Flux Continues Amazonification of Harness Manufacturing
By Joe Tito
About a year ago, I profiled Flux Connectivity and got a lot of comments about their unique manufacturing model and innovative views. Interested in their progress to date, I’ve kept in touch with the team and have learned about some exciting milestones that warrant follow-up, which include the appointment of their Chief Innovation Officer, Jonathan Regidor. I decided to catch up with both Jonathan and Adam Amos, CEO, to see what kind of traction they’ve gained and see how their unique format is working with the pandemic state and decline in markets.
As mentioned in their profile, to really understand this team and their vision, you need to unpack your conventional thinking of how a typical contract manufacturer works. For starters, Flux believes in a scalable, low-cost operating model, where any cost that doesn’t benefit the customer is removed from the business. This doesn’t mean cutting profits though. “Our ability to reduce costs for customers while achieving higher than industry average margins has been the biggest sign that our model works”, says Adam. In fact, Flux is able to consistently deliver EBITDA performance of 16.5%, double the industry standard due to this low over-head model. “Everyone that can, works from home. If anyone wants to meet face-to-face, they do so freely at one of our collaborative office spaces” says Adam. “In order to maximize our efficiency, we need to ensure that manufacturing takes place in every single inch of our facilities. Even inventory is staged at the lowest cost part of the value chain so it doesn’t take up any space”.
Since our profile, Flux has quadrupled its size, expanded into verticals such as marine and automotive, and strengthened its executive leadership with the addition of a Chief Innovation Officer. “Innovation needs to be a culture, not a process”, says Jonathan, “Our mission is to become the most innovative and customer centric contract manufacturer. We can’t just say we are the best though; we need to back that up with an unparalleled ability to execute.” A key to this execution has been Flux’s On-Time Delivery Guarantee™. “There is no better way to prove how confident you are in your operational excellence than to pay customers when you’re late, that is the premise behind our guarantee” says Jonathan.
One thing that has been evident in my many conversations with these guys is their unparalleled energy and laser focus. Adam and Jonathan are relentless in their mission. “While everyone sleeps, we strategize and execute” says Adam, “If we work not only smarter, but harder, we know we will get ahead”. When asked how the pandemic has impacted their business “We are laser focused on ensuring the safety of our people and continuity for our customers. It is becoming apparent though, that our model is built to withstand the most challenging of times, even ones we did not foresee”.
Jonathan ended off with the following quote:
“We are passionate about business; this just happens to be the industry that we are experienced in and have come to love. I want to be part of something big, and I want to enable other people to deploy their creativity faster. Since our industry is one that has not changed in over 50 years, I sometimes wonder if such advancements are warranted or even necessary. I then quickly realize that we are undergoing the Amazonification of nearly every other industry on earth. My personal satisfaction stems from knowing that we are breaking the mold and challenging the status quo. We will continue to execute day in and day out to scale and convince people of our vision. Given that our global addressable market is $150B, we have a lot of work ahead of us. I encourage other business leaders to be bold, we can’t do this alone.”
