Build To Order
Agility, flexibility and responsiveness have become competitive weapons for capturing global market share. Today’s manufacturing environment is characterized by diverse customer tastes, preferences and alternatives.
These factors have led to the need to offer a variety of products in a variety of configurations–variables that make it difficult to forecast finished good quantities. In order to overcome these difficulties, there has been an increasing emphasis on redesigning products and processes to postpone customization until the very last phases of production. This also negates the negative connotations of offering too few products. Reliant is very familiar with strategically designing to defer product differentiation. By postponing final manufacture until the order is received, customers may customize and the positive experience is amplified.
How does it work?
This is a manufacturing strategy where parts and sub-assemblies are produced-to-stock, while the final assembly of products is delayed until your customer orders have been received. Customer orders may require the assembly of different sets of components. For example, a computer manufacturer may receive a variety of different orders which consist of different size monitors, hard drives, and keyboard types and so on. These orders are then assembled from available stocks of parts in different colors sizes and option packages. This strategy allows you to have a high degree of product variety and quick product delivery while keeping low inventories.
Combine our experience with build and assemble-to-order practices with world class fulfillment capabilities and you have a strategic partnership with Reliant that will provide value year after year. Using the BTO/ATO approach allows us to supply you with the exact product specification required as well as a reduction of finished good inventory and in stock obsolescence risk.