Got an idea for a product? Once designs are complete, you’ll need to decide how to manufacture your product. Here are a few smart tips on how to handle the manufacturing process.
Fine-tune your prototype
Before you can start mass-producing your product, you need to have a final working prototype in place. Make sure that you’ve run tests and that you’ve ironed out any faults.
You don’t want to start the manufacturing process only to realize faults at a later date – by then you’ll have already produced hundreds (or possibly even thousands) of copies and you’ll have a hard time fixing them all. Some key features that you should consider include:
- Function
- Aesthetics
- Ergonomics
- Durability
- Cost-effectiveness
- Sustainability
- Health and safety
Understand the demand
It’s important that you have a clear understanding of your product’s demand so that you know exactly how many products to manufacture. If your product is fairly niche, you may not have to manufacture many copies.
In this case, you may not need to rely on complex industrial machinery and may be able to build each copy manually. However, if your product has a broad appeal and you already have a lot of interest, you may need to manufacture lots of copies, which could require having more elaborate machinery.
Take advantage of outsourcing
While you can handle manufacturing yourself in your own workshop, many people may find it easier to outsource a manufacturing company to handle the process. It could save you having to buy equipment, plus you’ll save yourself time allowing you to focus on other elements of your business.
You may want to outsource several manufacturers as there could be some companies that specialize in particular parts such as custom printed labels or plastic casing. These specialist companies could provide better quality parts than were you to rely wholly on a general manufacturing company.
Research manufacturing companies thoroughly
It’s important that you choose a manufacturing company with a good reputation. In most cases, a poor reputation signifies poor quality work, which will reflect badly on your business. You can research companies’ reputations by reading reviews, reading testimonials and checking social media pages.
On top of researching into manufacturing companies’ reputation, you should also research the costs, the types of products each manufacturer commonly produces and the sustainability of each manufacturer.