About the client
Industry: Cinema photography
Product: Drone
Company Size: Established brand company
Location: United States
Challenges
- Carbon fiber was the major weak link for the client;
- Since the carbon fiber was purchased from a broker, the client had no direct communication with carbon factories;
- On average, 60% of the carbon parts (plates, swan neck, boom arm, propeller etc.) failed to pass the inspection in the US;
- The price was high, and there was no cost breakdown transparency;
- The schedule for delivery was out of control;
- The parts should be 100% carbon fiber;
- 3K twill surface treatment;
- Tolerance was 0.05 mm.
How we helped
- Reviewed commercial and technical critical requirements with client’s supply chain and mechanical engineers;
- Aligned inspection criteria, which included key dimension parameters, cosmetic functionality, reliability and more;
- Developed critical requirements matrix on carbon fiber supplier selection, and got approval from the client;
- Sourced manufacturers from drone and sports carbon fiber part’s in China;
- Deep technical discussion with the selected manufacturers about the manufacturing processes, quality control and cost drivers;
- In-depth onsite assessments/ audits to verify suppliers’ capabilities;
- Analyzed the cost breakdown and defined the key cost drivers for both NPI (New Product Introduction) and mass production;
- Reviewed the samples, and shipped them to US engineers for verification and feedback for improvement;
- Calibrated with the suppliers on tooling modification, manufacturing process control, and painting process improvement.
Results
- Carbon fiber parts gained competitive edge for the client, and became their key sales feature on the market;
- The client saved $2.4 million in 3 years;
- The quality yield rate increased from 40% to 94.2%;
- The delivery lead time was reduced from 6 weeks to 4 weeks;
- The client had direct access to carbon fiber factories, and full control over the supply chain;
- Built a sustainable carbon fiber supply chain, for both the existing and new products in the future;
- Gained the opportunity to collaborate with suppliers on continuous cost reduction via co-innovation on raw materials and manufacturing processes.
More customer stories
Supply Chain Management
Insight Solutions Global helped to improve the overall supply chain performance via reducing lead time, saving about $145,000 packaging costs, and building good supplier relationships.
Supplier Quality Management
Insight Solutions Global helped resolved the gap issue, drove the communication efficiency, guided the supplier to set up measurement system, and finally increased the yield rate to 99.48%.
Product Cost Reduction
By making the most out of the identified cost reduction opportunities, the client saved $857,635 in 3 years, earned the competitive edge on the market, and gained bargaining power in the supply chain.