You’ve Contracted With A Manufacturer – Now What?
When you find an auto parts manufacturer you want to work with, there’s a whole on-boarding process your firm will go through. The manufacturer won’t start producing your part once you sign a contract with them. There’s a lot of details to work out first. (And remember, before you sign anything, know how the manufacturer will source the materials.)
The on-boarding process varies between manufacturers. To give you an overview of what a typical process is like, we’ll share the basics of the on-boarding process at Intran:
1. Sign A Non-Disclosure Agreement
A non-disclosure agreement for contract manufacturers is the first thing to be completed before starting the on-boarding process.
2. Go Over All the Necessary Information To Get Started
As soon as the ink on the non-disclosure agreement is dry, the contract manufacturer will ask you for information. For example, at Intran we may ask for:
- 2D and 3D cad drawings of the part
- Samples of the part, if they exist
- Material specifications
- Production volumes
- How the part is going to be used
- Target price
- Shipping destination
- Packaging instructions
Contract manufacturers ask for a lot of information upfront in order to gain insight into your needs and to determine which equipment and capabilities are needed to fulfill your requirements.
3. Create A Production Plan
When the contract manufacturer has all the information they need from you, they’ll meet with their engineers. The staff will verify that it’s feasible to source the materials you requested and to produce your part at their plant.
There may be some back and forth between you and the contract manufacturer to work out the kinks regarding specifications, production processes, and so on.
4. Put Together A Quote
Once the contract manufacturer has a clear idea of what it takes to produce your part, they’ll put together a quote for you and then send it to you for your approval.
5. Initiate Production
After everything is approved, the contract manufacturer will start producing the first batch of parts.
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