How High Mix Low Volume Outsource Makes High-Profitability Sense
There are three reasons why high-mix, low-volume (HMLV) products are proliferating:
The LEAN supplier advantage
One of the ways manufacturers can enhance their management of an HMLV basket of components is to engage suppliers that implement LEAN methodologies in their manufacturing and supply chain processes.
When LEAN drives the supplier’s production and supply chain practices, end customers have better assurance that HMLV components will be free of the production and delivery compromises that are too often typical of suppliers who do not follow LEAN principles.
The catch: many smaller suppliers inclined to take on high-variation, low-volume business are less inclined to invest in LEAN. Finding suppliers who will take low-volume runs and already subscribe to LEAN principles is easier said than done.
Five considerations in selecting an HMLV supplier
The outsourcing case
Outsourcing the entire HMLV function to a partner who specializes in it frees managers to do what they do best: manage high-volume business. The HMLV portfolio gets the focused, creative, flexible management it needs — without consuming internal resources that are optimized for scale, not variety.
HMLV doesn’t have to be the unprofitable corner of your portfolio. MES manages high-mix, low-volume programs end-to-end — LEAN suppliers, consolidated logistics, and managed inventory included.
