Arrival Electronics is one of the UK’s leading independent Kitting & Manufacturing specialists, offering a range of component management services, in addition to design support services and component distribution. In a Q&A with Electronics, Steve Drew, Sales Manager at Arrival Electronics, explores the benefits of using a complete end-to-end service provider and how the company’s approach to ‘kitting’ offers time and cost saving opportunities
For many companies the component budget, as well as inventory costs are a key concern in terms of time and cost.
How can OEMs look to lower associated manufacturing costs and reduce production time scales?
At Arrival we believe the most cost effective way to do this is not by consolidating production under one roof, or by using multiple CEM partners, but buying smarter. For many OEMs and EMS companies, around 20 percent of their component spend can take up a disproportionate amount of time. By working with Arrival Electronics, we can save you time and money, and deliver the materials when you need them in a variety of ways.
What benefits does kitting technology offer?
Often the cost of the component is the only thing looked at when analysing the cost of acquisition and the total cost of acquisition is often overlooked. There are ultimately many additional cost factors to be taken into account when analysing component costs such as the cost of processing and managing the quotation and purchase order process, the cost of receipt and handling materials, the cost of storage and picking of materials and the cost of invoice and payment processing as well as the financing of the materials. Reducing all this “processing” into less paperwork is a significant cost saving to our customers. The purchasing team can then focus on their strategic customers and suppliers ensuring their customers are getting what they need, when they need it, rather than continuously progressing and processing paperwork.
How does Arrival maximise its kitting service offering?
By working closely with the customer at all levels of the product lifecycle and engaging with engineering allows us to be instrumental within the component selection process. Utilising our knowledge of the component market to assist in specifying the best component option available ensures that all factors are considered when designing your product or kitting your BoM.
How does the company go about achieving this?
Over a number of years Arrival has developed strategic partnerships to ensure we are able to deal with a vast range of requirements that best suit our customer’s needs, whether it be quick turn-around, medium to high technology or volume. All of our partners are fully audited on a regular basis and monitored to ensure compliance with our requirements is being maintained.
With a strong focus on engineering support, Arrival like to be involved with engineers at the start of their project, giving assistance with component selection to avoid availability issues at the time of procurement. Supporting this is the company’s design service, where we can assist customers with all areas of their design, from PCB layout to a full Design for Manufacture service, in addition to this, Arrival also offers a range of franchised components lines and aim to better assist engineers with technology down to component level.
What benefits does this offer?
Usually around 90 percent of an assembled product cost is in the material. With many years of industry experience, Arrival’s product, purchasing and management expertise enables it to procure PCBs, box and board level components and PCBAs at competitive pricing and with reduced lead times.
Working only with and from fully audited QA assured suppliers, the company is able to ensure full traceability of parts back to the original manufacturer.
Ultimately the company’s kitting service offers the opportunities to:
- Undertake your entire procurement process for all materials
- Undertake inspection storage, picking, preparation, kitting and custom packaging & documentation
- Deliver assembly-ready kits, direct to the manufacturing floor, eliminating the need for further inspection
- Eliminate stock of your electronic components and part-finished boards
- Improve cash-flow by allowing you to ship finished goods before you have paid for any components
- Reduce warehousing overheads
- Reduce purchasing department processing costs and overheads with one invoice and one payment for an entire kit delivery
- Reduce lead-times through faster purchase order processing. Off-the-shelf kits can be held for rapid delivery.
- Transferring of tasks, freeing up key personnel to focus on functions that add value to your business instead of correcting supplier errors
Arrival aims to work with its customers at all levels of their product lifecycle. The company believe by working with engineering first, it builds up a long standing relationship built on knowledge, trust and support that allows it to better service its customers requirements by ensuring it can help select the most cost efficient or suitable materials at the start rather than trying to change requirements at the time of manufacturing.
Arrival Electronics
01243 558 155
