows us to work within those cycles instead of being at their mercy. We can use the slow times to increase efficiency and prepare for the busy times. We can use the busy times to evaluate our efforts and reap the benefits of our preparation.
One process that can have an impact on efficiency, but is often overlooked, is kitting. If not done efficiently and correctly, it can cause production delays and hurt overall profitability. For that reason, this issue will focus on the kitting process.
According to the last survey, only a small percentage of parts are auto-kitted. This means that most parts are pulled manually and therefore small inefficiencies can impact overall performance and time required to pull the kit. This is especially true when not all parts are consigned. Therefore, we will attempt to address this problem and help you better streamline your kitting processes.
As always, we look forward to your participation and feedback as you gain new insights and become a more effective provider of Electronic Manufacturing Services.
Sincerely,
David Sharp
ManEx, Inc.
Business Case - Inventory Control
Kitting
North Eastern Company* (N.E. Company) has an opportunity to review their practices and procedures before the next upswing in business. With the last peak they noticed that kitting was occasionally backlogged and hoped to find a way to streamline that process.
They identified AVL control, consigned inventory management, and labeling as the most time consuming steps in the process. As these are critical pieces of the services they offer, they wanted to find a way to keep the process lean while maintaining the capabilities.
How can N.E. Company select which kits to pull and when? How do they make kitting as efficient as possible? What can be done to reduce the delay caused by handling both consigned and turnkey parts in the same kit?
* Company name has been changed.
Business Case Solutions
In a contract manufacturing environment, there are three main approaches to managing internal assembly revisions...
Read the full Business Case Solution
ManEx Case Solution
Regardless of the method selected, ManEx has the tools to document and control assembly changes and revisions...
Read the full ManEx Case Solution
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