Our Precision Machining Capacities are Extending

In addition to CSI machines (Swiss Cam and CNC machines) we now have capacities on Nakamura machines. Our workshop is now equipped with 2 numerically controlled NAKAMURA machines : NAKAMURA TOME WY100  These new turning lathes complete our CNC machinery which already has 28 STARS and DECOS CNC machines.

NAKAMURA high performance machines are dedicated to complex machined parts until 2’’ (bars) and 6’’ (slugs) from 100 pcs to 1.500 pcs per production run.

 

Advantages for NAKAMURA TOME WY100:

 

Send us your inquiry and get the benefit of these new capacities. Additional CSI Capacities.

 

Precision Machining Helps Save Lives

Ventilators contain 39 parts that are precision machined. Precision Machined Products Association collected the capability and capacities to produce from shops in the manufacturing sector. Contact PMPA for more info.

We are essential.  We are here. We are prepared to help the healthcare industry help others.

Check out CSI Group Capabilities.     

Request a Quote

 

ResMed

Ventec Life Systems

Ford Motor Company

GE Healthcare

Hamilton Medical

Philips

Dräger

Medtronic

Tesla

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare

 

 

At CSI Group, we are implementing robotic technology to provide 100% inspection of our components. Our versatile system provides accurate & precise optical measurement at record breaking times while providing the flexibility to adapt to the unique geometries we manufacture.  Our in house development ensured to construct a pliable system with the capability to undertake multiple roles. Our robot arm is currently being redeveloped to automate our zone annealing process.

Check out our robot in action!

 

CSI Group purchased a Robot to be used to automate our quality control inspection and provide 100% inspection of our components. Dan Castillo (Mechanical Engineer) is in the set-up and programming phase – will be up and running soon! Keep you posted!

 

For more about CSI’s Quality Control

The Effects of Communication During the Quoting Process

Often times in the machining industry we work with customers who provide only a drawing or STEP file for quotation purposes. The drawing is reviewed looking for type of material, key features, dimensions, tolerances and any finishes that may apply. When manufacturers receive an order and begin the manufacturing process it can become a quagmire very quickly. Sometimes certain features are not called out on the drawing and are only identified once production is begun thereby creating a delay in the process until a solution is determined. Many times a part has been built before by another machining supplier who has run into problems and has determined a viable solution, but it’s not passed on the current supplier. There are many additional problems that can cost a delay in time or ability to build the part to spec.

All of this can be avoided by implementing a sound product/process review prior to the manufacturing process beginning. Once a customer delivers a purchase order to the supplier, organize a meeting if feasible, or a tele-conference to address the significant items which provides full understanding of the ramifications of a successful build cycle.

Who should be involved in this review?

From the customer’s side it is important to have someone from engineering who has been involved with the part, or if it’s a new part, someone from design engineering who can discuss the features. It’s also important to have someone from supply chain who has been involved who may have “tribal knowledge” based on previous experiences with the part. Another positive approach is to have a representative from the Quality department included who can detail any specific requirements from the QC standpoint.

 Key questions from the manufacturers standpoint:

Based on thirty years of building thousands of parts for hundreds of customers, early communication between the manufacturer and the customer leads to a trouble-free build, which results in both parties, saving a lot of time and consequently, additional incurred costs.

Request for Quote – Contact CSI Group.

After reading a publication titled Procurement Redefined presented by TWS Partners, it enforced everything we at CSI Group see happening with some of our key customers. We have some thoughts on how this process needs to be addressed by both the manufacturer and supplier to make this the most effective process possible.

Image result for Add ValueWhat is the Concept of Procurement Redefined?

Today with a truly global economy, the concept of in-house production is decreasing. In some industries, for example, it constitutes less than 30% of output. This creates a more complex demand on the supply chain. Companies are relying more on their suppliers to provide them with value added solutions and innovations. They are requiring solutions for manufacturing, engineering, product creation, and logistics.

With procured goods and services accounting for two-thirds of a company’s cost structure, it is apparent that the role of a firm’s procurement department has changed dramatically over the past several years.

Procurement has become a strategic function as it has to insure the company remains cost competitive and still innovates. It has to focus on building strong relationships with its’ key suppliers and continue to strengthen the firm’s capabilities to remain competitive in a fast moving environment. The companies who fail to capitalize on working in conjunction with their supply base will ultimately begin to lose ground to their competitors that recognize the value of a collaborative partnership concept.

At CSI Group, we are fully aware of what it takes to build a collaborative partnership with key customers. Our model is built to supply multiple technologies and value added services that can help our customers reduce costs and react quickly to their customers’ demands.

We become involved with a customer’s needs at the beginning of the sales process. This is mandatory as the requirements for both manufacturer and supplier change. As a team, we must have a true understanding and a commitment to what is necessary to make a success of the program.

Some examples of early involvement with our strategic customers to build programs that add value to their ongoing pursuit of remaining highly competitive in their markets are;

Commercial Program

A customer in the commercial sector came to us with a requirement consisting of multiple components in very large quantities that needed to be supplied in a compressed time frame of several weeks. If our customer could not meet these requirements, they would lose this opportunity to competition. Our customer communicated with us early in the bid process and together we worked out a plan to support them. Within our group, we had multiple partners producing the same parts to meet the high quantities of parts involved. We had as many as 12 machines in multiple facilities manufacturing components for one assembly. In the end, we met our commitments and our customer captured this business and retains it year after year.

New Product Launch

An aerospace customer asked us to manage the entire Bill-of-Materials [BOM] on a unit they are building for market introduction. Seeing this was a new design, our customer initiated early discussion between their sourcing and engineering teams and our engineering group.

Once the design was finalized, the system contained over 100 components on the BOM. Multiple partners within CSI Group could manufacture over 70 of these components and we would procure the balance of the items from their approved supplier list. All of the components, both manufactured and procured in 4 weeks.

As mentioned earlier, the key to this changing dynamic of the manufacturer / supplier relationship is commitment, communication, and understanding what is required from both entities. This is accomplished by the manufacturer involving the supplier during or before the initial bidding process.

A successful partnership which benefits both the manufacturer and supplier is based on “shared risk” and a commitment to succeed.

 

By: Ed D’Entremont (CSI Group Sales & Marketing Director)

(508) 986-2300 x 202 ; edd@compsources.com

Posted August 1, 2017

 

ProX 300 Phenix 3D Systems (Selective Laser Melting (SLM)

3D Printing of a product is created by adding materials to the object layer by layer until printing is complete. This system allows for complex and intricate designs.

SLM Benefits:

Highly beneficial for producing metal parts for prototyping or quick production.

Allows to create complicated and complex designs that wouldn’t otherwise be possible with any other technology (due to limitations with traditional manufacturing processes).

Create thin-walled objects and intricate geometries which in turn produce lightweight designs.

Customize and quick turn around time to market.

Perfect for manufacturing small batches.

A 3D Printing assessment for the easiest and most convenient way to produce will be completed based on any concept.

Based on customers’ design with 3D model and 2D finish prints.

We Now Specialize in 7 TechnologiesView Our Capabilities

Interconnect Supplier of the Year – Component Sources International, Inc. received an award by Times Microwave Systems (Chris Demko & Rick Jackson) on March 7, 2017.

Thank You!

 

For CSI Group’s capabilities, visit our Capabilities page.

Is your procurement organization more in the complexity of having to manage too many suppliers? If so, don’t feel like you are alone in this quagmire, it’s a very common problem. We here at CSI GROUP have a base in excess of 120 customers located throughout North America.

In discussing this issue with many of our customers, we have heard of a vendor base as high as three thousand vendors [mostly gained through acquiring companies] and we routinely hear of the supplier base consisting of between 200 and 500 suppliers. In a lot of cases, it appears that many of these suppliers only provide one or two components. Does this sound familiar to you? Let’s take a look at the benefits you can achieve if you develop a strategy to work with a limited number of “key” suppliers.

There are multiple benefits of consolidating the vendor base.

1. Reduced Purchased Costs

Historically, this is the area where you will experience the greatest financial reward. As the vendor base decreases, the purchasing power is increased. Strategic sourcing programs can be implemented to introduce competition and lower purchase prices. Included in these costs are shipping and handling, duties and taxes.

If customer “A” buys $1 million of products from a supplier and customer “B” buys $25,000, the benefits of the leverage gained through volume will all go to customer “A”.

2. Reduced Procurement Costs

With the number of suppliers reduced, the costs of managing the remaining transactions are also reduced. The time it took to manage the transactions with the departed supplier is eliminated.

3. Lower Freight Cost

Your reduced key suppliers can consolidate the freight costs by shipping multiple components at one time, or negotiating “bulk rates” with various logistics companies.

4. Vendor Relationship Management Cost Is Lower and Relationships Are Strengthened

Managing s lot of suppliers is time-consuming and costly. By consolidating, you can eliminate the non-productive time your team spends with non-strategic suppliers and increase the time spent with key suppliers. This increases efficiency and productivity within your procurement team.

In addition to the benefits listed above, one of the premier benefits of developing stronger ties with fewer suppliers is that you gain a degree of leverage you may not have had in the past. As you become the “big fish” in the pond, you can explore other cost reduction programs such as, long term agreements spanning over multiple years, volume rebate plans, year over year cost reduction programs and favorable freight terms. With many of the CSI GROUP strategic customers, we have a strategic supplier management meeting on a quarterly basis to review the previous quarter’s performance and to analyze the next quarter’s activity.

At the CSI GROUP, we have designed our corporate model to help our customers with the supplier reduction process. We have twelve companies under the CSI GROUP umbrella. These companies are located in the USA and Europe. This insures we can support our customers within their global footprint.

Through our “one-sourced model”, we provide multiple technologies, turning, milling, plastic injection molding, metal injection molding, stamped and sheet metal components. In addition to providing these technologies, we also provide numerous value-added programs to enable our customers to reduce their overall cost of acquisition.


Let me reference several examples of our capabilities to help our customers reduce their cost structure.

EXAMPLE #1 : Bill of Material Buying

We have a large aerospace customer who provided us with a complete BOM for a device they are anticipating releasing within the year. They asked us to fulfill as much of the BOM as possible and to provide a “kit” containing all of the parts [all custom] our group could manufacture. Of the 90+ parts on the BOM, we were able to manufacture 40 of the parts. We could have also provided many of the additional parts which were “standard fasteners”, but our customer chose to procure them. We have the capability to package the components however our customer wants them. We will also inventory the “kits” here in our facility and deliver anywhere in the World our customer indicates.

By supplying the BOM, our customer is enjoying cost reduction through only dealing with one POC, less purchase orders produced, less expediting, one invoice to pay and increased leverage.

EXAMPLE #2 : Kitting & Sub-Assembly

One of our key customers provides pumps into various different market segments. We are building a sub-assembly for them that consists of eight different components that are assembled by our assembly team here in Westborough, MA. Of the eight components, we manufacture five of them within our group.We procure the remaining components from our customers “approved vendor list”. We keep a quantity of these assemblies in our inventory and we ship the completed assemblies in bulk via truck to their main assembly location .

The cost reduction benefit for this customer is they can reduce their manpower and utilize the floor space which was previously used for this function for other things. It also eliminates stock-outs.

One of our customers was experiencing over 100 kits a month they could not fulfill due to component shortages. That has been eliminated due to our inventorying of complete kits and shipping upon request.

If you would like to discuss our capabilities to help with your vendor consolidation program, please contact us at:

www.compsources.com

(Ed D’Entrement – Sales & Marketing Director)

(508) 986-2300 x202

sales@www.compsources.com

Topics: Vendor Reduction