Advantages of Outsourcing Wire Harnesses Domestically

Image of Custom Interface Team
Custom Interface Team

Interconnecting wire harnesses are often the last parts of a new product to be designed which means the harnesses must be engineered and validated within a compressed schedule.

 With short design cycles and critical deadlines, there are also factors impeding intended benefits of building wire harness components in-house:

  • It is more cost efficient for an OEM design engineer to approve a wiring harness than to create it.

  • Most OEMs do not have the buying power of a cable harness contract manufacturer

  • Automated/specialized equipment used by Contract Manufacturers isn’t typically justified by the volume being produced by an OEM.

  • Contract manufacturers (CMs) can recommend equivalent components that are readily available resulting in lower costs and shorter lead times

If you are looking for a capable supplier of wire harness components, it is important to choose a company that builds to an industry recognized standard such as IPC 620, tracks performance metrics such as On Time Delivery and is audited annually against a quality standard such as ISO 9000 or AS 9100.

Here are the advantages of outsourcing wire harness components

  • Quality

underwater-cable-harness

Building and testing wire harnesses requires specialized skills and equipment to ensure product safety will not be compromised. 

 Wire harnesses must be resilient enough to operate in harsh environments.

 Outsourcing to a certified cable harness manufacturer will ensure better quality, durability and the wiring harnesses will be warrantied against performance failures for a minimum of 1 year.

When recommended manufacturing practices are not strictly adhered to, it is common for poor terminations to be the root cause of 80% of the system-level troubleshooting.

  • More capital

The expense of setting up in-house wire harness manufacturing may not prove worthwhile. Instead of investing in the expensive infrastructure and training staff in the specialized skill sets required to manufacture wire harnesses, outsourcing can make more sense because of the business capital and personnel resources it will keep available for other New Product Introduction expenses.

  • Buying power

Outsourcing to a wire harness manufacturer offers a host of financial benefits. By aggregating demand from multiple customers, a cable and wire harness manufacturer has better buying power and in-house tooling resulting in lower costs. In addition, facilities in cost-efficient locations allows an OEM to utilize their technicians for valuable tasks such as final assembly.

 Contract manufacturers also offer services beyond production such as stocking programs and distribution services.

  • Other advantages can include:

    • A contract manufacturer located in the country of origin protects an OEM from the whims of international politics

    • Accommodates changing designs (important for short design cycles)

    • Can accommodate small batches and not require retooling

    • Avoid time & expense related to qualifying overseas components

When companies focus on their core competencies and outsource auxiliary functions to a specialist firm such as Custom Interface, Inc., everyone wins. A certified wiring contract manufacturer will supplement your processes and provide any additional capacity you need

 We are very proud of our team who makes every effort to adapt to the constant changes inherent in NPI. From design and assembly to the finished wire harness, our team utilize strategies perfected over 25 years of working on projects critical to our customer’s success.

Request a Quote >

 

Leave a Comment

Blog posts

Related Articles.

Image of Custom Interface Team
Custom Interface Team

Is your wire harness flexible enough?

Designing a wire harness is simple, right? Just pick out an appropriate wire for your voltage and...

Read more
Image of Custom Interface Team
Custom Interface Team

Common Problems with Wire and Cable Harness Drawings

There are three problems that show up repeatedly in wire and cable harness assembly drawings which...

Read more