It’s important to know what to look for when researching contract manufacturing companies to handle your outsourced manufacturing needs in order to ensure that you’ll get the best possible quality and care. Here are 5 fundamental signs that a contract manufacturing company is worth your business’ time, money and resources.

Customer-Centric Approach

Every good contract manufacturing company is purposeful at placing the focus and importance on its customers.  This should be reflective in how they answer their phones or how they speak with people in person as well as on their websites and through testimonials and reviews from past customers. Every good company is focused on how they can better serve you as a customer.

First Class Machinists & Staff

Apart from the actual machinery, a high quality contract manufacturing company should be equipped with top notch contract machinists and staff. From the front desk and customer service team to the machinists running the parts, every part of the team should be trained, equipped and visibly on top of their game from the time you begin conversations with them through the process of running the parts.

Expert Educators

What truly sets one contract manufacturing company apart from another is the emphasis on education. A company that places a lot of importance, time and resources on educating their customers and prospective customers is more readily viewed as a reliable, thought-leader within the industry, For example, this type of company would be one that provides educational downloads, informative blog articles, and maybe even how-to videos, providing information beyond the norm to the public.

Approved & Certified

This element may be obvious to most, but it is the single most important aspect to ensuring your parts and project are handled properly from quote to delivery - Certifications. The ISO certification in particular ensures that your team as well as your project will be handled with honesty, integrity and precision. Any contract manufacturing company you work with should have the proper certifications and checks in place, which ensures your protection as a customer.

Positive Track Record

Past and current customer reviews and testimonials can tell you a lot about a company. If a company you’re researching for your contract manufacturing job has pages of negative reviews on websites like Yelp or Better Business Bureau, than you might want to think twice before digging deeper into "why" and signing a contract.