Enhancing Assembly Efficiency Through Upstream Value
Enhancing Assembly Efficiency through Strategic Outsourcing
About the Company
Mercury Wire partners with customers to improve operational efficiency through strategic outsourcing of assembly work. This case study highlights one customer’s experience, where Mercury Wire created tailored assembly processes to address specific needs, allowing the customer to reallocate resources towards product development and growth. By shifting assembly to Mercury Wire, the customer eliminated time-consuming tasks, cut costs, and focused on value-added activities that drive business success. This collaboration ultimately enabled the customer to achieve greater flexibility and operational scalability.
The Challenge
The customer faced multiple operational challenges, including limited space, high in-house assembly costs, and inefficient processes that slowed production. These inefficiencies created bottlenecks, leading to longer turnaround times and higher expenses. To stay competitive and meet growing market demand, they needed a solution that could streamline operations, reduce costs, and provide scalability—without disrupting ongoing production. They sought a partner capable of implementing a flexible, efficient system to optimize assembly and free up resources for strategic growth initiatives.
The Solution
Mercury Wire provided a comprehensive solution by taking over the customer’s assembly work and implementing several strategic initiatives:
Dedicated Assembly Cells: Mercury Wire established specialized assembly cells within their facilities tailored specifically to their customer’s products. These cells were optimized to handle heavy components and streamline the assembly process.
Seamless Integration: Mercury Wire managed the transition of assembly operations from the customer’s site to their own, including relocating equipment and training Mercury Wire’s team on the customer’s processes. This ensured minimal disruption to the customer’s ongoing production.
Supply Chain Alignment: Mercury Wire worked closely with the customer’s supply chain, enabling just-in-time delivery of materials. This coordination allowed Mercury Wire to achieve rapid assembly turnaround, with orders often completed and shipped within a two-day window.
Process Optimization: By strategically positioning assembly cells near shipping and receiving areas, Mercury Wire minimized the handling of heavy components, reducing both the time and the risk involved in the assembly process.
Expansion Capability: Mercury Wire scaled the customer’s assembly operations from 13 to over 23 product families, each with multiple variants, thus significantly increasing the customer’s production flexibility and ability to respond to market changes.
The Results
The partnership resulted in substantial cost savings and a significant boost in efficiency. By outsourcing assembly, the customer avoided capital expenses, improved safety, and freed up resources to focus on core initiatives. Faster turnarounds, increased flexibility, and a stronger market position enabled them to enhance customer satisfaction and capture new opportunities. Mercury Wire’s tailored solution transformed their operations, making them more agile and competitive.
Durability and Flexibility is Key
Mercury Wire partnered with a global leader in advanced inspection solutions to address challenges with their previous push cables, which suffered from durability issues, water exposure, and limited reach in abrasive environments like ceramic and clay pipes. These issues led to customer dissatisfaction and operational delays for critical clients, including municipalities. Mercury Wire provided a creative solution by developing a dedicated production line or “cell” specifically for the company’s push cable needs, enabling the production of more durable and waterproof cables that could meet the stringent demands of the application. This flexible approach allowed the company to maintain production despite supply chain shortages, enhancing product reliability and operational efficiency, ultimately boosting customer satisfaction and supporting the company’s market position.
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