Hiring a contractor to manufacture your product can seem like a daunting task. We’ve outlined a few things to keep in mind to help make sure your contractor is the best one for you.
What do I want?
I want a high quality, low cost solution. I want the product to be fully tested. I want the products built at the volume I can sell. I want factories that can ship to my customers directly. I want factories to answer my calls and emails when I need them to. I want to know my product’s status. I want factories to have engineers that can resolve product issues when they occur… Too much to ask? Perhaps. However, this is what it takes to make a business work.
Write all your wishes down, and make sure to get a solid answer from your potential manufacturer. Always ask for directly related facts that support each one of their answers. In addition, sourcing is also a process of discovery, making it important that a manufacturer is adaptable. As business moves forward, engineering designs can change, specifications change, volume changes, material changes… It can be difficult to predict at the beginning what will happen in the end. A good consulting partner will help to prepare and ease a lot of these unforeseen issues, and have solutions for when they occur.
Where do I source?
It starts with narrowing down who can make my product. Then, it narrows to whoever can make the product at my target price. After that, it is further narrowed down to whoever can meet my delivery schedule. Finally, it is narrowed down to manufacturers that can meet my quality standards and payment terms.
As easy as it sounds, web sites can give you a plethora of factory info. However, it is important to screen them one by one to determine the best candidate to build the product. Many factories overestimate their knowledge and capabilities. Although there are several well known OEM factories, they often only take large jobs from preferred clients.
How do I find the best fit manufacturer for my product?
The “best fit manufacturer” may not necessarily be the “best”, or the largest manufacture in the business arena. In the world of contract manufacturing, every business is tailored to a certain type of manufacturing. Every business is limited by their equipment setup, engineering capability, quality, capacity, business focus, overhead cost, and financial status. Every client is also different in their own business setup, product volume, technological requirements, material requirements, logistical requirements, cost requirements, engineering requirements, and quality requirements. Some clients also have clear ISO, UL requirements.
The best fit manufacturer would match the client in a sustainable manner. Changes in either party’s setup could lead to a potential breakdown of relations. Considering the complexity of the manufacturing process and supply chain, the manufacturing process of a product requires a group of suppliers which forms a contract manufacturing network. This network can be seen as a temporary ecosystem.
Lastly, one should never forget that a great manufacturer should have a great passion in doing your business, and have a historical reputation on fulfilling his jobs, even after running into difficulties. How can this be done? Get referrals about who you are doing business with.
How do I transport my products?
After the manufacturing process is complete, each shipment of products need to got through loops of government controls, such as tax, duties, import/export, warehousing, and shipment across the continents. It has to exit one country, go through international territory, and then enter the destination country. The supply chain management includes these routine works. In order to minimize the cost of operation, the supply chain has to be designed to operate in the most effective way possible.
Since each ops will charge their list price if not planned properly, the best way to handle this would be door to door services with a total cost. This will save a vast amount money.
