So you have a product idea and you’re looking to find a manufacturer to get it up and running for you. Embarking on that journey as a new business owner to find the perfect manufacturer for your product ID and your business is going to be the biggest thing that you do to bring your vision to life.
This is a contributed post. Please refer to my disclosure for more information.
Whether you are seasoned in business or you’re a budding inventor, you need to have an ideal manufacturing partner to be able to propel your project to complete success. Whether you use companies such as Avocet Battery Materials (ABM) for batteries or cellular materials, or you are using larger businesses for plywood and logging, you need to think about what you are requiring from a manufacturer before you go ahead and choose. There are some steps that you can put into place to find the right manufacturer, and those steps are listed for you below.
Build a list
You need to know which manufacturers work for your particular product. If you’re building cell phones, you need to find the manufacturer who understands how to make batteries. If you’re building a specific type of wooden desk, then you need to find a manufacturer who is knowledgeable about which logs to use and which are the most sustainable options when it comes to creating those desks. You need to have a list of potential manufacturers, and you need to do this with thorough research and use as many online resources as possible to find it. Additionally, you can also talk to people in your network so that you can gather as many recommendations and insights from the correct industry professionals as possible.
List Your Product Requirements
Have a definite list of your product requirements. You need to clarify the specifications of your product, which include dimensions, materials and the product quantities. When you have detailed briefs or reference materials, you can ensure that you have alignment with your expectations with the manufacturers that you are looking at. The more detail and information that you have about your products, the better. You want this manufacturing process to be as efficient as possible, and this is how you do that.
Think about the manufacturer’s capabilities
You have to evaluate each manufacturer based on their capacity to determine their suitability for your project and their capabilities too. Ask them about their production processes, their experience and most of all what their quality control measures are. Are they able to do a low volume production run so that you can test out the product quality before committing? Do you have to invest a lot of money in tooling and set up before you go to production? You have to be able to weigh these risks carefully. For complicated products, you need to have a partner with existing relationships that can get you up and running as fast as possible.
Don’t be afraid to shop around and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Manufacturing is not an industry in which you need to skip out on.
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