4 Factors To Consider When Choosing an Overseas Product Development and Manufacturing Partner
Finding the right partner for overseas manufacturing can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. The process has the potential to be time-consuming, complicated, expensive, and exhausting.
But finding a manufacturing partner with the right mix of experience, capabilities, and reputation is critical to your success. That’s why it’s important to choose the right partner the first time around.
Consider the following factors as you look for an overseas manufacturing partner for your next project to support your business.
1. Choose an Overseas Manufacturing Partner With the Right Experience and Capabilities
Properly manufacturing your product requires an understanding of the design, materials, and budget needed to produce it.
Your manufacturing partner should have the knowledge and experience needed to address these elements with a solid, methodical process and the ability to find the right factory partner. In fact, it is their process and their ability to find the right factory partners that are the most important factors in making your product a success.
The ideal partner should display an understanding of your business and the demands of your customers. They should also be able to answer your questions and help you determine the best path to market for your product. An ideal manufacturing partner has an understanding of not only what is needed to make your product but also what your customers need and expect.
Additionally, your manufacturing partner should have the capability to successfully build, test, and deliver your product. This should all be done with full transparency to you.
Every product needs a different set of services. The partner you choose should be able to meet your product’s unique needs. What assets, skill sets, equipment, quality control processes, and certifications do they have? Are their processes efficient and well laid out? Do they have the necessary open capacity, room for growth, and space to handle your workload?
2. The Right Partner Should Manage Your Operations From Concept to Delivery
The manufacturing partner you choose must be able to manage your operations from end to end. They should be capable of handling every detail, including:
Timeline development and management
Costing validation and negotiation
Feet on the ground in the country of production
Packaging and engineering
Retail strategy and growth resources
Factory optimization
Supply chain efficiency
Quality control and compliance for every PO
If a manufacturing partner you’re considering doesn’t offer these services, you should question whether you’ll get what you need from working with them. The more your partner handles for you, the more efficient the process and the easier it will be for you.
3. A Good Partner Ensures Quality and Compliance
It’s crucial to find an outsourcing partner who can meet your (and your customers’) expectations for quality. A great product without great quality will not succeed. Strong attention to detail and expectations is critical and should be an ongoing part of the process.
Ideally, you want a partner who provides quality control and compliance for every PO.
Their testing capabilities should include:
Mechanical and physical properties
Chemical substance evaluation
Packaging evaluation
Environment evaluation
Battery properties evaluation
Electronics properties evaluation
Textiles
Carton testing
Your manufacturing partner should also ensure program quality and compliance with client requirements. They should offer:
Factory pre-screening
Continual auditing to ensure expectations are maintained
Pre-testing prior to accredited lab testing
Final testing at certified lab when required
Completing AQL final random inspections before every order shipment
Identifying factories that are compliant with your customers’ needs
Assessing and working closely with factories to ensure retailer audit requirements are met
Early on in your search, don’t forget to ask about a potential partner’s process for ensuring compliance with your expectations of quality.
4. Trust and Clear Communication Are Non-Negotiables
Having a partner you trust is critical for any endeavor. But this is especially true when outsourcing your manufacturing to an overseas partner.
Your manufacturing partner must be your eyes and ears on the ground in the country of production, and their alliance must be to you—not the factory—with full transparency. This is especially important when you are not able to visit the factory due to COVID-19 restrictions. They should ensure you are aware of and considering any threats like fraud and intellectual property theft and implementing solid legal protections such as patents and trademarks.
You want to work with a company that has a good reputation in your industry. When you interview potential partners, ask about their process and walk through examples of how they manage concept through delivery. Understand what resources they have and what resources they need to gain from the outside. Ask them about their experience with different types of products and materials.
But remember, a good management system can be overlayed on most manufacturing processes.
Additionally, you need a partner who is committed to clear communication. They should make sure you know what to expect and stay in contact with you throughout the manufacturing process. They should keep you up to date on all aspects of your project, including any problems or delays.
Ultimately, for overseas manufacturing to be successful, you need more than a manufacturer with the right tools…you need a partner you can trust.
Flywheel Sourcing Is Your Trusted Overseas Manufacturing Partner
At Flywheel Sourcing, we strive to be part of our clients’ DNA, building frictionless programs that include everything from product development to program management to quality assurance.
As former retail buyers with years of experience spanning a wide variety of categories, we know how to build a program that meets your customers’ requirements and brings your product concepts from idea to reality. We can also help you identify future growth opportunities as well as the resources to execute them.
Our ultimate goal in working with you is to make you smile and say, “That was easy!” We pride ourselves on clear and concise communication, helping to eliminate costly issues that are a result of key information getting “lost in translation.”
Headquartered in Minneapolis with partnerships across Asia, our team has the knowledge, experience, and resources you need in an overseas manufacturing partner.
Contact us to explore supporting your product development and moving your manufacturing overseas, and start putting your plans in motion today.