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Posted by Dan Shockley on Monday, July 21, 2008 at 20:31:27 :
In Reply to: Re: Made in China?? posted by D Sherman on Monday, July 21, 2008 at 14:20:21 :
Completely understand.
From my personal experience, too many sourcing exercises are done hands off. And, that is reflected in the results. Someone in the US is told to find a cheaper source for xyz... and then sends off the parts and tells the supplier to make one to replace it. As such, the supplier has no idea what the functional characteristics are of the part. Therefore the dimensional tolerances, material selection and overall performance/durability, etc are comprimised as a result. This is typically made worse by the fact that the companies sourcing your third party parts have no access to the original development information and they don't do adequate reverse engineering in interest of saving cost. Overall the results can be very poor.
To counter act this, I have taken a very hands on approach. My friend and I know every detail of the design and every detail of the manufacturing process. In addition, we will be completing sound duraility testing. The supplier is a proven, and seasoned automotive supplier with an excellent track record. I am confident that everyone will be satisfied with the results.
All advantages are temporary. And, low cost is definately that way. For the last several years China's wage inflation has been averaging 10-15% per year. At that rate, with in a generation the low cost advantage will be gone.
As we have seen in the automotive industry, companies will choose to manufacture where stuff is consumed whenever possible.
Thanks for your comments.
Dan