Fictiv launches new transparency features for Digital Manufacturing Ecosystem

Manufacturing service provider Fictiv has today unveiled new features in its Digital Manufacturing Ecosystem (DME) which will unlock new levels of visibility, traceability, speed and quality for its customers. The new features, which will apply to the production of mechanical parts for prototyping or end-use applications, will improve the transparency of Fictiv’s manufacturing process, especially in regards to onshore and overseas manufacturing.

“Historically, companies were working in the dark, relying on phone calls late at night, file transfers, emails and time-consuming site inspections, when it came to overseas manufacturing – a risky, expensive process that often resulted in delays and quality issues,” explained Fictiv CEO Dave Evans. “Fictiv’s groundbreaking new radical transparency initiative is better because our quality engineers and customers can inspect a part all along the way. These features introduce a disruptive set of visibility controls and prompts that peel back the covers and make it possible for engineers and supply chain managers to clearly see, communicate, and track progress with manufacturing work and come away with complete confidence in quality outcomes, delivery times and costs.”

Among the new features added to Fictiv’s digital manufacturing ecosystem are on-demand production status, virtual inspection photos, centralized access to quality documentation, order configuration details, historical DFM feedback, reorders and shipment tracking. The updated offering is available as of today.

• On-Demand Production Status: up-to-date production status of all the parts within every order, immediately and online;
• Virtual Inspection Photos: inspection photos from the manufacturing partner facilities, before the parts are delivered;
• Centralized Access to Quality Documentation: material certifications, certificates of conformance, and inspection documentation all available in one place;
• Order Configuration Details: centralized access to 2D and 3D design files, thread specifications, material and process configurations and invoices for all Fictiv orders;
• Historical DFM: access to previous manufacturability feedback for all ordered parts to inform future design cycles;
• Reorders: streamlined quoting process to reorder parts and lock in previous pricing;
• Shipment Tracking: aggregate tracking links from third-party providers to keep all shipments in one secure place.

This new effort aims to boost confidence in manufacturers on the part of customers. Gregg Miner, a product development specialist that has worked with companies like Facebook, Apple and Oculus, elaborates on the impact of Fictiv’s updated platform:

“Quality control for overseas manufacturing is an expansive, herculean effort, requiring multiple week-long trips every year pre-pandemic for an entire team, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars in hard expenditures and lost opportunity costs,” Miner said. “Now, there isn’t even an option for travel, forcing companies to accept whatever product shows up at their door. Fictiv is breaking new ground with its initiative – no one has ever attempted this level of robust transparency at this scale before. I am excited to see this become the gold standard industry-wide as it will completely transform the way we conduct business.” 

The new features will also have a positive impact on small businesses that utilize Fictiv’s AM service offering, especially in helping them to organize the production of hundreds of parts. “These new features on Fictiv’s platform are incredibly useful,” commented Antonio Ruiz, Supervisor, Strategic Sourcing at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab. “Having 24/7 visibility and access to the real-time schedule of things is a game-changer.”

Ibrahim Toukan, Head of Supply Chain at Level 5, Lyft’s autonomous vehicle unit, reinforced the sentiment, saying: “Fictiv’s new streamlined end-to-end process is exciting, capturing the entire value chain from design upload through DFM with real-time pricing. Impressive stuff.”