Key Questions to Ask When Ordering transfer lines in automation

If you’re currently reading this, you’re most likely someone currently considering or looking to explore the validity of incorporating automated processes into your business model. This could be for any number of reasons: you’re looking to re-allocate production efforts, attempting to be more efficient with time management or it may even be as simple as your business outgrowing its current production capacity. 

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Most of these technologies are meant to be supplemental to the work of an employee’s day-to-day workflow, so avoid the notion that robots and software are replacing jobs entirely. Instead, use automation where it is needed, whether that be helping to process order requests, manage inventory, reorder supplies when they are needed or bolster customer service capabilities.

Although this may seem like automation is the answer to your current operational and management issues, there is a lot to consider before diving in. Here are some questions your company should consider before making this decision to ensure a worthwhile investment.

1. What is the current status of the company?

Take the time to evaluate the business in its current standing before making any large or even small-scale financial decisions.

How much free cash flow do you have at the moment? Are you consistently meeting your production and output targets each month? What areas of the business have bottlenecked or could use more support?

If you find there is a need for greater resource allocation in one or more aspects of the company, it may be a smart move to look into automating certain aspects of these areas to free up time and manpower. There is always room for growth when it comes to most focus areas of a business, so always be on the lookout for opportunities to make your life, and the lives of your employees, easier.

2. How will our capabilities change after adding automation processes?

One of the major reasons companies decide to incorporate automation services into their business plan is to increase their output capacity. Analyze what your current production averages were over the past fiscal year, and even the previous five fiscal years, for more accurate trending analytics. Then, forecast how much higher the total output will be if certain back-end business practices were automated. This can be done roughly using the number of labor hours saved doing the task over a given month. These hours can then be allocated elsewhere as well as to complete existing job queues faster.

If automation is applied across multiple or all departments, the amount of time and money you could save can be eye-opening. Your company could see an almost immediate impact on its bottom line because setting up and maintaining these types of software is easy and efficient.

3. How extensive and costly is automation training?

Many people assume that when adding new computer software and office management systems, every staff member must be properly trained using extensive classes and workshops that could take days or weeks to complete. However, several types of new automation software have little to no learning curve, making their adaptation simple. Some even operate through screen mimicking after studying human processes and functions, like filling out expense reports or creating a spreadsheet using external data.

Although some more advanced programs will require training, the long-term benefits from their functionality are incontrovertible. This technology will give your workforce the ability to far exceed personal and company-wide goals when used correctly and strategically.

4. Are there any critical issues that could arise from utilizing automation?

As previously stated, many automation services will adapt and alter themselves when company-wide or client-focused changes are made. Although there may be times when troubleshooting will be necessary, regular maintenance by internal IT professionals is sufficient once the initial setup is completed. It is also important to remember that automating business tasks is meant to be supplemental, and work done using this programming should always be double-checked for errors by employees. Issues that are consistent or cannot be resolved in-house can be reported to the service provider immediately and fixed as soon as possible.

Due to the fact that regular updates and upgrades are made to tech software of this capacity, your business practices will constantly be evolving for the better. 

Written by: Chandler Coleman

Transferring manufacturing work is like a trust fall. It’s one of the biggest tests in the relationship between an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and a manufacturing solutions provider. As they close their eyes and lean back, OEMs place their trust in their new or established partners. Will the manufacturing solutions provider or contract manufacturer be there to catch them? 

As the healthcare industry’s largest manufacturing solutions provider, Jabil has extensive experience transferring manufacturing operations from customers, and even competitors, to our facilities. In fact, we leverage a multi-disciplinary, collaborative approach to helping customers improve product safety, performance, sustainability and accessibility. 

For instance, in our work supporting Candela, a leader in medical aesthetic devices, one of the first steps we took was to consolidate Candela’s manufacturing and supply chain operations.

Jabil's Director of Business Development, John Vennari, worked hand-in-hand with Candela to understand their products and prepare them for transfer. “Candela had multiple programs moving from multiple locations. We had to take a very careful view of the planning, supply chain and testing issues to ensure a smooth transfer,” he said.

The company is the world’s best transfer lines in automation supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.

Faced with extremely aggressive timelines, Jabil quickly mobilized highly qualified transfer teams to move Candela’s current manufacturing and complex capital equipment to a Jabil Healthcare facility in Tijuana, Mexico. Download the Candela Case Study.

“Through the transfer process, Jabil was able to catalyze its expertise,” Candela’s Chief Operating Officer Todd Van Horn said. “They guided innovation in terms of process improvements, manufacturing best practices and quality.” 

For Bob, with 15 years at Jabil and 20 years in the military and defense sector, he has repeatedly has seen the benefits of careful planning for a manufacturing transfer. Conversely, he's aware of the trouble caused by delays, when preparation is not as careful as it needs to be. 

As they say, the devil is in the details with a manufacturing transfer—especially with medical products where the bar is set so high due to strict regulatory requirements. With the healthcare sector going through such a dynamic phase, it’s a good time to walk through four considerations for those planning a manufacturing transfer to ensure a safe pair of hands catches your “fall:” planning, communications, materials and testing. 

Manufacturing Transfer Checklist: Four Considerations to Get it Right

1. Planning is Vital to a Manufacturing Transfer

Developing a robust, well-defined project plan document is listed first since it’s arguably the most important step in the manufacturing transfer. If you can create a comprehensive project plan and schedule with clear ownership, you are more than halfway to a successful transfer. The plan should be developed by experienced Project Managers (PMs) – on both the customer and manufacturer side – with clear roles and accountability defined. 

Your project management team is vital to a successful transfer of your manufacturing process. The PMs are the conductors of this orchestra and must be empowered to ensure that everything is in order before they lift the baton for the first note. Everyone on the team should know their responsibilities. Each side of the partnership relies on the other to understand all the elements required for overall program success. 

The following manufacturing transfer checklist details just some of the key considerations for the planning stage. 

3. Track All Materials During a Manufacturing Transfer

Roadmaps are an essential navigational tool for ensuring manufacturing transfer success by recording where materials are coming from and where they are going. Even as manufacturing old-timers muse “we just make stuff,” products are more sophisticated than ever. It takes “stuff” to make “stuff,” and being able to locate, track and account for the flow of it all is critical to keeping production on time and on budget. 

Every part and piece that goes into a product must be accounted for prior to kick off. Take a detailed inventory of all required materials, including their costs, their lifecycle stages and their supply chains. And be sure to also include your suppliers’ inventories and capabilities, as well. 

As technology works its way into more and more products, the consideration of end-of-life (EOL) becomes increasingly critical. Frequent iterations and upgrades in technology are the norm, which impacts your supply chain downstream. The discovery and hassle of an EOL part is happening more frequently as product lifecycles speed up across the board.

Here are four vital areas of consideration for materials transfer – inventory, supplier pricing, supplier lifecycle status and viability. The following checklist outlines important manufacturing transfer considerations relating to materials.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of Stamping Transfer Robot. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.