How to Reduce your PCBA Costs? Four overlooked cost-saving tips

If you’ve ever stared at your PCBA (Printed Circuit Board Assembly) costs and wondered, 'Why won’t these costs go down?' — you’re not alone.

Many engineers and product developers face the same frustrating challenge, often overlooking simple yet effective tips that could save both time and money.

❤ Tip 1: Alternative Parts Service

——————————————————————————————

When John, a hardware lead at a US startup, discovered his BOM cost jump 18% due to a shortage of a premium brand microcontroller, he thought he had two bad options: wait 8 weeks for stock (and miss his product launch) or pay 30% more for parallel imports.

That’s when Elecrow’s Alternative Parts Service turned things around. Elecrow’s team cross-references his BOM with their database of reliable, cost-effective alternatives. They will consider factors such as performance, size, and availability to ensure that John does not sacrifice product functionality while reducing costs.

The result? By using Elecrow’s Alternative Parts Service, he identified a pin-to-pin compatible alternative that was 30% cheaper and readily available. This simple swap saved hundreds of dollars per batch.

——————————————————————————————

Practical Tips: Re-examining the choice of components may reveal unexpected savings.

❤ Tip 2: BOM Optimization

Your BOM (Bill of Materials) is the backbone of your PCBA costs. BOM optimization is about trimming the fat without cutting corners. It’s about asking: Do we need this component? Can we use a more common part? Are we overspecifying?

——————————————————————————————

Meet Mike, an electrical engineer at a small industrial IoT company: “We added parts as we designed, and no one ever cleaned it up,” he admits. “Our PCBAs were costing $45 per unit, and we couldn’t figure out why.”

The Elecrow team carefully examined Mike’s bill of materials and discovered:

1. They were using 4 different capacitor models (10uF, 0603 package) from 3 suppliers—all with the same specs. The Elecrow team consolidated them into 1 common capacitor, cutting purchasing time and getting a volume discount.

2. A 25V capacitor was used for a 12V circuit. The Elecrow team replaced it with a 16V version that cost 40% less.

After optimization, Mike’s BOM shrank to 32 components, and his PCBA cost dropped to $32 per unit—a 29% savings.

——————————————————————————————

Elecrow’s BOM optimization service is tailored to your project. We don’t just remove parts—we work with your team to understand your design goals, then optimize every line item for cost, availability, and manufacturability. The result? A leaner BOM, lower costs, and fewer supply chain headaches.

❤ Tip 3: Consolidate Purchasing

Small batches can get bulk discounts. If you’re a startup or SME, you probably order components in small batches—so you think bulk discounts are out of reach. But here’s the loophole: consolidate your purchases—both across your internal projects and with other small teams. This is where Elecrow's advantage lies in its volume component sourcing services for both internal and external projects.

——————————————————————————————

Meet Lisa, operations manager at a consumer electronics startup: Lisa’s team had 3 ongoing projects, each needing 2,000 of the same MCU. They were ordering 2,000 per project, paying $12 per unit (no discount). Meanwhile, she knew 2 other local startups that needed the same MCU—each ordering 1,500 units. 

Elecrow helped Lisa consolidate all 3 orders: her 6,000 units + the other startups’ 3,000 units = 9,000 units total. That hit the supplier’s 5,000-unit tier, dropping the price to $9.80 per unit. Lisa saved 18% on the MCU alone, and the other startups got the same discount—everyone won. 

——————————————————————————————

Elecrow’s bulk purchasing service works in two ways: We consolidate your internal projects’ component orders to hit higher volume tiers, and we connect you with our network of numerous makers and SMEs to pool orders for common components.

❤ Tip 4: Process Simplification

Complexity = Hidden Costs. Overengineered processes are one of the biggest hidden PCBA cost drivers. Think: unnecessary hand soldering, complex board shapes, non-standard layer counts, or overkill testing. Each of these adds time, labor, and waste—all of which eat into your budget. Process simplification is about making your PCBA easier to manufacture—without sacrificing quality.

——————————————————————————————

Meet James, James’s original design had two through-hole (THT) headers on the bottom of the board, while everything else was Surface Mount (SMT) on the top. And this "mixed-technology" design forced the board to go through two different assembly lines—an SMT reflow oven and then a manual soldering station or wave soldering.

Because in the world of electronic manufacturing, every time a human has to touch the board or it has to enter a second machine, the price jumps. By switching those headers to SMT versions or moving them to the top side, Elecrow team simplified the process to a "single-pass" SMT run. Result? James reduced PCBA costs by 30% and doubled production speed.

——————————————————————————————

❤ Start Saving Today – Without the Guesswork

Ready to see how much you can save? You don’t have to be a cost-reduction expert. Sometimes, you just need a partner who knows where to look.

At Elecrow, we don't just assemble boards; we help you find the "hidden" savings you might have missed.

Our alternative parts service, BOM optimization, bulk purchasing, and process simplification are designed for makers, startups, and SMEs who need to save money without sacrificing quality.

[Get an Instant PCBA Quote from Elecrow!]