Whether you’re a novice entrepreneur or have owned a business for many years, global manufacturing can be daunting. It is an exciting process to manufacture and produce your own products, but it also comes with some real risks.
There are, of course, solutions to help mitigate thee risks, but you must first be aware of what these challenges are. Here are four of the biggest risks with global manufacturing and the solutions Manufactured implements to help you avoid them.
1. A Shortage of Skilled Workers In Global Manufacturing
The shortage in skilled workers in the manufacturing world is a major problem in today’s manufacturing industry. Without skilled workers, there is a higher risk of injury as well as damage to the products and goods they are producing.
There are a few reasons why the global manufacturing industry has seen a decline in their workforce in the past few years. One of the major reasons is the recent Covid-19 pandemic.
During the pandemic, due to social distancing and the desire of many to stay in the safety of their homes, the workforce dropped dramatically. This drop not only slowed down manufacturing but also led to burnout and fatigue in the workers who did stay in the warehouses and factories, which in turn led to a higher risk of injury and mistakes.
Another factor coinciding with the pandemic was the retirement of the baby boomer generation. Over the past few years, over 30 million baby boomers have left the workforce. This has led to a major drop in skilled and experienced workers. In the manufacturing industry, in particular, the drop in these skilled workers can cause major problems.
Manufacturing uses a lot of heavy machinery which can lead to serious injury if not operated correctly. Training new workers takes a lot of time — more time and money lost for you and your business. Even the younger generations have been slow to get into the manufacturing business and tend to prefer careers in industries such as technology and medicine.
Thankfully, all of the risks associated with the skilled labor shortage can be mitigated with the help of Manufactured. Because we help you from the very beginning to the end of the manufacturing process, the members of our team know how to best produce your goods.
While many manufacturing processes utilize a segmented approach, we are involved from design to delivery — or anywhere in between, if you have already begun the manufacturing process. This end-to-end manufacturing approach ensures that the employees who are helping you to produce your goods are involved the whole time.
Because we will help you to develop and refine the prototype of your product, our team will already know how to operate the machinery involved. This ensures the quality of your product and the safety of our workers, saving you time and keeping your customers happy with your product’s quality.
2. A Lack of Customer Service Quality
Another challenge in global manufacturing is the need for quality customer service. The industry demands quality products as well as speedy delivery. These two needs can easily overshadow and take a lot of the focus away from the business owners or entrepreneurs themselves.
Because there are so many moving parts in a segmented manufacturing process, manufacturers tend to leave their customers out of the process. There is a general lack in the global manufacturing industry of self-service capabilities.
Manufactured has a solution to this problem. We carry your product from your idea or design right to your customer’s doors and keep you in the loop while doing so.
The same people who help you with the design and prototype of your product will be the very same people manufacturing it and ensuring its delivery. Over this process, you will have a direct line of communication with those manufacturing your items. This will ensure complete transparency.
We add even more transparency with the Manufactured platform itself. Using the tools on the platform, you can easily add product extensions, manage supply chain projects, communicate with vendors, and more.
3. Rising Costs In Raw Materials
The market for raw materials is extremely volatile. This is on display now across the globe as prices rise for numerous products including raw materials such as cotton and rubber. Depending on the economic climate of a country, the prices of material can drastically rise or fall quickly.
Obviously, a sudden increase in the price of a raw material needed to produce one of your products will result in a higher manufacturing cost. Though, not much can be done in controlling worldwide economies, a lot can be done to reduce the manufacturing cost in producing your products.
Manufactured saves both time and money in using end-to-end manufacturing and cutting out the need for extra shipping and handling costs. We will take care of the whole process. This will save in transportation costs because your product will not have to be moved for different stages.
4. Supply Chain Interruptions
Along a similar vein as rising costs in raw materials is an interruption in the supply chain. This has more to do with the actual availability of a material or trouble in transportation. Both can cost you time and money.
An interruption in the supply chain can be due to something unpredictable such as a change in a nation’s economy or even natural disasters. A hurricane, for example, can put you back weeks in the global manufacturing process.
And while Manufactured, may not be able to stop a hurricane, we can help you make up for lost time. A segmented manufacturing process wastes time by transporting products around for different stages of the process. Manufactured completes a product’s whole manufacturing process, saving you both time and cost. Depending on what stage you are at in the process, we can help you through the entire production process in six to eight weeks.
Global manufacturing comes with many risks …
However, you do not have to take on those risks by yourself. Manufactured, armed with over 45 years of experience and a network of over 500 quality manufactured vendors, will help you to produce quality items with minimal manufacturing risk. No matter what stage you are at in the manufacturing process, we are here to help you the rest of the way.
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