ADVANEX GLOBAL NETWORK SUPPORT

An electrical equipment manufacturer made a request to the Advanex group for local procurement and overseas production through its global network. In order to reduce costs, the customer wanted to move his production from Japan to Thailand. As the Advanex Thailand factory is located within 500 meters of the customer’s own factory, they approached the group to see if mass-production was possible in Thailand. The customer also demanded competitive quotes from competitors to ensure they were getting a good price.

The transition of production from Japan to the customer’s native Thailand was a smooth process. This was due to:

• An effective world-wide network
• Consistency and cooperation between the different areas of the group
• The knowledge of the Advanex staff

The parts used in digital single-lens reflex cameras are technically demanding, requiring advanced processes to produce. Japan would determine the specifications and pricing but manufacturing would be transferred to Thailand to bring down costs.

In order for this transition to be smooth, it was essential that we had a system for developing prototypes in Japan and transferring the technical details to Thailand.

Advanex also needed to develop and manufacture parts with short lead times and respond quickly to changes in design specifications.

The customer was satisfied with the transitioning of mass production to Thailand. Based on the customer’s requests, the Koriyama Prototype Center and the Niigata production factory worked synergistically to produce samples for the customer’s design department. Improvements were made promptly, giving Advanex an advantage over potential competitors. Once approved, the final designs were submitted and explained to Thailand. Niigata offered continued support to Thailand. Making a trouble-free start to mass-production locally for the customer.

Another advantage the Advanex group had over competitors is that both Niigata and Thailand had the same machinery and technical capabilities, which are employed world-wide, making transfer of production overseas easy.