The medical industry faces multiple challenges when it comes to manufacturing reliable and premium medical parts. Research and development budgets and timelines are under pressure, and the constant cost pressures in today’s healthcare industry often require med-tech manufacturers to outsource parts or all of a device.
Finding the right medical equipment manufacturing partner is critical to ensuring successful results and reducing manufacturing costs. To ensure your company can scale for growth and better meet market demands, there are many factors you should consider before engaging a medical equipment manufacturer.
Ask These Questions Before Hiring a Medical Equipment Manufacturer
While cost containment and speed to market are important, they are just some of the many factors to consider before choosing a partner to create your medical equipment parts. Cost does matter, but “cost” is more complicated than dollars and cents; there are the costs of material, cost of the product, cost of waste, costs of shipping, cost of quality, cost of rework, and cost of reputation.
Considering and evaluating the ability of a manufacturing partner to provide quality reliability each and every time is critical. This is especially true when it comes to producing valuable medical parts.
Here are 5 areas to consider when looking for a trusted partner to provide technical and production services:
1. What is their quality of performance?
- Do they have a strong supplier system in place to ensure they are meeting quality requirements? A methodical, structured process is key when lining up a medical equipment manufacturer.
- Do they have expertise across all phases of the production lifecycle?
- Have they made investments in new technologies and equipment?
- Do they maintain required governmental certifications and registrations?
2. Are your values and strategies aligned for the long term?
- Do they understand your medical product, and can they deliver value-added production solutions?
- Are they responsive and accountable to requests and resolutions? If your medical manufacturing partner is not having these conversations with you, it may be a red flag.
- Do they provide intellectual property (IP) protection? There is a lot of competition in the marketplace and you want to make sure your IP is protected.
3. What is their time to market?
- What is their track record for delivering parts on time? The quicker you can go from concept to market in a competitive environment the better.
- Are quote turn arounds and lead times in line with your expectations?
- What is their capability to source materials and negotiate long-term contracts with suppliers?
4. Are they local?
- Will the proximity and or local cost of doing business at their facilities impact your final cost? The closer you are geographically the easier it is to engage in face-to-face candid conversations about how things or going and any corrective actions that are needed. Much can be conveyed in a face-to-face that is missed in a conference call.
- Do they invite the customer in to walk through the process and see the production in real time?
5. How soon should you engage with an equipment manufacturing partner?
- The earlier in the development project you can engage, the better. This way you can avail yourself of their design for manufacture capabilities and knowledge throughout the design process, saving you time and money down the road.
Make An Informed Decision
Assessing suppliers isn’t something that should be done off the cuff. It is time well spent to do due diligence and pick the partner that meets your criteria. Every metal fabrication candidate may meet some of these criteria, but med-tech companies want the partner that can provide the most robust services in the areas important to them.
Whether your medical product requires close tolerance machining, quality welding, laser cutting, or tooling, Naimor, Inc. is here to help. We combine our years of knowledge and experience with modern tools to master competitive, high-quality results on schedule. Let us focus on production so you can focus on the growth of your business and the other areas of your core expertise.
Contact us today for a free quote!