 Success Stories
Case Study #1: Nu-kote International Engages Innotex Global Services for
Offshoring Manufacturing and Designing Expertise
The problem:
Nu-kote International, the leading U.S. manufacturer of replacement and remanufactured
ribbons and cartridges for ink, laser and fax machines began feeling pressure from its retail and mass
merchant clients as well as office product dealers to offer high quality products, but at even lower costs to
remain competitive in the marketplace.
Although a declining product line as a whole, Nu-kote International's impact ribbon
business continued to grow as a result of other manufacturers leaving the industry. However the high cost of
manufacturing in the U.S. clearly threatened the success of offering well over 200 different ribbon part
numbers. Nu-kote’s operation managers had already successfully transferred ribbon manufacturing
facilities from the U.S. to Mexico, however, the savings these changes provided were not as significant as
originally planned and price compression was driven down further from their customers. Language barriers and
technology implementation were concerns that Nu-kote International’s operations team were dealing with
in Mexico and impacted greatly the potential success of competing in the ribbon industry.
The solution:
Nu-kote International chose Innotex Global Services as its partner in manufacturing in
part because they were able to optimize part materials used in the manufacturing process in addition to cost
saving measures involved in labor. Innotex's design engineers developed more durable parts at a fraction of
the cost being manufacturing out of the U.S. and in Mexico. Due to the [project management system implemented
at Innotex Global Services, Nu-kote International operation managers had the ability to constantly communicate
on project progress and production lead times without concerns of dealing with members thousands of miles
away. Within six months of initiating the ribbon manufacturing project, Nu-kote International went from having
the ability to provide 500,000 ribbons to over 1,500,000 ribbons monthly to fulfill customer's growing needs.
The benefit:
Innotex offered quick turn-around times, lean manufacturing, and overall cost reduction in the entire manufacturing process for Nu-kote International.
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