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A case for cloud manufacturing
Fast Radius’ report charts the future of custom manufacturing
Custom manufacturing in an on-demand world
Businesses face immense pressure to deliver high-quality products quickly and on a global scale. However, the manufacturers that are key to these efforts experience challenges — beyond supply chain issues — that slow innovation and decrease revenue. A widespread lack of visibility into manufacturing processes means companies no longer know who they can trust to deliver accurately made parts on time.
To better understand today’s manufacturing challenges, Fast Radius conducted a survey of 250 engineers, industrial and product designers, and procurement professionals. In our report, we dive into their pain points and the cloud manufacturing strategies that can help businesses course correct and meet global demand.
Key findings
58%
of engineers, industrial and product designers, and procurement professionals said product and development cycles keep getting shorter.
52%
said reducing the costs of new product development would help them innovate more frequently.
51%
said inconsistent product quality impacted their bottom line in the last 12 months.
52%
have found out about delays or errors in production after it was too late to hit their shipping deadlines.
The current state of manufacturing
From quality control failures to unexpected delays, here’s the state of contract manufacturing through the eyes of the professionals who know the industry best. Read our full report for more on their perspective and the promise of cloud manufacturing.
INSIGHT 1
Nearly half of respondents are moving away from just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing due to concerns about flexibility, resiliency, and expensive delays.
INSIGHT 2
More than half of respondents say development times are getting shorter. Communication difficulties that arise from this rush hold back product innovation.
INSIGHT 3
Inconsistent quality is a major pain point and it’s difficult to trust a custom manufacturer to deliver quality products, according to more than half of respondents.
INSIGHT 4
Companies are suffering from unexpected delays and errors. Nearly three-quarters of respondents who missed shipping deadlines said delays had a costly impact.
TAKEAWAY
Long lead times and high costs are top supply chain pain points
When asked to name their top manufacturing pain points, respondents answered:
42%
Long lead times
40%
Rising costs
35%
Lack of flexibility
TAKEAWAY
Inefficient communication is the number one design and development pain point
Respondents reported that:
28%
Communicating with manufacturers takes up too much of my time
20%
The quotes I receive from manufacturers are inaccurate
20%
Manufacturers’ minimum order quantities (MoQs) are too high for my needs
17%
It takes too long to get a quote from a manufacturer
15%
Manufacturers have trouble understanding my project requirements
Inside the Fast Radius Cloud Manufacturing PlatformTM
See how our platform integrates design, production, and fulfillment to make manufacturing easy.
Trusted by engineers across the globe
CNC MACHINING
Fast Radius allows our company to seamlessly expand to new models and segments as the market for EV motorcycles grows. With Fast Radius, turning around new designs and prototypes is faster and less expensive than with any other manufacturer. We’re able to outmaneuver large companies and plan for our future without worrying about scaling. We can’t thank Fast Radius enough for their partnership. The quality of the work they’ve done for us is unbelievable.
Advanced drones
We make the most advanced drones in the world, with hundreds of computer processing elements and dozens of sensors —all enabled by cutting-edge AI, control systems, and software. Our customers expect extraordinary performance, and we expect the same from our partners.
URETHANE CASTING
Fast Radius reduced our cost to manufacture urethane parts by 62%, painting and finishing by 90% and 3D printing by 33%.
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
Airlines rely on us when it comes to on-time delivery of urgently needed parts, and to keep this promise we have to constantly challenge our supply chain and logistics setup.
Cloud manufacturing solutions
The Fast Radius Cloud Manufacturing Platform isn’t just about the future — it’s here now and ready for you to use. Fast Radius is building an ecosystem of cloud manufacturing solutions. Here are some you can access today:
Manufacturing a more sustainable future
Cloud manufacturing can significantly reduce the environmental impact of making and moving goods around the world.
Materials and design
Cloud manufacturing enables customers to make choices about designs and materials that can lead to more sustainable parts.
Factory
Our Cloud Manufacturing Platform was built to be more effective and efficient. Our systems are constantly learning to optimize operations.
Supply chain
Cloud manufacturing makes supply chains shorter, reducing not only carbon emissions but also the environmental footprint of warehousing and obsolete parts.
Get started with cloud manufacturing
Ready to transform the way you make products? Talk to us today about how your business can benefit from cloud manufacturing.