When two choices aren’t enough. Enter Active EMS with their hybrid solution to electronics manufacturing for their partners.

When it comes to electronics manufacturing, OEMs usually have two basic options. In-house manufacturing offers control, but it requires departmental functions, people, resources, bricks and mortar, upkeep, etc. All that comes at a cost. On the other hand, outsourcing can mean less control, but you free up the bricks and mortar costs.

Often companies feel they must trade off service in some areas to gain in others. For instance, if you want a lower product cost, you may need to give up innovation or customisation. If you want a better time to market, you may need to sacrifice flexibility. While an OEM’s carefully considered needs drive the options they choose, we know that client requirements can shift quickly, especially in today’s market. Locking into a rigid in-house or outsourced model can make it hard to keep up with changing customer demands.

There is a third option that allows you to maintain your control, free up costs, and gain access to talented resources, capabilities, and state-of-art facilities. It can give you back your time to focus on R&D, sales & marketing, next generation of products or technology, and you could leverage off the experience gained. When you outsource smoothly with an integrated partner, you gain the knowledge and experience of what is essentially a hybrid solution, the best of in-house and outsourced, flexible enough to adjust as the market requires but sturdy enough to be reliable and effective.

Active EMS blends the best of both options to create a new, fluid choice, one that works for the customers’ needs as they scale and shift. With high business and ethical standards, a drive to innovate, and a dedication to keep business local, Active EMS focuses on meeting demand and managing growth. Agile methodology, along with communicative product management practices, enable the company to find the sweet spot between in-house and outsource options, an option they call Integrated Sourcing.

“Early in our history, we had wanted to be known not only for our quality manufacturing services, but also for our equality-for-all business ethics,” says Oli Randell, Managing Director. “Whilst these morals still form the backbone of our company, we’ve grown organically alongside existing partner clients and via introduction to new partners. Integrated Sourcing has allowed us to serve our customers in a way that supports them precisely where they need support, enabling them to focus on their brand.”

Pairing with Active EMS enables clients to go along on a journey of innovation and optimisation not experienced in in-house models. Nor do the day-to-day operations feel like they are outsourced, because the company prioritises communication, so much so that the process feels a bit more like a simple expansion of the client’s own business.

Active EMS is focused primarily on people, not profit. The ownership structure of the company supports that policy, eliminating pressure to extract more and more from each relationship. The company invests in people and equipment first and foremost, which creates both efficiency and expanded capacity. To protect their people and clients, they intentionally build in excess capacity to ensure deadlines are met and fluctuating demands are handled.

“When they say people make a difference, they mean it,” remarked Robert Atkins, Managing Director of Parotec, a strategic customer of Ability Tec. “They offer an end-to-end solution and suggest improvements we would have missed. Their people are passionate about their work, so much so that we feel that they care about our products just as much as we do. Working with Active EMS doesn’t feel like a business transaction – it feels like extended family.”

Partnering with just a select number of companies, Active EMS makes sure that none of their clients compete in the same industry. Working across multiple industries allows Active EMS to apply best practices across markets, giving their customers another competitive advantage. New clients are ramped up one at a time, so the focus stays on making their product with the highest standards in mind.

Strategic, thoughtful growth drives their manufacturing endeavours and starts early, in the design phase of a product. Beyond basic product design is Design for Manufacture/Assembly, taking into consideration the ability to scale as demand requires, to streamline production for efficiency, and to safeguard supply chains against recent tumultuous times. Many innovations and design enhancements can occur before a product even reaches the prototype phase.

Design for manufacture also irons out other issues that you may experience between the design, prototype, and manufacturing stages of your production lifecycle. As products evolve, functionality and capacity typically increase while size and price point can sometimes decrease. Having the flexibility to address this type of market convergence is crucial to business success.

The Active EMS mantra – ‘Never Stop Making’ – is felt throughout their culture, because they never stop innovating, never stop serving, and never stop looking for better ways to support their customers. In Manchester for Manchester, hiring locally and supporting the community, Active EMS offers nimble, personable manufacturing options designed around people and their needs. From prototype

to product delivery, quite simply, Active EMS is your Integrated Sourcing partner, a people-driven ally who communicates when needed, sharing experience, scalability, and innovation, tailoring services and offering passionate customer care.

About Active EMS

A dedicated Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) company offering bespoke solutions to customers with individual needs.

Strategically located in Manchester, recognised for its industrial prowess, we are an integrated manufacturing provider that enables partners to grow by offering in-house prototyping, Design for Manufacture (DFM), manufacturing, logistics capabilities, resources, and our very own people power.

Register now for PCB West Virtual 2020, the leading conference and exhibition for the printed circuit board industry, coming this September. pcbwest.com  

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