Case Studies

These cases highlight some of the parts and products WESTROM has sourced

Relays - 40-60% Cost Reduction
Project Scope
  • Signal, power, solid state and latching relays
  • Hermetically sealed
  • Cross-referenced and identified specific Chinese parts and vendors to the equivalent to US part designs
  • Prepared, facilitated submission and secured US UL certification
Challenges
  • Translation of Chinese specifications for US specifications
  • Establishment of the Chinese plants and parts in the UL file
  • Ongoing management of Chinese production to US specifications
Results
  • 40-60% cost reduction, depending upon specific part
  • Established Chinese supplier’s UL certification
  • Improved production quality

Keypads & Touch Screens
30-40% Cost Reduction
Project Scope

  • Membrane keypad switches and touch screens
  • ODM – Original Design and Manufacture, e.g. completed the part's design engineering to meet customer requirements
  • Identified suitable Chinese manufacture
  • Developed the Chinese Manufacture's quality systems and capabilities to meet the customers specifications

Key Challenges

  • Characterizing the engineering design, whist the part specifications evolved, e.g. specifications and requirements where dynamic
  • Ensuring that the design and sample qualification was completed, whilst maintaining project timelines

Project Results

  • 30-40% cost reduction
  • 75% lead-time reduction from 12 weeks to 3 weeks

Precision Current Transformer Coil
20-30% Cost Reduction
Project Scope
 
  • Reverse design engineering from customer's in-house part
  • Product characterization and improved part specifications
  • Identified and qualified Chinese suppliers for the components and part assembly
  • Completed manufacturing process characterization, improved the electrical and physical designs
  • Developed the manufacturing processes at the Chinese vendors
  • Ongoing management of Chinese supply base
 
Key Challenges
 
High tolerance required parts to be produced in matched sets of 3:
  • ± 2% DC resistance
  • ± 1.0 H inductance matching
  • Exact winding count and coil wire length
 
Project Results
 
  • 20-30% cost reduction
  • Created part design and standardized part specifications across multiple finished products
  • Increased finished goods production yield and reduced cost of quality
  • $500k CAPEX avoidance from machine acquisition and in-house capacity development

Wound Magnetics 50-60% Cost Reduction
Project Scope
 
  • China supplier identification and qualification
  • Tooling design, development and Chinese tool manufacture
  • Testing & quality procedure development and implementation at the Chinese supplier
 
Key Challenge
 
  • Chinese tooling sub-contractor capability and management, i.e. developed the Chinese tooling vendor to resolve precision and capability issues
 
Project Results
 
  • 50-60% cost reduction over the US, depending upon part type
  • Consistent delivery of US quality from our Chinese source, versus non-WESTROM Chinese sources

LCD Modules & Panels
30-40% Cost Reduction
Project Scope
 
  • Character and graphic LCD panels/modules, CTN-LCD modules, TAB modules and COG modules
  • Identification of a Chinese supplier and off-the shelf Chinese part that meets the customer's specified LCD size, lines, power and I/O specifications
  • Design customization of a off-the shelf Chinese parts to meet customer specifications
 
Key Challenges
 
  • Matching customer requirements to standard Chinese manufacturing processes and product lines or to customized Chinese product lines
 
Project Results
 
  • 30-40% cost reduction over equivalent US parts
  • Consistent China vendor quality and delivery performance over non-WESTROM Chinese vendors

Certified Electrical Enclosures
15-25% Landed Cost Reduction
Project Scope
 
  • Design of a North American Electrical Manufactures Association (NEMA) metal electrical enclosure
  • Identification of Chinese suppliers and NEMA certification of the assembly
  • Design of the tooling and oversight of tooling manufacture by Chinese tooling suppliers
 
Key Challenges
 
  • Identification and development of a Chinese supplier with sufficient capability to meet the NEMA requirements, whist maintaining cost competitiveness
 
Project Results
 
  • 50% reduction in tooling cost
  • 30-40% cost reduction over equivalent US parts
  • 15-25% landed cost reduction over equivalent US parts
  • Consistent China vendor quality and delivery performance over non-WESTROM Chinese vendors

China Electronic Manufacturing

Challenge
 
  • Midsize US based electronics company
  • Market product price decline of 60% year-on-year for over two years
  • Rapidly increasing quality, price and delivery performance from Asian competitors
  • Accelerating market share decline
 
Short-Term Solution
 
  • Researched and located subcontractors in China to rapidly reduce manufacturing costs
  • Transitioned production to China sub-contractors over 2 years
  • Managed, trained and followed up with sub-contractors ensuring quality and delivery requirements were met
Long-Term Solution
 
  • Concurrently developed a new in-house China manufacturing plan and capability over 1 year
  • Hired and trained local technical and managerial staff to build product at the new manufacturing plant using modern manufacturing process, i.e. lean, total quality management (TQM) and theory of constraints (TOC)
  • Transitioned production from China sub-contractors to in-house China manufacturing plant

Project Results

  • Zero to full in-house China manufacturing production in three years
  • Reversal of market share losses and increased price competitiveness