You need cable assemblies that are built for robustness and work as designed. You just don’t need that many of them.
A tough position. But not an impossible one.
Most suppliers will turn you away if you can’t meet a high order minimum — domestically or internationally, that might be around 500 to 1000 cable assemblies. If you need to start smaller to scale responsibly, those can be disheartening numbers.
Multi-Tek orients itself around the needs of OEMs. While we can’t take every project, we don’t force you into a ridiculous risk buy. We’ve honed our process management to limit overhead costs and meet OEMs’ needs at a more reasonable place than other suppliers.
We’ll walk through our approach to small orders and share some advice for alternative solutions if we’re not a good fit.
Our typical order minimum is 100 cable assemblies. That allows us to provide you with a quality product while meeting our overhead costs for sourcing and quoting.
We often get inquiries from people who want fewer cable assemblies than that. And occasionally, we make exceptions as part of our ongoing commitment to OEMs and insight into their particular challenges. Those exceptions tend to fall into one of two camps:
You might just want a few cable assemblies to test with during R&D. In that case, we’d ask what your anticipated annual order size would be. If there’s a mutual fit, we can proceed with quoting.
And, if you just need a single cable assembly to confirm your design and make last-minute adjustments before you receive a full order, sending out a first article-in-hand is standard practice.
You might need only a few cables for a certain product. But if your organization could use cable assemblies for other product lines, we could still be a good fit. We’d talk about your other cable assembly needs and work together to find a way forward.
Fit into either category? Reach out. We’ll get back to you within hours.
Sidenote: We know that OEMs with small order sizes can feel slighted when working with suppliers who have their eyes on bigger fish.
Not here. Once your order reaches the floor, it’s treated the same as any other. We don’t make concessions on service and responsiveness. They’re key facets of our identity.
If you don’t want to buy additional cables just to meet the order minimum — and, frankly, few do — you still have a few options available:
An online search for cable assembly prototyping services can yield some useful results. You would likely need to accept the possibility of paying a significant premium for these prototypes, but this could still make financial sense.
Even so, to avoid risking reliability, you’ll want to ask your prototyping service some specific questions:
There are “mom-and-pop” cable assembly manufacturers out there. These are generally staffed by a couple of people. There are some risks here: Quality control is often weak, and you risk the inclusion of knock-off parts.
While these shops can make orders of one to five cables, you’ll need to be vigilant about quality control. Start by asking them about certifications and processes, just like you would with a prototype service.
But working with M12s can be tricky. Custom injection molded M12 cables, ordered to the specific lengths and breakouts needed to reach the devices being monitored and controlled, come with high costs and long lead times.
Plenty of OEMs still produce their cable assemblies in-house. That might make the most sense for you, too. In that case, a couple pieces of advice:
It’s hard to find the right supplier. And it’s even harder when you’re not looking to place a large order. We recognize that.
Multi-Tek builds its reputation on real partnership and a commitment to reliability. That means airtight quality control. It also means providing design support and adjusting to last-minute changes or emergencies without missing a beat.
Think there’s a good mutual fit? Get in touch.
We’ve been that partner since the 1990s. To talk to an expert about your application requirements, just reach out. We’ll be in touch within a business day, if not sooner, and will help you figure out next steps.
We’ll provide you with a fast quote (standard time is three days, can be as quick as same-day) and recommend manufacturability improvements.
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