How to Choose a Cable Assembly Manufacturer
If you’re in the procurement department for your corporation or business, you may be in search of a new cable assembly manufacturer or supplier. This can be due to all kinds of factors, but a few of the top ones we hear from new clients are:
- New governmental requirements that affect federal manufacturing contracts
– As new laws are passed and old ones are updated, your company may need to change where components are sourced from, or what materials they are made from to stay compliant. We offer nearshore manufacturing which can often solve the former problem, but each situation is unique. - Previous cable manufacturer is no longer able to meet their needs
– Whether your business is expanding and you need to find the right partner to keep up, or your previous manufacturer can no longer manufacture your cables the same way, you may be forced to find a new supplier. We provide OEM orders along with custom prototyping, but some manufacturers only manufacture larger orders of OEM cables, or only provide custom cables without manufacturing at scale. - Existing cable manufacturing partner is not able to manufacture a specific product
– Every cable assembly manufacturer has their specialties, but due to the massive variety of cable and harness types, there will always be some cable types that they cannot manufacture, or can’t offer competitive pricing for. For instance, other companies may refer customers who need M12 cables to us, while we may refer customers back to them for specific needs that aren’t a great fit for us.
Choosing the Right Cable Assembly Manufacturing Partner
This post will go over the top things to consider when searching for a cable manufacturer who can meet your current needs, and what to provide them with so you can get proposals back quickly.
Material Selection
Where are materials sourced from by the manufacturer?
This may already be top of mind if you are needing to find a new partner due to industry or government restrictions, but it’s important to know where the manufacturer will obtain the materials and parts to manufacture your cable with. Even if you are not required to only use components and materials procured within North America, or don’t need to have a highly detailed record of where every component was produced, you still need to know that your cable manufacturer of choice will have trustworthy sources for components and materials.
Industry Standards
What certifications does the cable manufacturer have?
You may need to only work with manufacturers that have a highly specific certification or qualification, such as ITAR for defense contracting in the United States. However, even if your cable needs don’t have a prerequisite like that, it’s best to choose a company that is provably qualified for the cable assembly work you need. For instance, we are internationally IOS 9001:2015 certified, and UL certified for the United States and Canada for cable assembly.
Cost Savings
Will this manufacturer help keep my costs down?
This may require speaking with the manufacturer’s sales team on the phone or in a video call, as this is a bit more nuanced to answer. The short version is that the right manufacturer will meet your needs for cable assembly manufacturing, while identifying opportunities to keep your costs down wherever possible. We do this by offering nearshore manufacturing options that can often help save on both assembly and shipping costs. Our engineers also have decades of expertise and experience in identifying materials and connectors that will do what is needed, but for a lower cost and/or quicker turnaround time.
Custom Cable
Do I need a manufacturer that can manufacture custom cables or prototype new ones?
This depends on how far along you are in the cable assembly process, and what you need additional assistance with. For example, we do not provide design of entirely new cable drawings, so we wouldn’t be a good fit for that step of the process. Meanwhile, some manufacturers do not provide prototyping services, or may have high MOQs (Minimum Order Quantity) that don’t work for your prototyping budget. We offer low MOQs thanks to our nearshore manufacturing partnerships, so if you need custom or prototype cables we’d love to hear from you!
OEM Bulk Cable
Do I need a manufacturer that can manufacture large orders of existing cables at scale?
If you have an existing cable assembly that’s ready to go, the most pertinent question is whether the manufacturer you choose has the capacity to turn around the quantity of cables needed, in a timely fashion. Smaller, custom manufacturers may take longer to complete a bulk OEM cable assembly order, compared to a larger company with more equipment and staff tailored for that kind of production speed. We have expanded our manufacturing capacity significantly over the past decades, and can provide large bulk orders that we wouldn’t have been able to initially.
Quality Assurance
Can I trust this manufacturer’s quality control procedures?
It’s important to choose a manufacturer with proven and industry standard quality control systems. We hold to IPC/WHMA-A-620 Standard Revision E for our quality control and inspection regulations, and utilize automated work instruction tools developed in partnership with our friends at Scout Systems to standardize every process down to minute details. This also helps us track exactly where each part and component we use comes from, in order to isolate problems if they are found in the quality inspection process.
