Short-run manufacturing has become increasingly common in recent years. Rather than mass-producing parts, many manufacturing companies produce a smaller number of parts. Known as short-run manufacturing, it offers several benefits over long-run manufacturing. If you’re thinking about embracing short-run manufacturing in your business’s operations, you should familiarize yourself with its benefits.
Testing
Short-run manufacturing allows you to test new designs before fully committing them. Parts, components other products often require testing. When designing a new part, for example, you’ll have to come up with specifications, followed by testing it. If the part doesn’t function as intended, you’ll inevitably have to change it. Fortunately, short-run manufacturing makes it easy to test new designs. You won’t have to mass-produce parts that may or may not function as intended. With short-run manufacturing, you can order a small number of parts for testing purposes.
Low Cost
Another benefit of short-run manufacturing is the cost. Because it involves the production of small batches of parts, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that short-run manufacturing costs less than long-run manufacturing. You can order a small batch of parts without investing a substantial amount of money. It’s a low-cost manufacturing strategy, making it an attractive choice for small businesses.
Faster Feedback
You can obtain feedback more quickly by opting for short-run manufacturing. Feedback is essential when designing new parts. Even if a new part functions as intended, customers may respond poorly to it. By seeking feedback from customers, you can identify problems so that you can fix them. Short-run manufacturing allows for faster feedback than long-run manufacturing. You can produce parts more quickly, and you can provide them to customers from whom you seek feedback.
Saves Space
There are space-saving benefits associated with short-run manufacturing as well. While parts are available in different sizes, they all require space in which to store. The more parts your business has, the more storage space it will need. Short-run manufacturing, though, won’t take up as much space as long-run manufacturing.
Outsourcing Available
You don’t have to perform short-run manufacturing in-house. You can outsource it. There are manufacturing companies that offer short-run manufacturing services. If you have a new product design that you’d like to test, you can order a small batch of parts from a manufacturing company. When ordering the parts, you can include design specifications, which the manufacturing company will use to custom-produce them.