Rising material costs and dynamic market demands put immense pressure on automotive manufacturers, especially the mid-sized ones. They always search cost saving ideas for manufacturing and increase their profit margins. However, focusing too much on cutting costs might overlook the important thing i.e. product quality.
Amidst the stiff competition from both established giants and nimble startups, losing on quality can through you out of the market. Here are a few innovative cost saving ideas in manufacturing to balance both manufacturing cost and product quality.
3 Ways to Reduce Costs in Manufacturing
Follow the Lean Manufacturing Approach
At every stage of manufacturing, some sort of waste is produced which adds no value to the final product but increases the cost. The lean manufacturing approach helps in reducing that waste and optimizing the entire process with few or more resources so that the final product is more valuable for customers and costs you less.
But first, you have to identify activities that lead to more waste in the process. There are seven main categories in which waste is classified as per lean manufacturing approach.
Once you know the origin and type of waste, apply the following core principles of lean manufacturing.
5 Core Lean Manufacturing Principles
- Define value- Identify features and functionalities for which your customers will be willing to pay for.
- Map the value stream- After analyzing, visualize how you can deliver that value at every stage, from raw materials to final product delivery. Remove any unnecessary steps that add no value or incur a waste of resources and time.
- Create flow- Every step must go smoothly and continuously without any interruption. The next step in lean manufacturing is all about maintaining that flow. Remove any bottlenecks that slow down the stream.
- Establish pull- Instead of manufacturing in bulk or based on forecasts, produce according to current demand. This will reduce waste and improve the product’s quality as well.
- Seek perfection– Do not focus on completing the process as planned, rather make improvements in the design and production process as per the current situation. This way you can eliminate all the chances of poor production and add true value to the final product.
Less waste means less cost as the resources are well utilized. That’s the goal of lean manufacturing.
Invest in Cost Intelligence Solutions
With thousands of cost estimations made in a day, it is difficult for cost analysts and engineers to accurately do the cost estimation with traditional tools like Excel worksheets. As a result, they end up with underestimation or overestimation increasing the overall cost of manufacturing and noncompetitive selling price of the product.
Using intelligent cost estimation software for accurate pricing is one of the best and most innovative cost saving ideas for manufacturing. It automates the end-to-end costing process by taking every single factor into account. Cost It Right is one such intelligent platform designed exclusively for the manufacturing and automotive industry. Here are a few ways it reduces costs in manufacturing.
Benefits of Cost Estimation Software
- Centralized repository with all important cost-related data
- Automatic costing with formula-based MHR to save everyone from manual calculations
- Real-time alerts on price change, quantity, or any other critical factor for accurate cost estimation
- Price comparison of raw materials and parts across multiple vendors, suppliers, and plants
- Automated RFQ process and standardized data across multiple systems, from ERPs to PLMs
- Bulk price amendment for multiple parts across all departments with a single click
- Insights into specific cost drivers, enabling targeted cost reduction efforts.
- Leverage historical data on materials and incorporate industry benchmarks to generate realistic and competitive estimations.
- Facilitates clear communication of cost expectations between departments.
Cost It Right helps you estimate accurately, better, and faster without any product delays or errors. Read how a leading OEM transforms its vendor quotation and approval process using this software.
Design for Manufacturability (DFM)
Sometimes, the increased cost of manufacturing is the result of poor design. Therefore, manufacturers need to optimize the design at every level, from component to holistic.
That’s where the concept of design for manufacturability comes in.
It includes everyone from engineers, designers, mold builders, material suppliers, and contract manufacturers in the early discussion of product design(whether new or existing one.)
Here is how it works:
- Reduce the number of parts in a design and use standardized components that can be easily reused in different models.
- Get in talks with the contractor and engineers to choose materials with good properties. Look for alternative materials, invest in advanced design techniques, or combine different materials to optimize the cost and performance of the product.
- Prioritize designs that ease the assembling processes, reducing the need for manual handling and errors. This will also cut labor costs and increase efficiency.
- Design products for easy disassembly and reuse components to extends the product’s life. It also reduces the need for new materials.
These design-for-manufacturability strategies aren’t just about cost saving; they also speed up the assembly process, reduce mistakes, and result in products that offer great value for the cost.
Conclusion
When thinking of how to reduce costs in manufacturing, reducing the workforce size or investing in cheap technologies may sound cost-effective at first. For long term, they are a bad idea as you cannot grow without skilled workforce and incorporating advanced technologies like AI, ML, and robotics in this industry.
Innovative cost saving ideas for manufacturing mentioned in our blog work best as they lead to operational excellence without putting a dent in the quality of the end product. Optimizing supply chain operations, using a robust quality management system, and automating the product development process through AI, machine learning, and robotics are other cost-effective ways to reduce manufacturing costs.
