Capital Light Assembly with Edison

Choosing between in-house production or working with a contract manufacturing partner can be a difficult decision. This episode helps to dissect the pros and cons of each option, while also providing a third alternative. Benefits of in-house - Proximity between design and production - Opportunity to be scrappy - Theoretical potential to capture greater gross margin - Confidentiality is simpler - G...

The conversation discusses the effective, efficient, and reliable introduction and launch of a new product in a new market, focusing on five key tips. These tips include starting small, leveraging manufacturing best practices, determining what is 'good enough' for the new market, using the right suppliers, and maintaining tight communication and collaboration between product development, b...

When launching a new product or version, it's important to balance speed, cost, and quality. Start with a strong and flexible foundation, understanding the unique requirements of your product. Turn the dials appropriately by finding the right balance between formal processes and speed. Be efficient with capital by starting with manual processes and introducing automation when necessary. Don&#3...

This video is part of a series focused on 7 Tips to Reliably Scale Autonomous Vehicle Production. The seventh tip is to understand that reliable production is critical for business success. The following questions are addressed in this video: Why is manufacturing so important for an AV company? What role does production play? Why is trust so important in a relationship with a manufacturing partner...

This video is part of a series focused on 7 Tips to Reliably Scale Autonomous Vehicle Production. The sixth tip is to choose the right things to optimize. The following questions are addressed in this video: What variables should be optimized during prototype builds? What should be optimized for low volume production? Why is supplier delivery and quality so important? Key themes include: Cost Manu...

This video is part of a series focused on 7 Tips to Reliably Scale Autonomous Vehicle Production. The fifth tip is to build and execute within a robust supply chain. The following questions are addressed in this video: What is the biggest risk posed to AV manufacturing operations? Why is supplier selection and supplier quality so important? What elements are most critical when establishing a suppl...

This video is part of a series focused on 7 Tips to Reliably Scale Autonomous Vehicle Production. The fourth tip is to optimize for human-centric production processes. The following questions are addressed in this video: Why will AV upfits and retrofits be a manual-heavy process? How should automation be applied for AV assembly? What are the most important considerations for controlling quality fo...

This video is part of a series focused on 7 Tips to Reliably Scale Autonomous Vehicle Production. The third tip is to plan for traceability in manufacturing processes. The following questions are addressed in this video: How can AV companies assure quality throughout production How does the APQP process apply to AV assembly? What role does traceability play for AV production? How should product ge...

This video is part of a series focused on 7 Tips to Reliably Scale Autonomous Vehicle Production. The second tip is to optimize your manufacturing strategy for flexibility. The following questions are addressed in this video: How can volatility be overcome in the autonomous vehicle market? How can manufacturing systems be designed for flexibility? Why is capital efficiency so important? How should...

This video is part of a series focused on 7 Tips to Reliably Scale Autonomous Vehicle Production. The first tip is to Begin the Production Planning Process Early. The following questions are addressed in this video: - When should production planning begin? - What should be considered during early production planning? - What aspects should an initial manufacturing strategy include? - How does the A...

Autonomous vehicles are generally software forward products that rely on a physical hardware product to bring their software to the world. As such, effective manufacturing and production is critical for an company looking to scale in the autonomous vehicle space. This series aims to answer some of the following questions: How can autonomous vehicles be built at-scale? How can AV companies bring th...

Brandon Bartneck is Vice President & General Manager of Edison. Solo episode this week, in which Brandon talks about the five most important factors that enable a manufacturing entity to be truly product-centric and customer-centric while executing low volume production in the electrification and autonomy spaces. About Edison: Edison Manufacturing and Engineering is your low volume contract ma...

Frank Webb is Director of Engineering at Edison, leading both engineering and program management functions. Frank joins this discussion to explore the strategic approaches to minimize costs during low volume, complex assembly activities. About Edison: Edison Manufacturing and Engineering is your low volume contract manufacturing partner for capital light assembly of complex mobility and energy pro...

Chris Timmons is vice president of engineering at Group14 Technologies, the world's leading commercial manufacturer and supplier of advanced silicon battery technology. Chris joins to explore Group14's approach to manufacturing, and how they've approached their product and business to assure that they can scale effectively and efficiently. Company Description: Founded to enable the com...

Michael Robinet is Executive Director of Consulting for S&P Global. Michael joined the Capital Light Assembly Podcast to explore the impact of the technology shifts in the automotive space, and the decisions legacy suppliers must make as they seek to build and sustain a viable business About Michael: Michael Robinet is the Executive Director of Consulting for S&P Global, serving as a value...

Burak Cendek, partner at Autotech Ventures, joins this episode to discuss innovations in supply chain, logistics, and automation technology for manufacturing. About Autotech Ventures: Autotech Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm with more than $500M under management to date and a mission to solve the world’s ground transport challenges with technology, realizing the next frontier in mo...

Tracey Fletcher is Chief People Officer for Wallbank Industrial, which includes Edison as well as Edison's sister company, PJ Wallbank Springs. The discussion this week focuses on how to operationalize core values. Essentially, how to transform core values from an academic exercise into something that makes a meaningful impact on our people, our customers, and our business. About Edison: Ediso...

Nic England leads Supply Chain and Operations at Edison. The discussion this week focuses on the importance of effective warehouse management and materials storage to assure that production builds can be executed on-time and with a high degree of reliability. About Edison: Edison Manufacturing and Engineering is your low volume contract manufacturing partner for capital light assembly of complex m...

Brandon Bartneck is Vice President & General Manager of Edison. The episode this week focuses on the importance of crafting a production solution for the specific situation at hand. There are no "one size fits all" solutions when executing low volume, complex assemblies. About Edison: Edison Manufacturing and Engineering is your low volume contract manufacturing partner for capital l...

Gabriel is the Director of Innovation for Elemental Excelerator, a Hawaii-based climatetech accelerator founded in 2009. He leads the mobility and energy portfolio and is responsible for pipeline development, cohort management, policy guidance and support, and partnership development. Gabriel joins this episode to explore topics including: How start-ups should think about manufacturing strategy Wh...

Chris Wallbank is CEO of Edison, as well as our sister company, PJ Wallbank Springs. Chris joins to discuss the genesis of Edison, our sister company, PJ Wallbank Springs, and the importance of impact for both organizations. About Edison: Edison Manufacturing and Engineering is your low volume contract manufacturing partner for capital light assembly of complex mobility and energy products that do...

Frank Webb is Director of Engineering at Edison, leading both engineering and program management functions. Frank joins this discussion to explore the challenges associated with meeting critical delivery timelines in a fluid build environment, who holds ultimate responsibility for delivery, and best practices for assuring that a program can follow the defined delivery schedule. About Edison: Ediso...

Erik Gildemeister is Director of Finance for Wallbank Industrial, which includes Edison as well as our sister company, PJ Wallbank Springs. This episode talks about the financial impacts of a capital light approach to production, incorporating Erik's experience as a controller at a global automotive Tier 1 supplier, as well as what he has learned as Edison has provided value for our customers. Abo...

Alex Mitchell is a Senior Advisor at LACI (Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator). In this episode, Alex talks about the historical use of contract manufacturing in the automotive space, how that is changing, and where he sees the greatest opportunities for contract manufacturing to provide value moving forward. Before his current role, as SVP Alex led all of LACI's founder-facing work, including startu...

Brandon Bartneck is Vice President and General Manager of Edison. This solo episode talks about the "why" behind Edison's approach to manufacturing, highlighting the importance of flexibility, quality, and capital preservation while ramping up from proof of concepts and engineering builds into low volume production. About Edison: Edison Manufacturing and Engineering is your low volume contract man...