Should you buy in or manufacture materials?

At HJS Accountants we can provide businesses in the Southampton area with assistance and advice on a wide range of business issues. The following checklist might help when deciding whether to buy in materials or manufacture them yourself...

Sometimes, manufacturers have difficulty in deciding whether to manufacture materials for a finished product in-house or to buy them in from outside.

Although the principal consideration is financial, there are also other factors that need to be weighed.

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The following checklist will help you focus on the most important factors:

  YES NO
Does demand for the finished product seem relatively buoyant for the foreseeable future?    
Does demand for the finished product tend to fluctuate?    
Do you have unused plant and labour that could be utilised to manufacture the materials?    
Could you achieve greater economies of scale by manufacturing in-house than you could by buying in?    
Would manufacturing in-house give you greater control over such things as the quality of the materials and delivery time?    
Could you manufacture in-house without having to recruit extra labour?    

Every 'Yes' answer is a case for manufacturing in-house.

If you are in the Southampton area and are looking for support and help from experienced accountants and business advisers, contact HJS Accountants.

Southampton Office

HJS Accountants
Tagus House
9 Ocean Way
Southampton
Hampshire
SO14 3TJ

Tel: 023 8023 4222

Winchester Office

HJS Accountants
6 Charlecote Mews
Staple Gardens
Winchester
SO23 8SR

Tel: 01962 842000

Reading Office

HJS Reading
3 Richfield Place
Richfield Avenue
Reading, Berkshire
RG1 8EQ

Tel: 0118 951 1115