From Idea to Volume Production in 8 Steps

1. Involve industry partners at an early stage
   Involve your manufacturing partner as early as possible in the design and process development processes. They can help define critical technical requirements for plastics, injection molding, assembly processes, packaging, logistics, and more. Neglecting these considerations early can lead to significant delays and increased costs.

2. Create a mirror organization
   Create parallel roles to coordinate tasks between your team and your manufacturing partner. Each should designate a contact person to manage disciplines including product design, quality planning, purchasing, sales, marketing, project management, finance/controlling, supply chain management, and production planning and control.

3. Communication is key
   Regular communication between a start-up and its manufacturing partner is crucial for project success. Define and agree on project goals, milestones, timelines, budgets, and terminology early on and review them frequently.

4. Establish key processes
   Processes are usually already established for purchasing and finance, yet production processes from supplier management and measuring methods to conveyor technologies need to be defined. Decisions could also include considerations of outsourcing specific production processes.

5. Don’t neglect packaging and logistics
   Decide on packaging and transportation details early in the product design phase to prevent unexpected cost increases. Consider factors such as country-specific requirements, hygiene factors, client requirements, maximum allowable weights and also planned shipping methods and lanes.

6. Determine the level of automation
   Consider which production processes should be automated by analyzing anticipated volumes, investment costs, and the required flexibility of production systems. Manual processes are typically used for low startup volumes, with step-wise increases in automation as demand grows.

7. Consider production methods
   Flexible production processes help efficiently adapt to volume fluctuations. Robust production and logistics strategies, proactive personnel deployment, material procurement planning, and inventory control strategies facilitate quick scaling up or down during expected and unexpected changes in demand.

8. Risk management
   Detailed risk analysis and risk management should begin at the project’s start. Risks should be continuously reviewed, and risk analysis should be integrated as a permanent, recurring process. Risks to be considered should include assessing and mitigating economic losses, delays, technical issues, resource shortages, quality problems, and even reputation damage.

RKT is experienced in guiding up-and-coming companies in process development and the seamless transition of product ideas into successful full-scale production.