Should My Small Business Manufacture
Its Own Products?
By Business Desk
Wednesday, February 14, 2018.
There’s no doubt that manufacturing
your own products is an enormous task, however it’s not something that you
should overlook entirely as a smaller business. While it might be easier to
outsource, doing so takes a chunk out of your profits and in the long run it’s
definitely better from a financial perspective to do this yourself. There are
of course a number of considerations to think about first- here are just a few
of them.
The Cost
The very first thing that will spring to mind when
you consider setting up your own manufacturing plant is the cost. For some
small businesses, it just won’t be viable. If you need high end machines,
computers and other very expensive tech to create your products then chances
are you’re not able to cover these costs. However for other businesses its
definitely a possibility. Making clothes for example will require machinery and skilled sewers
but it’s a cost you’re likely to be able to cover yourself. Even things like
plastic injection moulding machines aren’t too expensive. You will need to take
into consideration the cost of premises, equipment, storage space and then
shipping and handling too. Work out if it’s a cost you could cover as you could
save yourself a lot of money long term.
Health and Safety Considerations
A manufacturing plant has numerous health and safety
considerations to bear in mind, it’s much more dangerous than your average shop
or office workplace. Dealing with power tools, machines, high heat, chemicals
and heights will all come with their own set of risks. Even things like Piezo transducer buzzers on doors to
prevent unauthorised access to certain areas or alert workers of people coming
in and out shouldn’t be overlooked. Make sure you know all of the health and
safety laws and practices you will need to enforce when it comes to your plant,
get this wrong and you could end up with an accident or even death on your
hands. Bad for your conscience and could lead to a serious lawsuit.
The Practicalities
Finally, there are lots of other things to think
about when you’re setting up your own plant. Location for example, you need to
be in a place that has good transport links for raw materials to be delivered,
and for the finished products to be shipped out. You need to factor in things
like the cost and time of repairing and maintaining machines, as well and
finding and training the best workers.
For certain types of smaller businesses, it’s possible to set up your own
manufacturing plant and worth doing so financially. For
others, it might not be a possibility until later down the line when you have a
much bigger profit. Either way, make sure you go into it with your eyes open
and be aware of the risks and costs of setting up and keeping a plant running
