Case Study RICADO

Their Needs

The acquisition of Loncel Technologies meant RICADO was now responsible for the manufacturing of high-spec radio controllers for fixed grid irrigation systems. This was new to them and Scott says this brought RICADO a fresh set of challenges they needed to navigate, including:

• A new product which was different from their existing products
• The need for in-house manufacturing expertise - they had no previous manufacturing expertise
• Space or plant to scale production - they didn’t have an existing facility, or the space to build one
• Procurement capability
• Confidence navigating the complexities of supply chain, testing, and fulfilment
  

ASL were already making sub components for the PCB board, so RICADO asked if they could extend this to include full manufacture, and more…

They also asked the ASL team if they could procure and assemble, essentially providing an end-to end service, so RICADO didn’t have to.

Scott says the “business case was very strong, it made significantly more sense” for them to partner with ASL than try to do it in-house, or use another contract manufacturer.

He says:

“They [ASL] have a next level plant - which we could never have.

Plus they store, fulfill and ship - at a fraction of the time and cost of what it would cost us to do in-house,”

What We Did

Scott says ASL became more than a contract manufacturer — they are a real fulfilment partner - with the emphasis on “partner,” Scott adds, including:

• Full-service manufacturing: ASL took on procurement, board assembly, testing, boxing, and dispatch — handling over 10,000 units in the past year
• Storage and fulfilment: Orders are prepared, boxed, tested, serialised, and couriered directly from ASL’s site, streamlining logistics and cutting turnaround times for their clients
• Forecasting collaboration: Monthly meetings help both teams manage production planning and respond to demand surges
• Issue resolution: When testing equipment broke, ASL worked closely with the team at RICADO to get production back on track fast, with clear comms

Scalable support: RICADO need flexibility across their product lines and ASL accommodates both high-volume runs and low-volume specialist work, as needed.

Results

Scott says the transition into manufacturing was “a brave and scary new world” — but ASL’s attitude of “let’s figure this out together” made it easier.

Specifically, he says the business case still “stacks-up” financially for them.

Scott also points to the following specific benefits:

• Sticking to our lanes - enables each business to stick to their own strengths. The RICADO team can focus on the software space that they excel at, and ASL deliver in the hardware space
• Lower cost and faster delivery than in-house manufacturing
• No need for internal production hires or plant investment significantly saving money for RICADO
• Confidence in delivery — Scott says the strong partnership and how we’ve worked together means “I don’t have sleepless nights”
• Multi-level relationship — ASL and RICADO have multiple touchpoints across both teams, from engineering to fulfilment. Scott says this makes communication stronger. Saying ASL is a ‘contract manufacturer’ doesn’t reflect the human side of the relationship, says Scott. The ASL team are both “professional and human” and really care about us fulfilling our orders

"ASL is definitely an ‘A’ level partner — good for business, and a joy to work with. They care about our success, not just the purchase order. That’s what a true partnership looks like," Scott Whitwell, CEO, RICADO

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