In many parts of the world, the manufacturing industry is a key driver of the economy. Not only is the business very lucrative, but it has also opened various employment opportunities.
However, starting a firm manufacturing electronic products, fiberglass garage doors, or high-quality medical supplies, is definitely not easy.
You need to invest in high-quality production pieces of equipment and one of them is a conveyor. If you want to learn how conveyors can help your business, check more about Fluent Conveyors.
For your manufacturing business to be successful, you need to identify your niche. That way, you can create a unique selling point. On top of it all, you must have a separate source of income to make your business venture stable before it starts picking up.
Remember, it could take a while before your business starts to be profitable. Lack of funds is usually the number one reason some business owners are hesitant to take the plunge in the manufacturing world.
They also do not have enough knowledge to manoeuvre around this competitive industry and often have little or no funds. But don’t let this discourage you from opening your own manufacturing company.
Here are some essential tips you can use to start a manufacturing business and achieve success.
1. Think Carefully About Your Niche
First, you must establish your niche. This way, you will know who your target customers are and which companies you will be competing with.
Once you have identified your niche, you can start conducting market research to help you lay the foundation for your business and establish a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) to help your business stand out from the rest.
Aside from looking into your close competitors, you need to also look into the industry leaders, so you will have an idea of what makes them successful in their respective niches.
A niche refers to a specialised or focused area of manufacturing that you plan to serve specifically. Determining your niche helps differentiate your business from your competitors, allowing you to excel in the manufacturing sector.
To establish your niche, here’s a strategy to follow. First, choose your target audience, then define an unmet or underserved need. Research your customer base, then create a business plan based on your research.
Finding a niche is important when starting a manufacturing business, especially for small business owners who want to have a steady flow of revenue by establishing a loyal customer base.
Having a market niche helps to ensure that there’s a specific type of customer who will be willing to buy your products instead of going to your competitors.
There are various niche markets within the manufacturing industry, from food and beverage, apparel to computer, automotive, and medical equipment.
Think of a specific product that can serve your target customer’s unique needs. For instance, if you want to target women executives who travel frequently, you can open a manufacturing company that produces a line of wrinkle-free clothing to cater to this specific need.
2. Consider Automation to Scale the Manufacture
After you have succeeded in developing a working prototype for the products you want to manufacture, the next question is how you should scale your production.
It’s not easy to transition from prototype development to going full in production. There are various levels of automation that you need to go through.
A manual workstation is the easiest method and the easiest to scale. Scaling up production will require having more staff to perform manual labour.
Certain tasks that needed a high level of hand to eye coordination, such as PCB reworking and precision wiring cannot be automated.
The next level is setting up a manumation station, which is difficult for a human operator to perform. Just imagine a station where multiple screws must be inserted all at the same time.
These parts will still have to be manually loaded or unloaded.
The next level is the islands of automation, a fully enclosed system that requires several automated steps within a single system.
Islands are usually selected to perform a sequence of complex operations or achieve higher throughput.
This step requires having a fully integrated manufacturing line, which is what you would imagine when you think about a production setting that does not have any human intervention.
But the disadvantage of having a fully integrated line is inflexibility. Any break in the process could lead to a systematic delay in the overall production, so this is something to consider when setting up a fully integrated manufacturing line.
3. Staffing
Recruiting staff for your manufacturing company comes with some unique challenges.
Several manufacturers nowadays struggle to attract, hire, and retain the right talents for various manufacturing roles.
Not only are there fewer people seeking jobs in manufacturing, particularly those with robotics degrees, but there are even fewer people who are qualified for the roles they are applying for.
To avoid these issues, there are some tips to keep in mind.
It’s important to hire hard-working and experienced staff for your manufacturing business, but you must also think about automation and control.
Consider hiring freelance engineers from specialist industrial automation recruiters, or hire engineers with a degree in robotics that can help design and maintain your production line.
Along with technical skills, look for other attributes in a candidate that can benefit your company, such as timeliness, attention to detail, penchant for safety, and experience.
Don’t hesitate to hire young and inexperienced workers. Hiring young people and giving them training is worth the investment.
By training young professionals who have recently graduated, there’s a higher chance that you can keep employees working for you long-term.
These employees can also help in training the new batch of employees hired after them.
Try to expand your pool. Up until recently, most people working in the manufacturing firm are men. But in recent years, women have been highly encouraged to apply to jobs in science, technology, and engineering.
So, don’t hesitate to hire women in the field, including minorities like people of colour, to expand your pool and attract qualified professionals into your manufacturing company.
Conclusion
Due to the increasing competition in the manufacturing industry, the process of hiring requires more creativity than ever.
Hopefully, the tips above can help you attract qualified professionals to help you successfully start your manufacturing business.
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