4 Horsemen of wire harness manufacturing

Growing demands for automotive electrical and electronic (E/E) features drive increased complexity in the wiring harnesses that carry power and data signals to components around the vehicle. As a result, the wire harness manufacturing industry is expected to see significant growth, expanding into a 91 billion dollar industry in 2025. However, wire harness manufacturers often operate on small profit margins where unexpected costs can quickly prove disastrous. It is therefore critical for harness manufacturers to minimize costs during harness production and delivery. In this paper, we examine the four main sources of unexpected costs during wire harness manufacturing and shipping and discuss how modern digital solutions can help control these costs.

Managing unexpected costs of wire harness manufacturing

The Four Horsemen of wire harness manufacturing present a continual challenge for today’s harness suppliers. Unexpected costs related to the Four Horsemen can quickly derail a harness manufacturer’s fiscal year. Managing these costs is critical to harness manufacturers that operate in a highly competitive and low-margin business. Fortunately, modern wire harness engineering and manufacturing software offer capabilities and tools to help harness suppliers attack the Four Horsemen at their roots. This paper covers mitigating these unexpected costs like:

• Harness rework
• Obsolescence
• Premium freight
• Manufacturing inefficiency