Have you ever worked on a home or business project and ran out of material when you only needed one or two more pieces? To make it worse, you probably had to re-order much more than you needed and wait weeks or months for it to arrive.
One of the key benefits additive manufacturing offers small, and medium-scale businesses is the ability to minimize project delays and keep customers happy by utilizing what is referred to as short-run manufacturing.
This production process allows companies to have faster access to necessary parts or products without waiting weeks or months to get them. That means getting what you need, when you need it, and only as many as you need.
Pamton 3D’s short-run production services offer our clients many operational benefits. Here’s a quick summary.
Control Inventory Costs
Many small to medium-sized companies don’t require massive product inventories. Nor do they have a big enough facility to store a large inventory for long periods. Short-run production allows these operations to order and maintain only the amount they need to meet demand. This saves inventory costs and space.
Shorter Lead Times
Companies who use traditional manufacturing methods often struggle with long lead times to get a product into customers’ hands. Short-run production significantly cuts lead times because the limited quantity of products needed can be 3D printed locally and quickly.
Design Flexibility
Developing the perfect product design can take time. And, with traditional manufacturing methods, time can mean big bucks. An advantage of short-run production is that it allows for greater design flexibility. It’s much less expensive and time-consuming to change a design in the middle of the manufacturing process. That means you can get the design just right before deciding to move on to large-scale production.
Bridge Manufacturing
Some companies don’t manufacture final products. Instead, they create parts that are used in other products. This is called bridge manufacturing, and short-run production can be used here, too. The benefits are the same as if you’re making your own product – get just the quantity you need and only as often as you need it.
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