The Benefits Of All In House Manufacturing In A Post-COVID World

There is a difference between all in-house and in-house manufacturing. In-house manufacturing means the business that is designing and selling the product is also manufacturing the product within their own walls, while all in-house means that a single, outsourced manufacturer is creating all the pieces needed for the product as opposed to contracting several manufacturers to make specific pieces of the product.

The COVID pandemic has disrupted many aspects of the manufacturing and delivery process. Uncertainty surrounding the availability of materials and resources, manufacturers with unreliable timelines, and less than perfect delivery timelines are all issues that need to be dealt with in the modern-day world. These issues only get multiplied when dealing with several different vendors or manufacturers, creating a nightmare scenario where the concept of a smooth-flowing production and delivery process seems like something out of a fairy tale. But, it has also made the benefits of all in house manufacturing more apparent.

To handle some of these roadblocks, many businesses are beginning to rethink the way in which they have their products manufactured and turning towards all in-house manufacturing to help mitigate these issues. All in-house manufacturing refers to having a single manufacturer create and distribute all the parts needed for your product. This is sometimes known as supplier rationalization, or supply base reduction, and is a concept that has been in use for many years.

All In house manufacturing provides flexibility and confidence

Historically, there have been both positive and negative aspects of all in-house manufacturing, but with the recent disruptions caused by the pandemic, it has become more appealing to many businesses for its ability to mitigate some of the issues described above. Read on to see how IMS can reduce the churn you may be experiencing as a result of the pandemic and bring some consistency to your manufacturing process.

For those businesses that decide to outsource the production of their products, all in-house manufacturing offers several benefits that can help combat some of the disruptions caused by the pandemic:

Lower costs

Working with a single manufacturer allows you to get more value for the dollars you are spending on materials, labor, and other manufacturing project-related costs. Utilizing numerous vendors diminishes the buying power you have and means you could be duplicating certain project costs by getting involved in several, smaller contracts as opposed to a single one that covers all of your needs. Finally, having a single manufacturer create your parts can lower your shipping costs by being able to combine parts deliveries into the least number of shipments needed.

Streamlined delivery options

Aside from cost savings, going with an all-in-house manufacturer can drastically reduce the shipping headaches you might experience when contracting several vendors. Having all your parts shipped from a single source reduces the number of shipments you need to track and limits the potential for packages to get lost or be delivered late. Recently, transportation FedEx has begun limiting loads in a single shipment to six pallets due to supply chain issues. As a workaround, businesses have started to split up loads of their products into multiple shipments. This can cause major logistical headaches from a timing standpoint, whereas not having to ship the parts from facility to facility minimizes the overall risk and reduces cost.

Better alignment

Another benefit that comes from working with a single manufacturer is a better alignment on your overall production needs. A manufacturer that is involved in all portions of your production process has a better focus on all the components that comprise the creation of your product. They serve as a single source of information and are more in tune to any supply chain, timeline changes, quality assurance, or shipping issues that might arise. A single source provides a streamlined communication channel, where all your information can be obtained from one contact as opposed to having to call numerous other vendors to get status on your materials, production runs, or deliveries.

More flexibility

Disruptions caused by the pandemic can cause businesses to feel trapped and helpless. They feel that their success hangs on uncontrollable market forces that always seem to conspire to cause issues at just the wrong time. All in-house manufacturing provides some reprieve from the effects of those market forces by allowing for more flexibility at various stages of the process. A single source is more capable of changing order sizes, runs, and deliveries and can provide a constant feedback loop to keep you up to date on any potential disruptions to the process. If things do go wrong, it’s much easier to coordinate with a single manufacturer for all of your parts instead of having to manage several different vendors that might be experiencing drastically different disruptions.

Reduced Risk

At the end of the day, the goal is to reduce the overall risk of anything disrupting the production and delivery of your product. Minimized risk means more confidence that you’ll have the pieces and products you need when you need them. Over time, a closer relationship with your manufacturing partner will result in even better management of your production runs and deliveries. That’s one of the benefits of all in house manufacturing. An all-in-house manufacturer will have experienced project managers that can evaluate your overall process and eliminate inefficiencies and waste. This can minimize the stress felt by businesses and create vast improvements in the planning and delivery of your products.

Here at Integrated Manufacturing Solutions, we strive to provide best-in-class manufacturing services along with stress-free planning and execution of your production runs. As the manufacturing landscape changes due to unforeseen events such as the COVID pandemic, we’re learning and changing our practices to better suit the needs of our clients. By opting to go for an all-in-house manufacturing solution, you give us the ability to better evaluate and act upon any factors that might be affecting your production process. We hope to provide you with the benefits of all in house manufacturing; by lowering costs, streamlining deliveries, creating better alignment between the client and the manufacturer, allowing for more flexibility across various stages of the process, and reducing the overall risk to your business, we hope to be able to deliver a full-service manufacturing solution that helps propel you into a successful future.