For many OEMs, the relationship with a contract manufacturer begins with the purchase order. A buyer sends an RFQ, the quote is returned, an order is placed, and parts are delivered.
At Reata, we don’t believe that’s where the partnership should end. We make it our mission to help customers successfully launch products and keep production moving, no matter what manufacturing challenges come our way.
Accomplishing this successfully requires much more than manufacturing individual components and delivering them on time; it requires acting as an extension of your team.
Context Helps Our Team Understand the Full Picture of Your Parts
The more our team understands a customer’s project, the better we can support it.
Partnership Is a Two-Way Street
Successful partnerships require effort from both sides. The more information customers can share during the quoting and planning phases, the more effectively we can support their projects. This might include:
- Which components are most critical
- How a part functions within an assembly
- What milestones they’re hoping to achieve
- What risks are most pertinent to their projects
- Other overall program goals
When the Reata team has as much context as possible, we can make better manufacturing decisions from day one.
New Product Introductions Benefit from Close Collaboration
This approach becomes especially valuable during new product introductions (NPI) and prototype work. These projects often involve evolving designs, engineering questions, and frequent collaboration.
Rather than exchanging spreadsheets and status reports, our engineers regularly communicate directly with customer engineering and program management teams. Those conversations create a much deeper understanding of the product, its purpose, and the customer’s priorities.
Transparency Builds Trust
Sometimes being honest and upfront with our customers means sharing difficult news. If a machine goes down or an unexpected issue arises, we would rather give a realistic update than a comfortable one.
We’ve found that trust is built when customers not only understand what’s happening, but also why it’s happening and what we’re doing to resolve it.
Communication Drives Better Outcomes
When customers face schedule changes or production challenges, they require more than an update; they need information that helps them make decisions.
Instead of simply explaining the situation, we facilitate open dialogues with our customers in which we lay out their options, offering different approaches depending on their specific goals.
“Your parts will be late” becomes: “Here are your options. If we take this approach, you’ll receive parts on this date. If you’d rather prioritize another operation, here’s what that timeline will look like.”
Giving customers options makes them part of the decision-making process rather than a bystander at the mercy of their manufacturer.
Our Customer Portal Further Opens the Dialogue
Instead of waiting for scheduled calls to provide updates to our customers, Reata developed our customer portal to further increase transparency. Thanks to this tool we developed in-house, our customers can now view real-time production status and stay informed on the progress of their projects, without waiting for updates.
Customers tell us it has become a single place to check status, since it gives them immediate access to the same information our team is using internally.
Manufacturing Outcomes Are Better When We Work Together
At Reata, our success is directly tied to our customers’ outcomes. In order to help our customers achieve their goals, it’s critical that our team understands their priorities, communicates transparently, solves problems collaboratively, and offers options to help them make informed decisions throughout production.
If you’re seeking a contract manufacturer that acts as an extension of your team, contact Reata. We’d love to learn more about your next project and explore how we can drive successful outcomes on this project and the ones that follow.