To deliver a seamless and disruption free supplier switchover, we initiated a highly collaborative process with both the customer and the material supplier. This joint approach enabled us to fully understand the component, materials, packaging and supply conditions, and all other associated requirements including legal and regulatory.

2.1 Maximising Manufacturing Efficiency

To achieve cost neutrality with design and materials fixed, we focused on maximising manufacturing and material efficiency. The first step in achieving this was visiting the previous supplier and collaborating on multiple test runs to identify the ideal material supply format.

Secondly, the Tecman team identified an opportunity to improve the yield from the material, effectively gaining the customer more parts from the same material. The focus then lay on the manufacturing process, and our larger machines enabled a wider web, producing more parts in the same amount of time.

Following this, we invested in some end-of-line automation to further improve the run speeds, but also reduce the manual resources needed. These developments significantly reduced material waste and maximised efficiency, successfully offsetting the transition costs.

2.2 Investment in Quality and Compliance

To support long-term, reliable production of the component, we made targeted enhancements to our clean manufacturing environment. This ensured that all quality, cleanliness, and regulatory requirements would be consistently met.