For many years, small to large Original Equipment Manufacturers used in-house design and development teams as well as in-house manufacturing and product. In today’s highly competitive and rapidly evolving manufacturing industries, this is no longer the most cost-effective option.
Outsourced industrial product design, as well as outsourcing manufacturing to specialized service providers, is now considered to be the most effective option in a vast majority of markets. It is virtually a necessity for the small to mid-sized companies were trying to maintain trained and experienced staff, address technology and even provide production facilities and equipment is simply impossible.
One of the steps in bringing a new product to market that is often still done in-house is the actual industrial product design. By taking a closer look at the benefits of outsourcing this task, many OEMs find they can save time and move their concept through to prototyping and development much quicker.
Set Budget and Timeline
When contracting with a service for the industrial product design phase of the project, it is possible to have a set budget and a timeline for delivery of a design that meets all regulations and production requirements.
This is very difficult to do with an in-house team, particularly if they are not familiar with current regulations and requirements in the industry as well as the latest in production options.
Fewer Demands on Internal Resources
By outsourcing the design process, the internal team is freed up to work with other suppliers, to research material options and to plan and coordinate any trials or tests that will be required. This frees up the internal resources to prepare to move into production once approval of the design and prototype is granted.
Hiring Expertise
Specialized types of companies that offer design services have more expertise and experience that in-house engineers and designers. This allows your in-house team to work with the outsourced design team without the need to bring in additional experts at a cost to the project. With the addition of the expertise of these service providers, there is less time spent on modifying designs to accommodate manufacturing processes or in meeting standards.
