You Approach A Manufacturer With Your Product Idea

While searching for manufacturers for prototyping a product, I decided to go far ahead than the usual modes of search. It is while searching for manufacturers that I came across this fantastic video The process of Prototype Manufacturing Explained by Highway 1 and I was thrilled to find out more about approaching the manufacturers. I was lucky enough, to find more manufacturers in the trade shows. 

With a plethora of options available today, I can easily go ahead and explain my ideas to the manufacturer. I sensed the right thing in choosing a few manufacturers and narrated the proposal to all of them and allowed each one of them to know that I have also contacted the other professionals. I was quite sure that I would not be able to impress them with the investment. So I tried to tell them my business and marketing plan to enhance the chances of success.

Defining the Prototype:

After choosing the manufacturers, I went on to tell them the kind of prototype I needed. Quickly, I came to know that the objective of Prototype Manufacturing can be to assess the manufacturing process and to sell from the perspective of the clients. Later I also realized that manufacturing is not always about spending a large amount of money, but it is also related to simple ideas. As a beginner, I decided to go for the simple ideas of prototype manufacturing. I also stayed away from purchasing the expensive hardware as technological advancement can turn a big piece of equipment into a scrap in one day.

Price of the material:

I was confused whether it would be fine to work with cardboard or metal as it was necessary to calculate the bill of the materials. As the factory partner was not ready to share the cost of the materials, I decided to carry out the due diligence to find out whether the idea is worthy enough of an investment. For me, it was more important to know the factory partner as intimately as possible, especially because I was a starter in this field. With little imagination and work with the manufacturer, I was quick enough to find out how low-volume production can facilitate goods in large quantities.

Manufacturing Small Amounts:

Initially, the best idea for me was to manufacture small amounts of prototypes as it helped me to acquire and satisfy the customers properly. After all, I was not interested to end with an inventory that would be hard for me to move. It was nice to know from the manufacturer that most of the beginners change the product and the packaging on the way so I had to be careful not to throw the units midway.

Final Step:

I also tried to create a company along with the product. However, I had to also keep in mind that other costs may crop up in this process and it may be difficult to turn down those expenses. I also calculated the cost of packaging and shipping to avoid making the losses.