Fictiv, the Airbnb of manufacturing, has recently raised its total funding to $192 million to grow its service of matching manufacturers with customers. As a leader in digital manufacturing, the company maintains an annual report on sourcing trend from hundreds of its customers. The surveyed participants operate in various industries, from consumer electronics to aerospace. This year’s publication points out key changes in response to supply chain disruptions and rising customer demands from COVID-19.
88% of the companies want to reduce their number of suppliers
More suppliers means exponentially more contact points, which are hard to keep up with due to labor shortage during and after the pandemic. Nearly 90% of the companies in the survey said they want to streamline production, improve control and predictability from tighter integration with fewer suppliers.
75% say collaboration between purchasing and engineering needs improvement
Purchineering (‘purchasing’ and ‘engineering’) is a time-consuming loop in which communication is sometimes a problem in itself. Meanwhile, half of the respondents now report that they have more remote employees as a result of COVID-19, and the hybrid workforce is here to stay.
More than 90% of companies are digitally transforming and worried about security
As the adoption of digital technologies increases information flow throughout an organization, it also raises security concerns. Design intellectual property is a business’s most valuable asset. So companies are investing in better information technology and choosing to work with suppliers who prioritize security, too.
How CNCTech can help customers with the above concerns
Since 2017, CNCTech has started building one-stop-shop manufacturing capabilities. No one could foresee the pandemic, nor the trend of shifting production to Vietnam. We only believed in the value we could bring to customers with integrated manufacturing. CNCTech now offers various value-added services around machining and molding. What’s more, we have more than 200 (and increasing) modern equipment in four different locations for great flexibility. Customers can invest in fewer, closer relationships with a partner like us to increase performance in quality, cost, and delivery.
As a manufacturer, we understand the struggle in “purchineering” firsthand with our own suppliers. And so, we offer assistance to customer’s engineers on DFM from concept to mass production. One example is how we recently helped a customer optimize a light-guide that is widely used in their products. Previously, the part was made from an expensive PC with a silk-printed paint layer to stop light. Our production engineer suggested the customer switch to translucent PS. After a few batches of samples, we achieved a soft and even light from the new material part, without the extra paint layer.
For many years now, it has been a standard practice to anonymize all drawings and customer identity in our management system. Our teams make plans, order materials, produce parts, inspect and package them, all in code.
The past two years have been exceptional in many ways, but workplaces and businesses have adapted and moved forward. Despite the challenges, there’s a world of opportunity.
—
To download the full 2022 State of Manufacturing report, visit Fictiv’s website.
