“Begin with the end! Start with a clear understanding of your destination - know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.”
1. Start with a workshop - together with suppliers
and other partners - to define the funtional-
& manufacturing specifications, that assesses
constraints such as:
- Technical constraints (physical size, power
consumption etc.)
- Manufacturing constraints
- Unit cost constraints (how much is the
market willing to pay for the products?)
- Supply chain constraints (availability,
capabilities, shipping and customs costs)
- Financial constraints (NRE costs - some
solutions may require higher tooling costs for
the unit cost to be lower). With limited funds
it's important to focus on lowe NRE and
shorter lead times
- Time constraints (market launch window,
access to key persons)
- Legal constraints (certificates, patents, IP
rights, ISO and other standards)
- Market (uncertainty) constraints & challenges
(e.g. distribution model)
- Sustainability, RoHS/REACH, conflict minerals,
code-of-conduct
2. Design and build Proof-of-Concept (PoC)
3. Evaluate and adjust plans, based on PoC result
4. Start designing PCB and mechanics - interact
and engage with all relevant suppliers!
5. Build prototypes and evaluate
(with the chosen EMS partner!)
6. Make estimate on unit- and NRE costs
1. Follow-up and KPI analysis
2. Reclaim and defect handling
3. Continuous improvements - use DFx tools
(Design-for-Manufacturing/-Supply Chain/-Test/
-Logistics)
4. "Future proofing" and monitoring (LTB and
obsolence, new technologies)
1. Define all major functionalities
2. Define a maximum sales price (including
costs for manufacturing, distribution and
other intermediaries)
3. Prioritize functionalities (divide into: Must/
Should/Nice-to-have)
4. Assess internal limitations (financial funds,
in-house capabilities & knwo-how)
5. Assess external limitations (competition,
legislation, physical location etc.)
6. Find and evaluate partners, suppliers and
other contributors
7. Decide your key partners to help with
development & production (both components
and assembly)
8. Set a budget and a time plan (with
milestones)
1. Decide on what part of the production
to outsource (part or complete build?)
2. Decide on geographical production
location - may affect design!
3. Optimization (over time) of unit cost
(component chioces and production
processes). Set a strategy and time plan!
4. Set up a test (and programming) strategy
5. Define cosmetic guide lines (affects price!)
6. Define product packaging and bulk
packaging
7. Set up a logistics strategy and solution
(inlc. distributor interaction).
8. Set up in-house expertise to handle suppliers
(components and EMS)
9. Manufacture pre-series (NPI - a process for
securing serial production)
10. Ramp-up serial production
1. Strategy & planning of future products
(or evolution of existing)
2. Custom product design solution or modular
(platform) design?
3. Guidelines for development (re-use of
components, solutions and suppliers)
4. End-of-life strategy (how to discontinue a
product from the market)
