Federal Electronics’ service clusters ensure that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with unique requirements are supported with robust solutions. The Emerging Companies Assist service cluster is focused on helping start‐up companies or those new to outsourcing eliminate project transition learning curve issues before they arise.

Companies in this situation typically lack the structure, and systems that are commonplace in organizations where outsourcing is an integral part of their operational strategy. Our approach fills the gaps in the transfer process via a proven methodology that has been developed and refined over many years and hundreds of projects. Emerging Companies Assist includes:

Product documentation validation: Product documentation is frequently inadequate, as it requires engineering resources and an unwavering commitment to keep it consistent with the current state of the product. Working with the customer, we use several points of reference as the baseline for the project, including bills of material, approved vendor lists, product drawings and specifications, process instructions, a list of any quality non‐conformances, a golden sample of the product and where native intelligence exists, scheduled “co‐builds” with customer personnel. While most of these documents tend to be inadequate, incomplete, or just plain incorrect when viewed individually, in their entirety, they provide enough information to establish a product configuration baseline at the onset of a new project.
Demand Flow Methodology: Many OEMs that fall into the Emerging Companies category have difficulty providing timely information regarding demand requirements. Often, there are opportunities to streamline the process in ways that reduce the administrative burden the OEM absorbs during typical order stream maintenance (order placement, expedite, de‐expedite, etc.). Reviewing historical buying patterns and the customer’s visibility to the demand stream, options such as select product forecast and Kanban can be utilized to blunt swings in demand, increase flexibility, and do so without a significant increase in liability. Where event driven POs are the preferred method, contracts are implemented that solidify lead‐time and pricing by assembly part number and streamline the requisition‐order placement‐order confirmation process, further reducing the administration load on the customer’s supply chain resources.
Supply chain validation: Emerging Companies often buy from sources that are most convenient, not necessarily from those properly aligned with their requirements, especially with regard to fabricated parts. Utilizing our supply chain database which is designed specifically to address high mix, low volume, high complexity products, we work to align the customer’s AVL with the proper suppliers, typically resulting in lower lead‐times, lower costs and greater flexibility.
Leadtime/Liability containment and reduction: As an off‐shoot of Demand Flow Methodology and supply chain validation, we introduce, consolidate, and realign suppliers, placing stores of raw material as far back in the process as possible, thus sustaining a pipeline at the lowest costs possible with limited liability. This is especially helpful for companies in this category where capital resources may be limited