PassageMaker places great emphasis on the security of our clients designs and branding. Therefore we are grateful to the clients below who have graciously allowed us to disclose their projects on this web site.
| Services |
Example |
| Initial Sourcing Feasibility Study then Precision Assembly/Inspection and now Joint Venture |
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| Black Box Assembly and Inspection |
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| General Assembly and Inspection |
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| Initial Sourcing Feasibility Study and on-going Vendor Coordination |
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For a list of other projects completed by PassageMaker, visit here.
Medical Grade Electronics 
Services Provided: Sourcing Feasibility Study/ Assembly & Inspection/ Joint Venture
What's Special?
PassageMaker was commissioned by this client to find specialty suppliers of diagnostic devices used in emergency medical situations. A number of suppliers were identified and true pricing points exposed. However research indicated that the most suitable suppliers in China in terms of price and quality had already established partnership agreements with US and EU distributors in direct competition with client.
Realizing significant savings were to be gained by production in China, yet highly cognizant of the risk in doing business with suppliers who were on the road to becoming future competitors, the client turned to PassageMaker to set up a “virtual joint venture” at our assembly center. An agreed amount of floor space, staff (originally 5) and equipment was dedicated solely to the production of the client’s given product.
As quality product made in PassageMaker’s assembly center gained recognition in the marketplace, orders began to grow. In the course of a year, production staff requirements for this project expanded from 5 to 70. At this point it made sense for both parties to form a true equity joint venture and set up an independent production facility. PassageMaker serves as the client’s equity partner, leveraging its existing business infrastructure and proven China track record to facilitate the formation of, and oversee the operations of the factory in China.
Simply put, the client received the benefits of a well run China production facility without the headaches associated with running a factory in China!
Black Box Assembly and Inspection
- Sporting Goods
- Small Vehicles for Children
- Custom Furniture
- & dozens of other products
Due to sensitive nature of projects, images are not made available online.
What's Special?
From sporting goods to toys to furniture to car parts, the vast majority of our clients share a common concern. They are worried that their Intellectual Property could be knocked off in China, or that the supplier will not be able to achieve the desired level of quality. However, they are still attracted by the "China Price". The solution is a 3rd Party Assembly center. We call it our Black Box because multiple components or semi-finished products are delivered to our facility, where behind closed doors, final assembly and inspection takes place. In this fashion, sensitive information such as branding and proprietary designs are not exposed to sub suppliers.
Craft
Kits for Children
- Kite Kits
- Sandal Decorating Kits
- Sidewalk Chalk Art
- Flying Discs
- Various Material and Production Methods
- 18 Sub Suppliers
- Complex Assembly Requirements (multiple colors and sizes)
What's
Special?
In this case, PassageMaker serves as the the quality gate and primary assembly partner, performing
the following functions:
- Identify and manage 3rd party suppliers of specialized components at a national level
- Final assembly, inspection (In-bound QC, in-process QC and final QC) packaging and freight consolidation takes place our facility.
- Warehousing and stock reporting provided on a daily basis.
100% QC is performed on more than
100,000 units which move through our tightly controlled inventory and
QC system order cycle. QC issues are dealt with
before goods are shipped out of China, saving time and money. As the finished product is not revealed to the local vendors of the components, sub-suppliers are prevented from turning into future competitors. Shipping costs are reduced through freight consolidation.
Carburetors
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Client: US-Based Manufacturer of high-end automobile parts
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End
Users: US Auto manufactures and retailers such as Pep Boys,
NAPA & Advanced Auto Parts
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Value:
20 different models representing 1.2 million units with an estimated
value of $60 million USD to be purchased annually
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Background: Client required a supplier in China to provide
standard carburetors to supplement higher-end goods already in production
at client’s facility in USA. For these auto parts, preferential
price was essential while quality could not be compromised.
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What's Special?
In
just a 2 month period, while keeping client identity confidential,
PassageMaker sourcing engineers visited 25 potential suppliers across
China and narrowed the field down to the three top candidates based
on the client’s exact criteria for design, price, service, quality,
lead time and security. The interested parties were introduced
and PassageMaker provides support ranging from negotiation of contracts
to on-going purchase order management.
PassageMaker
was selected for the project as the client needed an unbiased review
of the actual sourcing situation from a trusted partner on the ground
in China. US-based researchers, Chinese factory representatives and
other intermediaries with hidden agendas and mark ups were ruled out.
PassageMaker received a fixed fee from client to conduct the sourcing feasibility study and engage the suppliers. This clearly aligned the two companies’
interests. All information gathered was provided to the client
in a transparent and easy to understand fashion.
Today the carburetors are delivered to PassageMaker's assembly center where they are inspected and made ready for export to the global market.
TeleTower
- Phone Mounting Device for Office Use
- ABS Plastic w/ Matte Finish
- Twin Cavity Injection Mold
- 180 Ton Injection Mold Machine
- Packaged in UV coated multi-color box
Inserts
Include:
Multi-lingual instructions, marketing material, chrome screws and rubber
grips.
What's Special?
Set up costs at a 1/4 of the
competitor's rate, and at a 1/3 of the lead-time. This allowed this product
to undergo 14 design upgrades between prototype and launch without compromising
delivery targets or bankrupting the entrepreneur/ designer. Such affordable
flexibility would not have been possible in North America. PassageMaker's
English-speaking support staff and sourcing engineers worked around the
clock to turn this customer's vision into blue prints and blue prints
into reality.
Hardware for Mirror and Picture Frames
Family of hardware for hanging
mirrors and frames consisting of:
- Steel stampings with zinc and/or chrome plating
- Die cast steel with nickel finish
- Injected plastics
- Screw machining
- Extruded aluminum
Inserts
include:
Multi-lingual instructions, screws and wall anchors. Packed both in
bulk for OEM use, or individually packaged for retail display using
color cards/ blister packs, plastic boxes, carded bags and bar codes.
What's
Special?
This hanging hardware family requires a wide variety of production methods. Quick tool and die changeovers coupled with PassageMaker's commitment to service, allow for production runs of any size to be priced competitively. Most production runs are in the 100-300,000-unit range and require as little as one month lead-time for production. PassageMaker's assembly center is the perfect location to kit the various components together and ensure the quality and packaging is to the exact specifications required by client. These products can be seen at Home Depot and Lowes.
Furniture
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Client: US Designer
and Distributor of high-end wooden furniture
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End Users: Retail
Outlets and Catalogues in North America
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Size: Multiple container
loads per month
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Background: Client required factory direct relationship with
medium-sized factory interested in given order size and willing
to offer custom finishing using proprietary client designs.
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What's Special?
The China furniture market is massive with radical variation in pricing and QC, further complicated by a web of middlemen providing little value. Before hiring PassageMaker, initial supplier assessment conducted by the client focused on a review of websites which proved not representative of actual production ability. Correspondence Dealing with trading companies proved frustrating as actual production capability was often exaggerated and factory direct channel was obstructed.
Realizing
that on-the-ground China research was essential, yet faced with budget
and time constraints, the client selected PassageMaker to weed out
middlemen and find a legitimate factory with the required production
ability.
Police
and Military Equipment
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Client: European Procurement
Agency
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End Users: European
Militaries and Police Forces (Mainly Germany and Belgium)
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Size: Custom orders
of a few hundred units to full container loads
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Background: Products
range from simple work style gloves to non-UV reflective camouflage.
All have very strict quality requirements.
What's Special?
Many of the products have “new-to-China” material specifications.
One item required a special coating for non-UV reflection (so as not to show up easily using night vision googles). As
no single supplier existed that was able to provide both the fabric
and coating, PassageMaker was assigned the task of coordinating the
entire production from raw material thru processing and final QC.
We are proud to be the first and only company in China to have successfully
exported this ultra-high end material.
Extruded
Aluminum
What's Special?
While Chinese extruded aluminum is readily available in the USA, it
is of mixed quality and enters the country via a convoluted network
of intermediaries complicating QC, lead times and pricing. Going
“factory direct” is crucial for not only cost saving but
for QC. As for higher end finishes, there can be sizable variance
in quality during the course of even a small batch run. This
means that a cursory inspection at the end of production is not sufficient.
And waiting until the product arrives in USA is futile considering
the cost of US labor to do 100% inspection, let alone send a container
back to China or wait for a replacement. Finding defects before shipping
has already saved clients millions of dollars.
PassageMaker QC engineers spend on average 2 days per shipments conducting
both in-process QC as well as a final audit at containerization.
Before any shipment is released, a full report including video images
is sent directly from the inspection site to the client for approval. Goods may also be delivered to PassageMaker's assembly center for close inspection before shipping out.
Classroom
Science Models
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Client: National Distributor of School Supplies
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End Users: US Elementary, Middle & High Schools
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Background: Previous supplier in Europe offered a
beautiful product along with high pricing, long lead times and overall
poor service.
What's Special?
PassageMaker was commissioned $2,000 to analyze the supply chain
potential in China in hopes of identifying a suitable supplier.
As a direct result of our research, cost of product delivered to client
was reduced by over $100 per unit, for a better product with shorter
lead times!
Due
to the remote location of supplier and lack of English skills, PassageMaker
performed all required QC and entire export processing on behalf of
American customer.
Fender
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Motorcycle Fender Extension
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Chrome Plated ABS Plastic
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Twin Cavity Injection Mold
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250 Ton Injection Mold Machine
Finished
Product Includes:
Custom made stainless steel mounting fasteners, and a double-walled
master carton with crush zones for extra shipping protection.
What's
Special?
Chrome plating plastic is not an easy task. High quality, professional mold design and press set up is essential as any material flow irregularities are clearly visible when the mirror finish is applied. Finish also requires special handling and custom packaging throughout production and shipping, as even the slightest blemish is considered unacceptable. Passagemaker was successful in finding and managing the best mold markers available in S. China to complete the core components, while final assembly, packaging and inspection took place at the PassageMaker assembly center.
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