OEM Contract Manufacturing

What is OEM?

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer and is defined as a company that manufactures components or products for their customer to sell to an end user. This customer can be referred to as a Value-Add Reseller (VAR) because they typically incorporate their proprietary good into the product to add value before selling.

Bent River and works directly with VARs, assisting in their manufacturing process of a product or products, so that they can then sell the finished products to their customer. What we do is design and build equipment for their products. Once the build is complete, the product is manufactured under the VARs brand and shipped to their customer.

We specialize in providing experienced and reliable OEM work for those companies which strive for consistency and quality. Bent River works with companies of various sizes on multiple types of projects. Each project has its own unique ‘story’ and will be handled to create the best outcome and production for the specific project.

If a company has a core competency but could use some help figuring out the mechanical motion and features needed to best support their competency, Bent River is a great match for them. We understand hardware, motion, and engineering; this can liberate the company to focus on whatever its core competency is. Bent River can also provide the actual hardware part of the machine, allowing our client to put their proprietary software or instrumentation into it.

What to expect when partnering with Bent River:

Bent River Machine manages OEM relationships differently than many of our competitors, as we consider ourselves as an extension of our customers’ manufacturing procedures.

We become your engineering department, and your assembly and test department. Also, we adopt the processes that you are comfortable with. As an extension of your processes, we devote plenty of time working with you. We review designs and test plans and make decisions about the manufacturing process that ensure the final product will meet your expectations. We believe this creates a very close relationship and can be very effective.

We would love to have you speak with some of our OEM customers. However, our work for the companies is confidential and not available for public scrutiny. Our customers and their products are of highest confidentiality and cannot be divulged under any circumstances. We pride ourselves in always respecting and complying with our customers’ needs for confidentiality.

Information Gathering Stage:

Each new relationship with our customers includes a discovery process meant to help us understand exactly what the customer’s parameters are. For example, we have worked with customers that required us to use water extensively in their product, and customers that required us to design equipment that could handle toxic gasses. With each customer, we have worked out a process that proved successful.

The information that we typically need is:

• Specification as to what you want the equipment to do
• Clear understanding of the requirements for the equipment
• Description of the application of the equipment
• Standards and Certification requirements

In order to fulfill your needs, we must understand the end user application of the equipment, as well as the requirements and restrictions for the equipment. This way, we can build a system which will support what you wish to accomplish.

We will also want to discuss manufacturability with you. Things like:

• How many models, variations on a product do you wish to have?
• How would you like to manage those variations?
• And other similar inquiries.

This collaboration is very important to the success of your project.

Shipping Product:

Most OEM companies that we’ve worked with require us to ship our piece of their product to them. They then load their software or complete some other operation before shipping it to the end user. We also have had relationships with customers where we finish the product and then ship it directly to the OEM Company’s customer. We are comfortable doing either one and are happy to adapt to specific customer needs. We require planning for an aggressive test protocol, so that we are absolutely confident that the product we ship is functioning in the manner expected and required.

Who We Help With OEM:

There are two main types of companies that seem to be a good fit for an OEM relationship with Bent River. One is a smaller company that has a core competency and a machine but lacks proficiency in hardware. They usually have a limited engineering department and less knowledge of the most up-to-date hardware options, or how to best get their process mechanically operating. The other customer that’s a good fit for Bent River is a large company that has a lot of processes with paper requirements that slow down their ability to develop new products to sell.

These companies have proved to be great partners for Bent River Machine because we can respond quickly without having to go through the layers and layers of procedures and divisions of other companies. Bent River’s size and ISO Certification allows us to design a product nimbly, quickly and tailored to our customer’s needs. The end result is a product that responds to a rapidly changing market so that the VAR can focus on their particular competency or further technology development.

Bent River Machine is presently very involved with companies in an OEM relationship in the semiconductor industry, both front end and back end. We have also worked with the food industry, commercial, medical, technology and the solar industry. With a comprehensive group of designers, technicians, and engineers to support us, we can handle any project that comes through our doors.

Find out how to make your business more efficient

We are willing to discuss just about any OEM project that you may have. To get started, or if you have any questions, then contact us today at (928) 634-7568 or send us an email.

Impressive Ref:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/oem.asp

https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/valuation/original-equipment-manufacturer-oem/