East West Manufacturing Blog

Once the decision has been made to manufacture outside of the United States, the next major question that needs to be answered is: if not here, where? China has long since been the default answer for many companies, but with increased tariffs, rising labor rates and lengthy transit time, some are considering nearshore as their first choice and...

If you’re in the midst of developing your next great product idea, you’ve likely been scouring the internet for the best information about taking this initial thought and making it into a reality. There are so many aspects to consider, making it easy to get overwhelmed and confused. We’d like to help walk you down this entrepreneurial path by...

It’s everywhere. You can’t escape it. Lead time, lead time, lead time! You’ve heard it repeatedly, but has anyone taken the time to explain to you exactly what lead time is and what goes into it?

Don’t fret, we’re here to help. It’s a complex beast, but we’ll do our best to break it down so it even makes sense to those who are just getting...

We talk a lot on this blog about Chinese New Year and for good reason! It’s a major multi-week holiday that puts production at a complete standstill, and if companies do not properly prepare, it could cause major headaches.

Let me guess – you’ve designed a killer 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...

You wouldn't start out on a road trip without your GPS or a good road map, would you? So why face your future supply chain without an idea of what to expect?

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...

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…” 😊