The manufacturing industry has had a gold rush in the prototyping department. Many companies today are either coming up or branching out to include prototyping in their range of services. This is actually a good thing for when looking for prototyping services for whatever stage of product development. However if you are simply a bright mind with a bright idea, this vast supply of companies at your disposal may be your undoing. You need to get a clue of what to get what to do and what to avoid in this industry.
When looking at the size of the companies, the terminologies used and their experience, searching for a company of your choice can prove to be a daunting task let alone quite tiresome. The important thing to remember is no matter how big the company is you are the boss in this situation. You want them to create your idea hence you call the shots. Do not let their size and proficiency intimidate you. So get your confidence levels up and define what you want.
Secondly, no matter how good they are at the job the constant variable is what services are important to you. If your priorities are not met then feel free to scout around. Finally, here are a few pointers to help you define what you want and know what your priorities should be. Start by asking these questions before you sign on the dotted line.
- Do you manufacture?
When looking for a company to create a prototype for you, you need to know whether this is a onetime project or you will go with them the whole way. This depends on whether they manufacture or not. Companies that manufactures will enable you to work with them from the conceptual designs all the way to large-scale manufacturing for production. However if you are still in the stages of looking for investors of financial support for you product one that does not is fine and will help you get the conceptual design for you to market your idea.
If looking for more detailed prototype to add to those you have created then you need a company that at least has knowledge of designing for manufacturability.
- What are your core competencies?
Different companies are equipped differently. This means that some are better than others are at specifics areas of prototyping. When researching on what company to use get a hold of their portfolio. Find out what they have done in previous projects. Which projects appeal to you and what do they have in common? It is important to find out their core competencies so that you ensure they are aligned to your priorities.
- How qualified is your team?
It is not wrong to ask this question. You need to know what skills are being brought to the table. Matters of how they recruit to their staff are important. Make sure you ask if you were to get on board what team they would assign to your project. Most companies are willing to highlight their talented staff to assure you they are the right people for the job so do not hesitate to ask. Be polite and professional about it and show them your prototype is worth the skill being brought on board.
- What prototyping services do you offer?
You must know that there are several types of prototyping from rapid prototyping to concept prototyping and so forth. Find out if they offer some one or all kinds of prototyping services. A company that offers more than one service is better suited as they will help you in all stages of product development and if any changes arise, you will not have the need to change companies.
- What can you tell me about your technology?
Technology in manufacturing is very important. The level of technology used determines the speed and the accuracy of production.
Most important when getting a company is one that understands your idea. The team assigned to your project will add ideas and flesh to your design giving you a wholesome experience and simply not the production of the prototype.
Jay is a passionate blogger and a full time lecturer in the fields of entrepreneurship studies and career development. He lectures and gives trainings in various industries. Having worked with various prototyping manufacturers, he loves to blog about prototypes too.