The big trade shows of the year are in the planning stages and will be here this year before you know it. CES (Consumer Electronics Show), SEMA (Specialty Equipment Manufacturer Association), and PRI (Performance Racing Industry) are just a handful of the big trade shows held every year to display your next new product. The big question is, “Will you be ready with new products and a production plan to exceed your customer expectation?”
Starting a new product as a start-up entrepreneur can be confusing. A few months in you may feel overwhelmed with patent law on protecting your new product before it hits the market. How will you manufacture it? Who can finish the designs and make it easy to manufacture, cost effective enough to stay profitable, but yet exceed the end customer expectations? You need a turnkey manufacturer to lighten the load and deal with a lot of the issues of bringing a new product to market.
You may have some of the expertise to bring an idea to market. Can you design? Can you draw? Are you fluent in marketing? Where you don’t have the time or expertise is where you need to find a manufacturing partner that can complement your needs and help bring your idea to a successful launch and distribution. These are some of the things to look for in your next turnkey manufacturing partner:
Design & Tooling Capabilities
Your new idea may have started as just a thought, maybe a napkin sketch, or a solution to a problem you have with something you own. “There must be a better product to do what I need and be robust enough to handle the rigors I put things through,” you tell yourself. Your turnkey manufacturer should be able to work with your idea and create a digital 3-D model that recreates your vision. From that model, prototype tooling and permanent manufacturing tooling should also be a step along the journey. Your manufacturing partnering should have experienced and skilled engineers that can design parts, assemblies, and tooling ready to go from concept to a designed process.
Manufacturing Processes
When you have the designs ready and tools producing parts, the next big milestone will be a complete manufacturing process to turn base materials into consumer ready products. A turnkey manufacturing supplier should be able to design a process to manufacture your end product. That may include making or buying assembly fixtures, and any tooling or equipment to assist in assembly. Common assembly equipment that may be purchased includes ultrasonic welding horns, fastening equipment, tapping and drilling tools, and pad printing or hot stamping tables. Each step will be documented with working instructions and possibly a complete user manual for your customer.
Labeling & Packing the Final Product
When your new product is ready to hit the shelves, getting it to your customer is going to be a final hurdle to overcome. Packing your new product may require extra labeling to make it easy on a retailer or distributor to sell. Your partner should be able to handle that. Individual packaging in a box, multiples in a bag, or bulk packing should be an easy request. Your turnkey manufacturing supplier should be able to organize the design and any secondary processes needed to get your new product to the end-customer.
Logistics and Inventory Management to Your End-Customer
Creating the product is only half the battle. The next challenge will be to manufacture enough product to handle the demand and how to move it to a retail or distribution location for your consumer to buy. Your perfect turnkey manufacturer will have your packaged product in transport before you know it. Trucks, rail, ships, or air, they all require logistical coordination that only a leader can coordinate and provide with excellent service. Inventory management needs to be fluid, from raw materials to final product. Your turnkey manufacturer should be able to handle the details of bringing materials in, overseeing the manufacturing of the product to your specifications, and then the expeditious distribution to the consumer.
One-Stop Communication
With the right turnkey manufacturing partner, you won’t need to make multiple calls or send email after email to get up-to-date results. One call, that’s all. One contact that controls the flow of information. Your partner does all the legwork and updates you on the progress through the whole process. Materials in, production happening, products out, and customers happy. All from one source whenever you need them.
Profit & Loss with Billing and Invoice Management
The last major hurdle, and maybe the most frustrating part of the whole process, is managing the money. You can spend a lot of time billing customers or distributors for product sent, need to pay vendors for raw materials you’ve used, and also pay manufacturing staff if you choose to go it alone. Your turnkey manufacturing partner will manage all invoicing and payments through the complete process. You will have one source for invoices to pay, checks to cash, and know exactly where you are at tax time concerning profit and loss. It keeps you focused on the product, not who has paid and who hasn’t.
Today’s fast-paced global marketplace requires you to stay focused on moving forward, not buried in details of manufacturing capabilities or a new trade deal between countries. Doing everything yourself or managing every step of bringing a new product to market is too time consuming. SEA-LECT Plastics excels at design, tooling, manufacturing, and has the production capabilities to bring new products to market faster with controlled costs. We are the turnkey manufacturer you need to organize your next new product launch from concept to consumer. We have a complete turn-key option for your product. When you’re ready to discuss your current or next project, contact us at info@sealectplastics.com or give us a call at (425) 339-0288.
Matthias Poischbeg was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany. Matt moved to Everett, Wash., after finishing his bachelor’s degree in business in 1995 to work for Sea-Dog Corporation, a manufacturer, and distributor of marine and rigging hardware established in 1923.
In 1999, Matt took over the reins at Sea-Lect Plastics Corporation, a sister company of Sea-Dog and a manufacturer of plastic injection molded products with an in-house tool & die shop. Matthias Poischbeg is also a contributor to Grit Daily.