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New process development, NProcessD, as a growth strategy for small contract manufacturers / by Jeffrey L. Klinger.

by Klinger, Jeffrey L.

Value analysis (Cost control)

Product management -- Quality control

v, 89 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm.

Advisor: Gene Wright.

Committee members: Dr. Bruce Thompson, Joseph Papp.

Introduction -- Development of the need for strategic planning -- Background of contract manufacturing outsourcing -- Background of the new product development model -- NProcessD model indentified and detailed -- Integration strategy & NProcessD benefits -- Case study-XYZ cable harness contract manufacturer -- Conclusion.

A small contract manufacturer can strategically grow its manufacturing capabilities through identifying a new process development method designed to use their restricted amount of resources efficiently and effectively.

A contract manufacturer's product line is dependent on the customer’s outsourced product. For small contract manufacturers, process development and the manufacturing processes of new products is crucial to a businesses growth in sales, profit, and manufacturing capabilities.

Small manufacturers must challenge resource constraints differently than medium to large businesses. Their resource constraints can include cash, equipment, direct and indirect labor. Some small businesses have a difficult time building manufacturing processes because cash flow and management's commitment to investment is so restrictive that the equipment requisition cannot be justified within the time period required for approval.

The current shift in the manufacturing industry is to outsource non-core competencies. The customer has chosen to outsource their product line to provide a cost benefit, to acquire new skills, to eliminate headaches, and to supplement staff. The contract manufacturer markets itself to the larger companies that have these issues by having a specialized focus in a manufacturing method or process. It is in the contract manufacturer's best interest to design a decision making process and a manufacturing development process to efficiently use the available resources to receive new business. Any inefficiencies can cost the small business valuable profit opportunities and potential loss in revenue.

This thesis will be from the perspective of the small contract manufacturer who is receiving outsourced products from a larger customer. The thesis will design a New Process Development (NProcessD) model that will be a modification of Robert Cooper's New Product Development (NPD) model, but focusing on process development stages rather than product stages. The NProcessD model can be used to introduce new product processes that the manufacturer may not currently provide as a business growth strategy. One method that will be discussed is having the contract manufacturer outsource the product temporarily to justify developing the manufacturing process internally.

The NProcessD model will also compare its phases to the NPD model, and how the models relate to the contract manufacturers point of view of developing the process not the product. An integration strategy will be developed to identify the indirect components and benefits of a successful new process development process which will be followed by a case study of a cable harness contract manufacturer and the challenges to implement the process model.

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