A Vertical Integration Strategy with Outsourcing Key Subsystems

What is meant by vertical integration, and can you benefit by engaging with a contract manufacture to fabricate your components, build your subsystems of larger production tools and equipment? The traditional definition of vertical integration is heavily geared toward operational and production benefits such as:

• Cost reduction across various parts of production
• Tighter quality control
• Improved flow and control of information across the supply chain
• Better control over production volume

At Innovent, we specialize in being a contract manufacturer that can balance two key things well:

• We fit into a manufacturing model of small to medium size products or system production lines that are largely vertically integrated. We don’t compete with our customers in any way, our supply chain is robust, we have “large company” processes that can be matched to the customer’s processes, and we offer production with only one degree of separation from your larger process. You still control everything.
• We cater to numerous customers with common expectations but wildly dissimilar technologies and products. We have developed a vertical integration strategy that addresses the complexities of these types of business arrangements.

Our contract manufacturing projects start with developing a healthy and collaborative customer relationship. We understand that the best way to serve our customers is to understand their business and products. With our best, longest-lasting customers, business and financial issues are addressed at the highest levels of both organizations to ensure we are a perfect fit for their goals. We work with discrete PO’s, Blanket PO’s, and/or multiyear Manufacturing Agreements. Typical content includes products covered, pricing model, terms, and order quantities. Innovent customer meetings and quarterly business reviews will address forecasts, production status, Innovent & supplier performance, ECO’s, engineering value adds, and cost reduction. Additional services offered are min/max Inventory level, liability, product quality & qualification, packaging, and shipping (direct to customers if preferred), spares and repair support. We assign a specific engineer at the onset of the relationship. This single point of contact, backed by the support of the entire organization, provides an unparalleled level of service. We are experts in cost reduction through manufacturing process refinement and product redesign. At a component level, we specialize in transforming aluminum, stainless steel, or other exotic metals into precisely machined components. Precision machining continues to be a core competency and still differentiates Innovent from many competitors. If secondary processes such as polishing and plating are required, we perform some of these functions in-house. Alternatively, we have long-standing relationships with suppliers that specialize in these services. We are also experts in additional processes that require welding, adhesion, and applying thermal compounds. The Innovent breadth of competencies require a very specific set of skills and expertise which is where most conventional machine shop capabilities end. We understand that our customers’ products have additional requirements that very few contract manufacturers are in the unique position to offer. We also know that we can save time and reduce the risk of product damage by:

• Minimizing unnecessary handling steps
• Transforming raw material into clean-finished components, sub-assemblies, and complete systems all within one facility.

Innovent can produce complex assemblies ranging from box-builds and electro-mechanical modules to complete system integration and validation. All of this is done under one roof which minimizes cycle time, handling, and transport costs by:

• Utilizing your product manufacturing documentation, or we create it internally.
• Adopting and maintaining your manufacturing tooling and fixtures or develop our own in-house.
• Delivering projects of virtually any complexity or size
• Performing qualification testing to validate integrity and operating performance.

The semiconductor, medical, optics, and life science industries, for example, must ensure strict adherence to cleanliness protocol during the final phases of the manufacturing process. Innovent is uniquely equipped to comply with a variety of cleanliness protocols to produce finished products in a highly regulated white room or clean room environment. Our white room offers our customers the option of having their products manufactured in an ISO 7 or 8 environment. Typically, such tools and equipment are destined for laboratory use or semiconductor fabrication processes. Our clean room offers ISO 5 and 6 level of cleanliness. This much higher level of cleanliness is critical for the manufacturing process requirements associated with optics, semiconductor and robotics components and assemblies. Operations such as final assembly, calibration, leak check and inspection are capabilities offered in the white room. Additional services including DI water clean, N2 dry and vacuum sealed, and clean packaging are offered in the clean room. If your manufacturing process is vertically integrated but you have one (or more) critical subsystems, you may benefit from Innovent’s unique set of contract manufacturing and small-scale vertical integration. You will have total insight into every step of our production, and our support processes will be a 100% match to yours. You sustain your vertical integration strategy while “smoothing out” the little bumps in production that can easily distract you from the bigger picture.