We have seen this situation a number of times: An American or European company designs a new product They find a manufacturing partner that has some general experience in their industry (but has never made that precise product since it is totally new) Since the buyer needs flexibility and service, and can't afford high prices, they tend to work with a small or medium-sized factory (fewer than 500 employees, and often fewer than 200) All the development (NPI) work gets done, but … [Read more...]