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E. E. O'NEILL, CQS, LLC, 7500 Stevens Ridge Rd., Lincoln, NE 68516 The decision has been made! For a variety of business and technical reasons it has been decided to outsource production. Regardless of whether it is a new product, a line extension, or an existing product requiring expanded capacity the decision to entrust a third party manufacturer is not easy. Equally difficult can be identification of a trusted and reliable manufacturing partner. No one business aspect can be the sole driver for selecting a contract manufacturer. The various business functions (product development, finance, operations, logistics, quality assurance, and others) each have legitimate roles to play in vendor selection. Quality assurance must play a role in the due diligence process of selecting the best manufacturing partner. In addition to their traditional role of assuring compliance with specifications and food safety programs they can also provide valuable insight into the prospective partners ability to improve processes, reduce variation, drive out production costs, and other quality related activities. Ultimately, the balancing of needs and abilities will lead to the selection of the best partner. Such selections are critical; the wrong partner could destroy the business prospect through inconsistent quality, poor cost control practices, logistics nightmares, or food safety violations. On the flip side, the right partner can help assure success by supplying excellent product quality, consistency, and safety in a cost effective and timely manner while constantly looking for ways to further improve their performance.
Session 85, Contract manufacturing: How to select and improve outsourcing partnerships - Beyond the contract
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