What happens if your supplier keeps manufacturing products with various defects, even though you have a quality standard that outlines your expectations? This tends to happen for the same reasons, so here are 6 tips to help you avoid … [Read more...]
ISTA Testing: Do It And Stop Worrying About Product Damage In Transit
After investing such a lot of time and money into designing, developing, and finally mass-producing their new products, importers don't want their packaging to be the weak link; and that's where ISTA testing comes in. Imagine that a … [Read more...]
How USA & Canada SME Importers Feel about China in early 2023
I recently got back from a trip in the Southwest and Northeast of the USA (for about 3 weeks), and in East Canada (for about 2 weeks). I haven't met a lot of clients for years (or ever) due to difficult traveling, so it was … [Read more...]
Patents For Hardware Products: When Do You Need Them?
Inventors, hardware startups, and other businesses with a new hardware product concept that they are aiming to bring to market are usually worried about protecting their product IP. One common question is about the need for patents for … [Read more...]
Sourcing New Suppliers: 4 Key Risks You Need To Eliminate
Sourcing new suppliers in Asia to outsource your product development and/or manufacturing to is a very common activity for many businesses. But for buyers who are new to sourcing from Asia, the process can be worrying. Are you able to … [Read more...]
Answer these 11 Questions before you work with a Contract Manufacturer in China
This post is for buyers who are sourcing a contract manufacturer in China for electronics, mechanical products, and other types of hard goods. In order to find a suitable CM who is a good fit and can be relied on, you need answers to these … [Read more...]
Why Following A Comprehensive NPI Process Pays Dividends And How Involved Buyers Need To Be
New product introduction is a complex process to master, and SMEs and hardware startups we often work with find it very challenging and seek our help to devise and manage the different steps in order to get into mass production on time, on … [Read more...]
7 Key Product Tests You Need To Use
Using the 80/20 rule, senior engineer Paul Adams uses his own decades of experience to explore the 7 product tests (for hard goods, mainly) that have stood the test of time for him throughout his career because these few tests tend to … [Read more...]
UL Certification: Does Our Product Need It?
Sofeast's head of New Product Development and resident product reliability expert, Andrew Amirnovin, provides this introduction to UL certification. You'll learn what this testing is for, the kinds of products involved, who requires it, and … [Read more...]
A Logical Development Roadmap for New Hardware Products
I enjoyed reading the book Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making and I started suggesting it to some of our clients. The most interesting takeaway is the development roadmap that the author suggests is typical for … [Read more...]