Case Study

In 2002, CIMI began working with a large, well-known multi-national corporation to manufacture a series of extremely tight-tolerance aluminum die-cast products. Before this relationship began, this corporation had to deal with multiple suppliers to complete their multi-step manufacturing process.

Multi-Step Manufacturing Process:

  1. The first step is to order precision diecast blanks from a supplier. When the blanks arrive to the warehouse, a quality check is required. If it looks good, the supplier will need to be paid.
  2. The next step will be to do the machining either in-house or at another factory. When the product comes back, another quality check is required and if that looks good, the supplier will be paid.
  3. The 3rd step will be to send it out again to do the impregnations. When they finish, another quality check is required before the payment.
  4. The 4th step will be to send it out for a surface treatment. Again, a quality check is required before the payment.
  5. The last step will be to send it out for a surface finish. When the final product arrives, a final quality check is required before the payment once again.

From start to finish, this may take upwards of 3 – 4 months. This process is very inefficient as it leads to high lead times and negative cash flow. A lot of man power is required to do multiple quality checks, create purchase orders and handle other logistics costs associated with this multi-step process. Products will be paid for even though they won’t be able to use them for months which leads to higher inventory costs. Even if this process was very efficient, one would only be able to achieve an inventory turnover rate of 8 times.

CIMI Turnkey Process:

  1. CIMI will do all the machining, impregnations, surface treatments, surface finishes, and pressure testing in-house. When we deliver the finished products to you, all you have to do is one quality check and then pay for it.

From start to finish, you will only have to do the quality check once, create one purchase order and only have to deal with one supplier. With our turnkey process, you will be able to achieve an inventory turnover rate of 10-12 times. Having 30 days to pay for your products means that you will be able to use the components before you even pay for it.

Cut to 15 years later, what started as a small project has now become a strategic partnership. We have now become the largest component supplier for them to this day. CIMI can provide this same level of contract manufacturing services to you, handling complex logistics, helping you reduce inventory and cost. Together we can make a quick assessment to see if our value-added services are a good match for your custom manufacturing needs!

Please call CIMI today, in California, at (650) 375-7006