Baldor Electric profits from Note's nearsourcing

New product introduction and volume production give two in one advantage For a company looking to bring a new product to market, the product development and introduction stage is obviously critical. Equally important is moving the product into long-term volume production. Baldor was looking for a supplier of complex power boards and control cards that could do both, according to information provided to evertiq. NOTE has developed a concept called Nearsourcing: "We maintain a proximity to the customer as well as to the product", says Dave Westley, Operations Manager NOTE UK. "We develop, test and industrialize near the customer. But we also own and operate production facilities, meaning we were able to partner Baldor right through product design to manufacturing". All engineering and development was carried out through NOTE’s local site, in close geographical proximity to Baldor. Actual volume production could then be set up where it was most cost-effective and convenient. NOTE manages Baldor’s production in Lithuania. Essentially that means Baldor gets the benefits of production in a low-cost region without the risk or inconvenience. At the same time, the Eastern European location offers easier access than any Far East alternative. "Our prime issue in developing our new product range was cost. Where one quoted us a price of GBP 180 NOTE was able to deliver at around GBP 120 on a per board basis", says Tony Fuge, Operations Manager Baldor UK.