How UTVATE simplified inventory management to 2x their efficiency with Cofactr

"At our current stage, visibility and control of our inventory is vital. Being able to purchase and manage our supply chain within Cofactr's unified platform has been a significant benefit for our team."
— Amin Reda, RF Team Lead at UTVATE

About

UTVATE builds user terminals that communicate with satellites to offer uninterrupted internet connectivity for remote locations and vehicles. While low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites have seen manufacturing innovation, the hardware used to communicate with them has lagged behind. By developing the next generation of user terminals, UTVATE is working to bring internet access anywhere.

Challenge

UTVATE needed better inventory control to prevent project delays

As a lean hardware-focused startup, UTVATE's team faced limits to what they could manage on their own. 

Their user terminal devices required complex circuitry and sensitive parts — so sensitive that UTVATE needed to hold them in controlled storage facilities. While an outsourced approach made storage easier, it came at the cost of faster parts management. Without up-to-date inventory data, UTVATE's engineers didn't know when parts would arrive. This led to delays throughout design and development that slowed down their production. 

These inefficiencies were further compounded when logistical errors were made. Given their sensitive nature, UTVATE's parts needed to be placed in specific packaging known as reeling. However, in some cases, shipments arrived from contract manufacturers without the reeling needed to create the final products. 

With a growing demand for their connectivity solution, UTVATE sought a more efficient way to acquire and manage their parts. That led their team to partner with Cofactr.

"Since we worked with different contract manufacturers who stored inventory for us, we didn't have consistent access to their inventory management systems. Not having the visibility that we wanted into our own inventory made logistics more challenging."

Solution

Cofactr's centralized dashboard makes inventory management easier for UTVATE

With enhanced control over their inventory from Cofactr, UTVATE can double down on innovation while avoiding tedious, busy work.

Cofactr's suite of tools allowed UTVATE to simplify their inventory management for the entire team. With a centralized dashboard for parts data, UTVATE gained much-needed control over their inventory. Engineers don't have to wonder when their parts are going to arrive; instead, all the parts and shipping information is available on Cofactr's platform.

UTVATE now has access to a far broader scope of information. Cofactr's Parts Data Intelligence keeps inventory data accessible for easy, automated material orders. This visibility helps UTVATE proactively spot bottlenecks in their supply chain and anticipate issues before they escalate. The end result is smoother production with fewer delays and errors to navigate.

Cutting out potential delays from the manufacturing process with Cofactr makes UTVATE's engineers more efficient. Rather than find the right vendor to put parts into reels, Cofactr facilitates the process so UTVATE's team can keep kitting and shipping quick and straightforward.

"Cofactr saves us time by being straightforward to use. They keep all the relevant logistical information to automate our BOMs, create a kit, and ship it to an assembly shop with ease."

Results

UTVATE saves 100+ hours each month with Cofactr

Partnering with Cofactr transformed UTVATE's supply chain processes, leading to more efficient product development and fueling growth. UTVATE's simpler approach to managing parts inventory sets their team up to be faster at every step — from creating a BOM in Cofactr to shipping kits to an assembly line.

Here's a snapshot of the results so far:

• 100+ hours saved per month
• 20% faster PCB build completion
• 2x increased efficiency in inventory management

"Before Cofactr, if we're working at night and had inventory concerns, we were stuck waiting for updates. Now, we have complete control over our inventory at every step, which saves valuable time over managing it all manually."