East West Manufacturing Blog

You have a problem that needs to be solved, you've done your research on who can help you find the best solution, and now you are ready to talk with a supplier to see if they are able to work within your specifications and budgetary requirements. As you prepare to submit an RFQ (Request for Quotation), you can expect the supplier, if they're any...

It is the pandemic that has shocked the world. Though health experts had been talking about a global pandemic for years, lack of adequate planning and global reliance on China’s manufacturing prowess allowed COVID-19 to unveil major vulnerabilities in today’s supply chain trends.

While we have our own theories on what the post-coronavirus world...

If you were going to make a cake, you would certainly want to start with a recipe.  The recipe provides instruction on what ingredients to use, and in what quantities.  In addition, a good recipe will provide instruction on how to prepare the ingredients – the order to mix them in, special instructions such as freezing or thawing ahead of time, oven...

If death and taxes are two guarantees in life, time and money are the two constants when taking an idea from the prototype stage through new product introduction (NPI) into commercial launch.

But have you ever wondered what it looks like to take a product from prototype to production? It's a complex process that combines creativity and procedures....

At some point the leadership team of a company that manufactures a product, sits around their conference room and asks themselves the million-dollar question, “Should we consider moving production offshore?”

Design for Manufacturing (DFM) is the process of designing parts, components or products for ease of manufacturing with an end goal of making a better product at a lower cost. This is done by simplifying, optimizing and refining the product design. The acronym DFMA (Design for Manufacturing and Assembly) is sometimes used interchangeably with DFM. 

Let me guess – you’ve designed an amazing product that you want to manufacture in China, but you’re worried that a cheaper version of your product will appear on Alibaba in a month. Who wants to spend the R+D dollars to then have their intellectual property (IP) stolen in a flash? Taking your IP to China will prove much smoother (and less risky)...

It's a common mistake among procurement newbies to use the acronyms RFQ and RFP interchangeably. Throw in RFI, and things really start to get hairy. Understanding the nuances that distinguish these different types of requests (for information, proposal and quote) will help you get what you need a little faster and more easily, and that's something...

Casting -- one of the oldest known manufacturing techniques -- is a process in which liquid material (e.g. molten metal) is poured into a mold cavity and hardened. After removing the piece from the mold, various finishing treatments can be applied to create a dazzling final product. This process is used primarily to manufacture complex solid and...

Have you ever wished for an easy, all-in-one-place guide to the most cost-effective locations for specific manufacturing processes? Maybe you’re thinking, “No, but now that you mention it…” 😊