As with any business, manufacturing companies also look for ways to cut costs for a better bottom line and to grow their business. The secret to success for most manufacturing companies is to do so without compromising on quality or product safety.

Boosting profits is one thing but manufacturers need to keep quality in mind at all times. They must ensure the highest possible standard when trying to cut costs. In this article, we take a look at some proven ways your business can limit spending while still offering quality products and services.

Play The Long Game

It’s important to have a long-term plan in place as it will help avoid overspending or investing in things you may not need. Forward-thinking and effective planning also means you are better prepared for all eventualities. This means you can easily identify opportunities to save some money whilst preventing problems associated with long delivery times.

For example, if you know you need a large quantity of a specific product in six months, placing a bulk order will be much more cost-effective than small orders every month. However, you should always be flexible as the industry is constantly changing with new technologies, and if you don’t have an agile plan you are almost certainly going to miss out on potential opportunities.

Manufacturing Companies Must Implement Automation

We’ve discussed the importance of automation for manufacturing companies before but it’s worth mentioning again. Automated systems and processes will give you the edge over your competitors and allow you to implement innovative ideas which play an important part in the 4th Industrial revolution.

Indeed, automation may require an initial investment but it will help you save money in the future. A good example is developing new processes and automating repetitive processes as this will reduce human error, cut costs and improve product quality among many other benefits.

Always Be Recycling

Recycling has long been an effective way to save costs as you instead of taking materials to a landfill, they can be recycled. In cases where materials don’t lose quality over time, you can also reuse them to prevent wastage.

Another tip for manufacturing companies is to sell materials to other businesses if you no longer need them. This also applies to materials you were unable to use in the first place whether its metals, plastics, tools or batteries. If you sell these items you should get a decent profit in return.

With all the hype around sustainability, recycling is not only perfect for your bottom line but it also helps protect the planet. Many people prefer to work with manufacturing companies that have an environmentally friendly approach.

Save More By Cutting Back On Material Costs

The first step to cutting back on material costs is to take stock of your products, systems and processes. This will help you understand where to make certain cuts as materials can often be a big expense. Your goal should be to find a way to reduce the quantity of material used but without opting for lower quality, especially if you are manufacturing products that must meet strict industry standards.

Using quality materials is the only way forward for manufacturing companies as they last longer and some materials could even be reused, which saves even more money in the long run. If you want to use fewer materials, keep the following in mind:

  • always make sure that they meet your specifications
  • don’t order more than you need
  • stay on top of the entire manufacturing process as wastage can occur at any stage (sourcing, manufacturing, transport and storage)

Review Labour Costs And Manufacturing Overheads (MOH)

Manufacturing companies should check their labour costs regularly and optimise man-machine activities. One way to achieve this is to consider versatile multitasking employees and the specialisation of tasks that can impact the productivity of your company. Other tips include:

  • Training your human resources in tasks that impact productivity
  • Offer incentives to your employees that introduce new techniques and generate savings
  • Get the logistics department involved as they are crucial when looking for ways to save on manufacturing costs
  • Focus on the core of your business and outsource the rest of the activities

Use Quality Equipment With A Preventative Maintenance Plan

High-quality machinery and equipment should not be seen as expenses but rather investments. They may cost more initially but the return on investment will be higher. If you are using poor quality products, you’ll just have to replace them often or they could result in stopping production due to errors which could lead even more waste.

When buying machines for your factory, don’t look for the cheapest and rather focus on their production speed, flexibility and whether they will still be useful in a few years. Don’t wait until your equipment and machinery fail as your entire business will be put on lockdown. Not being able to manufacture anything means losing money.

Manufacturing companies should implement preventative maintenance which is often also ‘predictive maintenance’. Checking your equipment regularly, replacing parts often and doing a deep clean a few times per year will help avoid time-consuming and expensive breakdowns.

Trusting The Right Manufacturing Companies

When looking for manufacturing companies you can trust, do your due diligence and research them online. See if you can find any recent projects followed by online customer reviews. This way you’ll be able to get a first-hand account of how their processes work and if the final product result met the client’s expectations and requirements.

PRV Engineering is one of the fastest-growing, high-quality engineering service providers in the UK and mainland Europe. We can do one-off or large batch production specialising in several sectors including automotive, defence, aerospace, construction and rail among others. If you have a project in mind and would like more information on our products and services, please get in touch today.

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