Interested in learning more about our process?
AMIC Global has an in-depth quality assured process that begins with our first contact with a new customer and continues thru the production shipments to our customers and their use of our products. This process not only includes the quality of the product itself, but all other requirements our customer may have, including: material certifications and testing, packaging, labeling, safety stock, just-in-time shipping, invoicing and service parts availability.
1. Customer submits print/specifications
We can work with whatever level of detail our customer is able to provide. If you have a simple list of requirements for the part, our engineering team can locate a standard part or design a customer solution. We can also work with prints, detailed specifications or even just a sample part.
2. Engineering review
This phase is critical to making sure we fully understand our customer's requirements. Our engineering team reviews all materials provided in Step 1, along with any relevant industry material or process standards. We schedule and engineering review call with the customer to fill in any missing information, clarify any conflicting data between the requirements, specifications, prints and samples provided, and to understand the application of the part, component or assembly.
3. Manufacturing facility selectioN
Based on our customer's requirements for the part, component or assembly, as well as their budget and volume requirements, AMIC selects their best factory location to build the part. A second engineering review is held with the manufacturing facility personnel, as well as AMIC Global's on-site sourcing and quality engineers. This review ensures that the manufacturing personnel understand all the requirements to build the part and that there are no surprises once sampling and production runs begin.
4. Quote to Customer
With our thorough understanding of our customer's requirements, we are able to generate a detailed firm quote. This quote not only includes the cost for the part, but also typically includes international shipping, inventory management and just-in-time delivery to our customer's facility. AMIC understands that cost is a critical decision factor for our customers and we can suggest changes to the requirements or design to reduce cost without affecting performance of the part, component or assembly..
5. PPAP / Control Plan
Prior to the sample and production runs, AMIC's engineering, manufacturing and quality teams develop and sign off on a Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) and a Control Plan. This puts in writing that all parties understand and have a process for consistently meeting all of our customer's requirements for the part. Also during this phase, tools and checking aids are identified or developed along with the inspection reports to be used during sampling and production.
6. Sample run
AMIC completes a small sample production run not only to provide sample parts to our customer for review, but also to test the PPAP, Control Plan and inspection methodology. A sample inspection report is typically included with the sample shipment to our customer. Any customer feedback from the sample run is incorporated into the specifications via Engineering Change Orders and the PPAP and Control Plan are updated as required.
7. CUSTOMER Acceptance
Once AMIC is sure that all customer requirements have been fully met and our customer has signed off on the part for production, all documents for the part are finalized and go into our system for production.
8. CUSTOMER Forecast
Customer forecasts allow AMIC to ensure it always has enough parts on hand to meet our customer's requirements. Most customers provide an overall annual volume forecast, along with monthly release forecast. Our production team works closely with our customers to maintain sufficient safety stock when needed to handle any un-forecasted demand. AMIC also has the flexibility to build additional parts on short notice and air ship if needed. .
9. Production Begins
Throughout production our quality engineers work closely with the factory floor to ensure the manufacturing process conforms to the PPAP and Control Plans. As production experience is gained, adjustments are made to the PPAP, Control Plan and inspection/measurement processes as required. The manufacturing schedule is closely coordinated with our customer's forecast to ensure adequate inventory on-hand.
10. China and U.S. based Quality Assurance and Inspections
Our goal is to make sure we never ship a defective part to our customer. We have dedicated QA Engineers in China at our manufacturing facilities and in the U.S. at our distribution warehouses. Each shipment of parts undergoes several levels of inspection before it is sent to our customer.
11. U.S. stocking and just-in-time shipments to customer
Our U.S. distribution warehouses help AMIC to make sure our customers get their parts on-time. Our computerized Warehouse Management System (WMS) and logistics tracking ensures we have a full view of available inventory and location. Our order management system and warehouse staff can support weekly or even daily shipments to our just-in-time customers.