Your prototype works perfectly.
The product functions as expected, early tests look promising, and the team feels confident about the design.
So you decide to move quickly toward production. To save time, you order a large batch of components early and begin preparing for manufacturing.
Then the first production build starts.
Suddenly, problems appear. Parts are out of tolerance. Components do not fit together consistently. Performance varies from unit to unit.
The result? Thousands of components may have to be scrapped, the product design may need to change, and the launch could be delayed by months.
This kind of situation happens more often than many teams expect. And in many cases, the root cause is the same: skipping proper part qualification during the New Product Introduction (NPI) process.
Listen to us discuss why this step matters and why skipping it can be so costly in this podcast episode.
Listen to the audio here or on Apple Podcasts · Spotify · Amazon Podcasts · Deezer · iHeartRADIO · TuneIn.
Episode Sections:
- 00:00 – Prototype Success but Production Failure Scenario
- 00:55 – Why Companies Order Components Early
- 02:07 – What Part Qualification Means in the NPI Process
- 07:58 – Why Companies Skip Part Qualification
- 15:13 – The Hidden Costs of Skipping Qualification
- 17:19 – Why the “Lucky Path” Is Rare in Hardware Development
- 21:10 – Discovering Design Problems During Pilot Production
- 24:05 – The Real Financial Impact of Skipping Validation
- 26:00 – Engineering Builds, Pilot Runs, and Production Validation
- 28:18 – Final Warning: Skipping NPI Steps Delays Launch
Further Reading about Part Qualification in NPI
- NPI Process (New Product Introduction)
- The NPI Process: Trouble Awaits If You Skip Its Steps!
- Prototyping Process To Test & Refine a New Product Design
- Part Qualification in NPI: Why Skipping It Creates Expensive Risk
- The New Product Introduction Process Guide
- Design Review Iterations
- The Root Cause Analysis — an Art Seldom Practiced in China…
