Finding a balance between high product quality and fair production costs is often a real challenge for companies. To find a solution, you have to not only look at ways to reduce costs but also make smart investments that deliver high returns. In this article, we want to explain how the selection of a competent manufacturer can help you receive value from the money you spend and optimize your production costs.
How can a competent wood maker influence your production expenditures?
Cost optimization doesn’t just mean purchasing products at a lower price from your wood maker. There are many phases along the production process that can directly or indirectly influence your overall costs, and an experienced wood manufacturer can support you through the entire process.
In this article, we will cover the full range of services and support that you can expect from your wood maker and how they can affect your overall production costs.
Fast prototyping
Producing a large number of components is something any wood manufacturer is capable of doing, but quickly producing a prototype that corresponds in all aspects (e.g., dimension, material, finishing) to the actual product is not so obvious, and most manufacturers struggle with it.
If your supplier doesn’t have the required technology and experience, he might provide you with a prototype that resembles the actual component but doesn’t correspond 100% to all its characteristics. Testing such a prototype may give the wrong impression in the preproduction phase, and you might run into serious difficulties when you start actual production. Such unforeseen problems could result in the following:
- delays in production
- unexpected costs
- moving back to the design phase to adjust technical issues
All these outcomes will affect overall production costs. A competent wood maker, on the contrary, creates a realistic prototype—an exact representation of the final product. In this way, you can predict possible problems and determine if slight modifications are required before moving to production.
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Codesign
The design of a new wood product has a significant effect on production costs. Each decision, such as the raw material, the shape of the element, or the type of finish, can determine the cost of the end product.
Raw material—The price of raw material can vary dramatically from one type to another, so it greatly influences final product cost. When selecting the most suitable raw material, we should also consider other important aspects besides price, e.g., manageability, durability, and aesthetics. A competent manufacturer should have a deep knowledge of all types of wood available to help you choose the right balance between price and technical characteristics that suit your goal.
Shape—Shape is another fundamental element of your product design. It has technical and functional importance as well as aesthetic impact. Sometimes, however, a small modification of the element shape may have significant effect on the production process resulting in an increase or decrease in production costs. Here again the experience of your wood maker is important. During the codesign phase, a competent manufacturer can help you reach the optimal shape that maintains all of your requirements in terms of functionality and beauty while simplifying as much as possible the production process.
Finish—The type of finish is another crucial element that has a major effect on both the aesthetics and functionality of the product as well as on production costs. Most types require specific mechanical treatment (e.g., polishing) as well as additional finishing materials (such as varnish, paint, and oil) with their relative costs. A leading wood manufacturer should not only have all available finishing technologies but should also be able to consult with you on the most appropriate finish to choose in each case in order to comply with all technical requirements while limiting production costs.
An experienced manufacturer with the right technology (e.g., CAD/CAM software), deep industry knowledge, and a full range of skills can support you in this delicate phase so that you can make the right choices based on your goals.
Industrial engineering
Once the final design is ready, the next important phase is defining the production process. Many factors must be considered while setting up this process, and defining the most efficient one requires top-class know-how in industrial engineering.
Leading wood makers will even build a dedicated production line (when circumstances justify it) with specific machinery to guarantee the most efficient process both in terms of cost and delivery time.
Testing rounds before production
If you decide to widen your catalogue with new wooden products, you must make an investment. Even if wood doesn’t require moulds and the initial investment is lower compared with plastic, for example, the concern is always about the ROI. A reliable partner allows you the possibility of testing the market during the product’s launch phase, producing smaller lots and experimenting with different essences and finish options in order to adjust production according to market trends and customers’ preferences.
If your supplier’s technology is flexible, you can modify products even during production. This approach is usually adopted by the leading wood manufacturers, and it enables you to hone in on the optimal product configuration with low investment before moving into full production.
Tailored Warehousing Services
Being able to receive your wooden components “just in time” is a great advantage. This is possible if the manufacturer offers customizable private stocking solutions, giving you the opportunity to order from stock with virtually instantaneous delivery. This has a double benefit:
- you can receive your products on time and put them on the market as scheduled
- you can save warehouse expenses, which are usually very high
This can only happen if the wood maker you choose has developed a real smart factory based on automation, interconnectivity, machine learning, and real-time data, exploiting the power of Industry 4.0 in all company processes.
The combination of cutting-edge software, innovative machines, manual and automatic quality control systems, and decades of experience in wood manufacturing allows Minelli to guarantee maximum precision and the highest cost-effectiveness. All production lines use CNC (computer numerical control) machines, mechanical arms, automatic processes, and are set up and monitored by professionals with great expertise in each industrial process. Moreover, under specific circumstances, we can develop a tailor-made production line to meet our clients’ needs that guarantees maximum efficiency. If you’d like to have more information, please contact us: click here!
