Tag Archives: digital manufacturing

Since 2020 digital manufacturing has become the future and traditional manufacturing a thing of the past

LONDON, 15-Aug-2021 — /EPR INDUSTRIAL NEWS/ — Traditionally, when a procurement team is sourcing parts or products to be manufactured, the process is a long and complex one. After initial research, they then develop a short list of potential manufacturers which fit their desired criteria, and more often than not then make the trip to the factory location to see the facility. This initial research stage is extremely time consuming, not only to ensure the supplier of choice has the capacity to produce the parts, but also checking the qualifications and vetting the supplier itself.

Since 2020, this process has been made even more difficult. Unsurprisingly, digital manufacturing has become the future, and traditional manufacturing a thing of the past. Leveraging the benefits a digital manufacturing marketplace can provide when finding a supplier can bring huge cost and time savings. Eliminating the need to travel, the marketplace have pre-vetted suppliers in a range of specialisms so the buyer can quickly identify a shortlist of ones which would suit their needs.

With online manufacturing platform Haizol, an account is free. Once signed up you can be instantly match made with suppliers based on their manufacturing processes, industry, region, factory size, turnover, certifications, R&D, and employees. Shortlisting is simple, as Haizol have already pre-vetted the factory prior to them being on the website.

Once a request for quote has been securely uploaded into the system, suppliers that fit the requirements have the opportunity to quote on the project, which instantly arrive in the customer’s inbox. Haizol’s in house engineers are on hand to assist with communication, questions, and also design help and manufacturability.

Having been in the metal and plastic manufacturing market for almost a decade, Haizol are experts in CNC Machining, Injection Molding, Casting, Stamping, and Fabrication.

Join free today to unlock the power of digital manufacturing and bring sourcing to the comfort of your own home.

SOURCE: EuropaWire

Haizol on improving supply chain flexibility

LONDON, 29-Apr-2021 — /EPR INDUSTRIAL NEWS/ — Supply chains worldwide have experienced some level of turbulence in the last 18 month. The pandemic continues to cause disruption, as well as other events such as the obstruction of the Suez Canal in March.

The countless obstacles encountered have been coupled by innovative development and novel means of working in all phases of the supply chain. Digital manufacturing, as a solution to mitigate supply chain risk, is being increasingly implemented by companies globally.

Many companies are looking at ways to improve their supply chain flexibility, here is what we recommend to increase agility.

1. Expect the unexpected
Being prepared for unforeseen situations will stand you in good stead should they occur. It is not uncommon for things to not go to plan. To combat this, planning is key, you know your business better than anyone else, and it will ensure your supply chain will continue working smoothly.

In order to plan ahead effectively, it is important to communicate often and in detail with suppliers. We need to adopt a proactive approach to supply chain, and consider likely future trends and market direction to make preparations for them. As the market and businesses alike are fluctuating at speed, interruptions are also going to keep happening, and likely more often.

2. Stock a little more than you need
Whilst being lean, reducing waste, and being as productive as possible is the aim, one should be conscious to not be too lean. It is beneficial to stock a little more than you need, to account for any eventuality. Having that extra material can still be lean, customers know they can repeat orders rapidly, they can rely on Haizol to produce at speed, and have adaptations to the design put in place which can reduce lifecycle cost.

3. Stay connected to the engineers on the ground
Technology has meant that we can acquire large amounts of data from machines, however having a close relationship to the actual machine operators and factory floor can prove invaluable. It is irreplaceable to be on the ground with the actual machine, to see what is happening, and help to solve the issue. Based on this, it is beneficial to ensure there is someone in manufacturing bases all the way through the supply chain. In this regard, relationships are crucial, supplier engineers are able to find problems that were not apparent to begin with, and they can report this information and adapt the plan when required.

4. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
Ensuring you don’t rely solely on a single-source supply will help in building a more flexible supply chain. Having more options will mean less of a risk that material will be unobtainable. Keeping your options open means if stock does run short will your supplier you can source from another supplier with ease. Using a manufacturer like Haizol, who partner with over 200,000 factories across Asia, mean risk is mitigated.

SOURCE: EuropaWire

Digital agility enables manufacturers to quickly pivot when faced with disruption

LONDON, 22-Feb-2021 — /EPR INDUSTRIAL NEWS/ — We are moving more and more into an on-demand world, where the companies who embrace digitalization and agility thrive. We have witnessed that the companies surviving in this new era of manufacturing are the ones who go digital, be agile, and mitigate risk.

The recent pandemic has resulted in new ways of working, highlighting the importance of getting immediate access to products and services. As manufacturers navigate the new normal, realizing digital agility has never been more important.

Having a responsive supply chain proves essential. Once you take a product to market, it is key to safeguard the supply chain. With a constantly changing market, your supply chain should be able to rapidly respond to satisfy demand where that means making more of the same product, or shifting focus to another more in demand item.

When done correctly, automation paves the way to digital agility. Agility results in lower cost and errors, whilst increasing productivity and sales. Digital agility enables manufacturers to quickly pivot when faced with disruption.

When manufacturers get it right, automation provides a path towards digital agility, which ultimately leads to the reduction of cost and errors, while improving productivity and raising revenue. Digital agility is especially important amid COVID-19 disruptions, as it allows manufacturers to quickly pivot.

Digitalization and technology help companies embrace new market trends. Market opportunity is evident in industry, the capture this, companies and their manufacturing partners need to push the existing boundaries and strive to push themselves and digitalize their processes. As products and services are moving more and more on-demand, only those that embrace this will gain competitive advantage.

SOURCE: EuropaWire

Haizol’s digital manufacturing platform in the light of COVID-19 supply chain disruption

LONDON, 9-Feb-2021 — /EPR INDUSTRIAL NEWS/ — COVID-19 taught us numerous things when it comes to manufacturing. Throughout 2020, we saw countless industries and companies alike struggling to source materials, complete production, and get their product to the end user. When normal supply chains were disrupted, there was a challenge and difficulty sourcing alternative means to achieve supply chain stability during this time, and keep production going.

Despite the world having a magnitude of advanced manufacturing capabilities, these are difficult to find and access. What has become clearer than ever before, is that current supply chains and manufacturing processes are international, proficient, and well-organised, and at the same time, they are delicate and can struggle delivering transparency to its user when hit with unforeseen instability. This was demonstrated by the shortage of supplies in numerous industries, from medical, to automotive, to digital goods. Not only did raw material become a challenge to source, but key industrial component shortage led to issues with final assembly of goods.

The future of the manufacturing industry requires improved resilience, agility, and supply chain transparency in order to manage any future disruption more effectively. Breaking the existing mold, embracing new technology, and developing a digital supply network which is able to quickly respond and adapt to any situation thrown its way.

This industry requires visible and accessible manufacturing in a digital format. China, in particular, is a country which is at the forefront of this new vision. China boosts advanced manufacturing competences, resources, and has a transparent and accessible infrastructure. Agility and resilience is key, and digital manufacturing platforms, particularly ones that offer an online marketplace at the users fingertips of a multitude of capabilities, is key. This digital core allows high transparency, easy visibility, easy access, and agility when faced with disruption.

Having a digital marketplace which can be accessed at any point from anywhere for any kind of manufacturing requirement allows for a truly agile foundation of digital supply networks. A user can identify manufacturing resources and capabilities at the touch of a button from part designs, features, machine tools, capabilities and more. This essentially breaks down the barriers and reduces effort typically found when sourcing manufacturing resources and capabilities.

The future will see more complex and improved versions of this digital manufacturing marketplace, allowing a user to be able to search for diverse manufacturing resources and capabilities and multiple variables such as manufacturing capacity (such as machine tool / specification) and complex part design. A further development is likely to be a more inclusive service, allowing the user to source based on capability to manufacture components with specific requirements, such as 5-axis CNC turning with horsepower and x/y/z travel metrics with metal additive manufacturing as an option.

Manufacturing is an extensive and multifaceted sphere, therefore a comprehension platform with effective searchable options is something which needs to be continually adapted and upgraded. Haizol’s manufacturing platform provides users with over 200,000 suppliers in Asia with wide-ranging capabilities and the ability to filter based on a variety of criteria. In terms of supplier, the user can select based on manufacturing type, region, industry, factory size, employee number, annual turnover, certification, R&D capacity, and more. They also have the option to filter by product, choosing process, material, and region, to see examples of what factories have previously made, to guide their decision making.

SOURCE: EuropaWire

Haizol: New export business in China has seen its largest increase since 2017

LONDON, 19-Oct-2020 — /EPR INDUSTRIAL NEWS/ — The Caixin China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) measures the performance within the manufacturing sector, and is based on over 400 private industrial companies in China. The PMI shows a steady figure of 53.0 for September 2020, suggesting manufacturing growth remains robust, and factory activity continued their recovery path since COVID-19 hit.

China’s manufacturing industry this last quarter has exceeded last years readings, aided by a COVID-19 measures being relaxed. There was a new rise in orders, and buying levels were at an all time high since 2018.

New export business in China has seen its largest increase since 2017, alongside purchasing activity reaching its highest level of the last decade. This year has also seen the highest number of new orders since the beginning of 2011. Haizol has witnessed continued growth from the middle of the year until now, finding an increased number of buyers want to move to digital manufacturing, and find value in Haizol’s hands off, online sourcing offering.

China manufacturing has also demonstrated its resilience through employment figures, which have now stabilized after a turbulent couple of months of job shedding. Key manufacturing companies showed growth in input costs have risen, yet there has been no significant rise in selling prices due to tough market competition. Haizol, who have experienced continual growth to their customer base, have also maintained that keeping their prices low is imperative to their customer centered approach, and remaining the most competitive in the market.

The economy in China has demonstrated it has got its momentum back post epidemic, with manufacturing expanding the most since 2011, according to the Caixin index. In 2020, it has beaten the market consensus month on month, with successive growth in factory activity and the sharpest in almost a decade, as consumer demand continued to expand after the pandemic. With index figures at a 6-month high, and with a renewed increase in orders month on month, buyers worldwide can order parts with confidence.

Whether a company is looking to outsource a prototype, or full-scale production, Haizol are experts in metal and plastic custom part production. Companies of all sizes receive a tailor made, customer focused service.

SOURCE: EuropaWire