Ventilators have become one of the most sought-after medical devices during the COVID-19 pandemic and supply remains limited as a result. One of Molex’s customers, a North American medical device company known for its innovative ventilators, is helping reduce this shortage by ramping up production of their portable device and relying on the strength of supplier relationships to meet an overnight backlog equal to more than 25 times their current monthly production.

In more severe COVID-19 cases, patients may require ventilators to breathe, but other devices, such as nebulizers, are often needed, as well. Our customer’s design integrates several respiratory therapies into a portable device, perfect for pop-up hospitals, rural areas, or home therapy scenarios. The size of this device, slightly thicker than a briefcase, also caters to permanent healthcare facilities who need to reduce the use of critical space and eliminate strain on staff. With both of these needs being more important than ever, these unique devices will help ease the management of COVID-19, meaning device availability is crucial.

Molex’s Reputation for Quality Offers Confidence

Molex was engaged to supply the medical grade cable assemblies needed to make the ventilators work as designed. Our ability to scale production, thanks to our agile supply chain and the close collaboration we maintain between Molex’s global facilities and partners, allows us to address their needs for these assemblies.

Communication is always important but becomes crucial as we shift our normal processes to look at lead times in terms of hours and days rather than weeks and months. Building components around the world means we have multiple sourcing options to help eliminate delays, and close collaboration is required to keep up with demand. Our customer knew that, by leveraging Molex’s sophisticated supply chain, we could be the partner they needed in this trying time.

In addition to Molex’s reputation for making reliable cable assemblies at scale, recommendations from team members who had worked with Molex in the past at prior companies helped our new customer feel confident in our abilities. Now, Molex’s sales engineers are focused on delivering to meet their urgent needs and on building lasting relationships with this customer.

Looking Ahead

Together with our new customer and the other suppliers and partners they have engaged, we know we’re ready to face the growing demand as the world works to flatten the curve.

Learn more about what we’re doing to overcome COVID-19.