Benefits of Sub-Assembly

In a business environment that is as competitive, rapidly changing, and expensive as it is today, every advantage that manufactures can gain is critical. Sub-assembly enables them to outsource the design and assembly of units that will ultimately be incorporated into their larger product/service offerings. 

What benefits does sub-assembly deliver to those in the commercial, aerospace, medical device, and government sectors?

While advantages are numerous, here are the top five ways that sub-assembly benefits organizations:

1. Cost-savings. The burden of supporting manufacturing infrastructure and training employees is increasingly heavy. Manufacturers can offload this responsibility to a contractor that has the capability to handle the complex requirements of assembly.
2. Improved efficiency. Innovative assembly and kitting solutions ensure that organizations can streamline their internal processes. This enables them to reduce waste and redundancy in their supply chain. Assemblies, parts, and components are where they are needed, when they are needed. There is no wasted time searching for this part or that component or reworking materials.
3. Reduced risk. The assembly contractor assumes the risk for damage, waste, scrap, operational incidents, and accidents. They “own” this piece of the process and the associated risk.
4. Reduced waste. Sub-assembly enables organizations to reduce waste within their own companies by mitigating excess packaging, extraneous transportation, and, ultimately, environmentally-harmful debris/trash.
5. Increased quality. Sub-assembly contractors are highly skilled and trained; their own internal quality management processes (including adherence to the stringent ISO 9001:2008 and AS9100C standards) ensure that assemblies are manufactured precisely to specs and are consistently defect-free. Any production issues or problems will be identified – and resolved – at the source.

Opting to outsource to assembly subcontractors is a weighty decision; businesses and agencies should be careful to thoroughly vet their contractors to ensure they can deliver these benefits, and many more.