PCB Sourcing Calendar Can Help Or Hinder Your Production Cycle
PCBs make your electronic products and electronic devices. You will be able to manufacture your electronic devices as per your schedule only when you have the adequate supply of the PCBs. Most electronic equipment manufacturing companies source their PCBs from third party PCB fabrication companies. Some of them source locally while many source the PCBs from China.
It is not enough to identify the best PCB manufacturing companies but it is also equally important to make sure that you plan your PCB sourcing very carefully. While planning your PCB sourcing calendar, a number of concerns surface. You need to effectively address all these concerns before you could enjoy a seamless supply of PCBs.
You must know clearly, the required quantity of PCBs every month. This will depend on your production calendar, which in turn will depend on the demand. Once you have a clear understanding of your requirements, you must try to match your requirements with the right supplier, The PCB manufacturer must be capable of meeting your order volume. Without understanding the maximum production capacity of your PCB manufacturer, you will not be able to plan your sourcing calendar. So, take your time to get a clear picture on the production capabilities of your manufacturer.
While scheduling your sourcing calendar you must not forget to factor in the shipping time. The shipping time will vary based on whether you are sourcing the PCBs locally or getting them from a China PCB manufacturer. Someone who is experienced in sourcing PCBs will add a buffer value to all these timelines because so many things could go wrong at each stage of the sourcing process. If you do not take into consideration all these factors and schedule a tight sourcing calendar, you will experience delays. Allow reasonable time for each step.
It would be prudent to stay at least two cycles ahead of your production cycle. This will help you run your production process smoothly without any delays even if there should be any delay from your PCB manufacturers. You will always have adequate supply of the PCBs to continue with the production process.
On the one hand you must have adequate supply of PCBs but on the other hand you should also have adequate warehouse space to stock the PCBs. These are all practical challenges which the electronic equipment manufacturing companies have to face sourcing their PCBs. When all these challenges are anticipated, you will be able to plan your sourcing calendar more effectively and avoid all possible delays.
At the PCB manufacturer’s end, they may also face a few challenges in delivering the PCBs on time. There could be issues with the sourcing of the PCB components. At times there could be unexpected delays in the PCB assembly components sourcing process. There could be shortage of the components especially when you need them in bulk quantities. If you work with a large, reputed PCB manufacturers you will not face any challenges in this regard.
