In today’s fast moving and highly competitive environments, time-to-market demands are shrinking even as the need to continually deliver new product designs is escalating. This makes it particularly difficult for design and production organizations to keep up with the changing demands while also keeping costs in line.
Many companies are finding creative ways to leverage outside partners who can provide complete design-to-production support for targeted subassemblies and modules. An important consideration is using a partner that can take your requirements from initial concept all the way into production and/or has the flexibility to provide any of the design, prototyping and assembly steps along the way.
Whether your industry focus is medical devices, aerospace, communications, industrial systems or consumer products, it is critical to team with a partner that can understand and meet industry-specific standards and quality requirements.
Choosing the right partner with both the qualifications to deliver and the commitment to your success is the key element for achieving the desired results. Your outsourcing partner also needs to have the experience and flexibility for “fitting into your team” and meshing with your internal staff to assure everything stays on track with your overall production goals.
Your outsourced partner should be able to come in at any point in the design-to-production process where you need help and be able to quickly deliver tailored results that mesh with your overall production environment.
While today’s markets are inherently global, efficient production can often benefit from taking a “local” approach to partnering. With the goal of having your outsourcing partner be an integral part of your team, it can be very helpful to have close geographic proximity between your internal team and the partner’s designers and production facility.
To learn more about some of the specific partner characteristics and best practices that for successful results, download the Tech Bulletin on Outsourcing Design-to-Production.
