I have written a number of posts over the past couple of years about supply chain risk management. This one is a short addition to the series. As I wrote before, volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (collectively called VUCA) are making supply chain managers' jobs much more difficult than in the previous 30 years. The latest hair-raising events are the sudden lockdowns of certain cities and provinces of China, forcing tens of thousands of factories to stop all activity … [Read more...]
Why Skipping NPI Phases Is A Big Mistake [Podcast]
In this episode… The New Product Introduction process is absolutely central to what we do and provides a solid framework for bringing a product to market 'the right way' from concept to mass production. However, SMEs and entrepreneurs sometimes don't realise the importance of the NPI phases and their Chinese manufacturers would prefer to rush into mass production (so they can ship and get paid) rather than following an NPI process or by skipping some of its key phases. This is a … [Read more...]
4 Situations When Your Product IP May Be Threatened [Podcast]
![4 Situations When Your Product IP May Be Threatened [Podcast]](https://qualityinspection.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/4SituationsWhenYourProductIPMayBeThreatenedPodcast-1140x445.jpeg)
In this episode… "Who's looking at my product idea in order to copy it and sell it in competition with my original?" This is a question that keeps hardware startups and entrepreneurs awake at night, as they know their innovative product idea is going to be jealously viewed by copycats from all kinds of places. Actually, these copycats usually come from both within and outside of your supply chain, and they can copy you either early on in the new product launch process or after your … [Read more...]
New Product Launch: Taking Shortcuts vs. Preventing Risks
You are developing a new product. There is currently nothing like your product on the market. You have high confidence that it will be successful (otherwise, why are you working on this project?). You need to make a choice. Do you want to do things fast? That's tempting, because who knows what the market will look like in 12 months. Or do you want to do things right? That means investing money and time in de-risking your project. Let's look at what these 2 approaches mean, in … [Read more...]
Deliverables Buyers Should Get When Developing A New Product [Podcast]
![Deliverables Buyers Should Get When Developing A New Product [Podcast]](https://qualityinspection.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DeliverablesBuyersShouldGetWhenDevelopingANewProductPodcast-1140x445.jpeg)
In this episode... When you develop a new product what deliverables should you be getting during the new product development process in order to assure that your product will make it mass production with the minimum of risks and at the required quality and safety standards? Renaud Anjoran explains the various deliverables, such as your BOM, control plan, validation testing, and more, that you can expect to gain that represent milestones during the NPD process. Just hit the play … [Read more...]
Product Safety When Buying from China: Avoid Negligence
Dan Harris wrote an article about product safety (How to Reduce Your Foreign Manufactured Product Liability Risks) that will, hopefully, open the eyes of many people to the risks they are exposed to. I thought it particularly interesting because he went through typical questions asked of importers that resold unsafe products: To convince recalcitrant clients of the need for product liability protection for the products they are having made overseas, I sometimes send them the following … [Read more...]
How To Choose The Right Packaging To Protect Your Products? [Podcast]
In This Episode… We take a close look at why packaging plays a key role in protecting your products during transit. Packaging materials, supply chain risks, and packaging reliability testing are all scrutinized to give you a good introduction to this topic and help you choose the right packaging for your needs. You'll see why considering packaging and developing the right inner and outer packaging for your needs should be done during the product development process and should neither be … [Read more...]
Supply Chain Risk Management: No, Toyota Doesn’t Always Do Just-In-Time
I ran into a very interesting article from Bloomberg entitled How Toyota Steered Clear of the Chip Shortage Mess. Nearly all automakers announced that they would have to cut their production numbers due to a serious shortage of semiconductors. This was made even worse by a recent fire in a Japanese manufacturing plant. One might think Toyota would be seriously impacted by the general market situation and by one of their suppliers being temporarily unable to produce. Apparently, Toyota … [Read more...]
Have You Revised your Supply Chain Risk Analysis?
Last year, I wrote about the Business Continuity Plan (BCP). More and more companies request their suppliers to prepare a BCP, as a structured approach to performing a supply chain risk analysis to get prepared for the risks they are exposed to. If you haven’t revised your BCP in 2020 and 2021, you have probably been caught off guard by recent events. But the question everyone is wondering is, ‘can we even forecast what is going to happen?’ … [Read more...]
How To Perform In-Depth Due Diligence On Your Supplier [Podcast]
Do your new or current suppliers pose a risk to your business? Sometimes the only way to find out if a supplier poses a risk is to perform some deep due diligence on them in order to assess their business health and if they're able to be a stable, reliable supplier for the long-term. Especially in these times where we're dealing with a pandemic, getting a realistic picture of how suppliers are doing is hard without the ability to be on the ground in China. But there are actions you can … [Read more...]