Benefits of Reshoring for Medical Device Manufacturers
June 28, 2022 | Blog, Capabilities Blogs, Medical Industries Blogs, Precision Injection Molding Capabilities Blogs, Videos
Medical devices must be dependable and safe, and moving operations back to the United States allow companies to have better control over the entire operation – procurement, engineering, production, and distribution. The result is a higher standard of quality in products. Medical device companies and other advanced industries need to have extensive and precise control over the entire supply chain of their products.
As an American small business, Performance Plastics is pleased to see the trend of manufacturing operations moving back to the United States. A range of economic and strategic factors due to the recent epidemic have tipped the scales exponentially since 2020.
While there are many benefits of reshoring, some of the most important reasons include:
- Greater Control of Supply Chain
Getting all your moving pieces to work seamlessly can be a near impossible task, especially across language and time zone barriers. One of the primary advantages of reshoring is that it allows you to tighten your supply chain.
- Reduced Lead Times
The greater the distance between where your device is manufactured and where you are located, the longer you can expect your lead time to be. However, distance is not the only factor. When moving from one country to another, inspection and transportation times between countries can add up to 50% to your lead time.
- Fewer Import Tariffs
Import tariffs vary from administration to administration, but they will always be in place. The recent increase in tariffs have caused the cost advantages of manufacturing offshore to shrink.
- Reduced Energy Costs
Recent changes to international gas and power prices have drastically increased the prices of manufacturing and transportation from other countries. Impact on the environment and achieving higher sustainability are very important to consumers.
- Potential to Improve Brand Perception
Although we live in an international community, the origin of a product still has an impact on the perception of quality. Some lower cost manufacturing countries even have a perception of being “dangerous”.
Medical devices necessitate the highest quality standards possible, which can’t always be regulated in an offshore manufacturing environment. The vast global, economic, legal and social changes are all very dynamic and unpredictable in nature – making relocating operations a more sustainable, stable and efficient choice.
At Performance Plastics, we are experts in injection molding, specializing in high performance plastics for medical device components. Our proprietary tool design software, processes and equipment enable us to injection mold components having complex geometries made from challenging ultra, high-performance thermoplastic materials, and reinforced compounds.
For more information on Performance Plastic’s capabilities, please contact Rich Reed, Vice President of Sales, and Marketing at 513.321.8404 or email at [email protected]
