Contec Helps Beckman Coulter Save $1 Million on Medical Diagnostic Instruments
- Customer
- Beckman Coulter, Inc.
- Industry
- Medical & Healthcare
- Goals
- Cost savings, Space saving
By consolidating 18 instrument configurations into 9 and sourcing lower-cost, more reliable components, Contec helped Beckman Coulter save more than one million dollars across its diagnostic instrument lines.
Overview
Beckman Coulter, Inc. (BCI) joined a company-wide effort to reduce the cost of its diagnostic instruments, built in 18 product lines at three U.S. locations. Its goals were fewer components per device, lower component prices and a smaller chassis. Long-time supplier Contec suggested going further by cutting the number of configurations across the product lines, since fewer configurations make changes and revalidation far less expensive.
Solution
Contec worked with BCI engineers to define a smaller set of configurations, weighing design, cost, risk, lifecycle management and compatibility. For the motherboard, Contec proposed a newer board that still used the Intel 915 chipset of BCI’s current platforms, lowering design risk during a major product update. “The tradeoff with this approach was a slightly shorter lifecycle,” said Dan Butler, Contec Vice President of Engineering, but it led to a smooth revalidation.
Contec also identified lower-cost components that met or exceeded performance standards and confirmed every component met compatibility requirements. The original 18 configurations were reduced to 9, most sharing the same core platform.
Results
BCI saved more than one million dollars by eliminating many components and buying others at lower prices. Many new components are more reliable, which should reduce field service charges, and fewer standardized configurations lower engineering change and validation costs. “Contec came through with a design that met all our requirements,” said Jose Valdesuso, BCI Strategic Procurement Manager.
Contec also conserved BCI’s engineering resources: it developed initial software images, joined validation test protocols, troubleshot anomalies and coordinated fixes with hardware and software makers. The smaller chassis reduces warehouse space and freight costs and fits more easily into space-constrained customer laboratories.
Originally published by Contec Co., Ltd. at contec.com.