''One of the most satisfying success stories we've had recently delivered cost savings through outsourcing, but it used quite an unconventional route," he explained. "People tend to think outsourcing equates to manufacturing in China. But to maximise cost savings and benefits you need to employ a much more subtle approach and informed lateral thinking. The success of the latest project lay in outsourcing the initial tooling to China, where labour and expertise still offer fantastic global value for money, but then arranging manufacture at a specialist plant in the UK. The product was large plasticrncasings, which you do not want manufactured abroad because of shipping what is mostly fresh air. Our solution was to use our UK-based engineering expert who verified the design and liaised with the Chinese toolmaker in association with manufacturing in the UK to save transportation costs and reduce minimumrnbatch runs. It is possible to save thousands by tackling the project in different stages. Where does it say that design, tooling, manufacture and assembly have to be carried out on the same continent?"
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