Case Study

Angeles

Five years ago, when European manufacturing prices increased 40% because of the weakened dollar, Angeles had to find a way to lower its manufacturing costs or risk losing 20-year triple-digit revenue gains, as well as market share. At the same time, the company was having a difficult time finding a U.S. manufacturer who could make its rest cot (used by napping children in pre-schools and kindergartens) the way Angeles wanted it made. That’s when Angeles found ITI, and ITI found factories in China that could produce the company’s products, including thousands of rest cots each month, at a low cost and superb quality. The company currently outsources 50% of its manufacturing to China with plans to increase to 75% in the next 12 months.

Resident Ray Kelly believes Angeles’ relationship with ITI was integral to the company’s survival. In the United States, a small business manufacturer is at the mercy of its suppliers with regards to both cost and service, and when supplies are tight, the small customer is the first to go on allocation or be cut off completely. Also, when doing business with other countries, the company is often without restitution if there’s a problem with the finished product. Because of ITI’s expertise in Chinese culture and business practices, Kelly says his company enjoys the same clout that a large company enjoys in negotiating prices, maintaining priority and correcting defective products.

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