Custom/Contract Manufacturing

A Contract Manufacturing Organization (CMO), sometimes called a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), is an organization that serves the pharmaceutical industry and provides clients with comprehensive services from drug development through manufacture.

Custom manufacturing is the process of making products or product lines based on each customer's unique set of specifications. Each product or line may vary by material, design, finish, or a host of other options. Custom manufacturing is the antithesis of traditional mass production, in which all goods were identical and produced in large quantities. This type of production allows manufacturers to create any type of product, with exact design criteria determined by the buyer.

Custom manufacturing is often categorized as a branch of lean manufacturing. Under a lean production system, factories devote resources solely to tasks related to producing a product. The goal is to minimize waste and equipment, and to turn inventory over as quickly as possible. To accomplish these goals, lean manufacturing relies largely on customer orders rather than traditional sales forecasting. Custom manufacturing can also be considered just-in-time manufacturing, where goods are produced just in time to meet required ship dates.

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