11–20 of 22 posts
Part III: http://designtheatre.net/2010/05/01/going-it-alone-part-iii-...
The author was also on a panel at TC Dirupt NY called 'getting it built' - which you can find here:
http://disrupt.techcrunch.com/2010-nyc/agenda/#built
Liam Casey was also on that panel - he is a good guy and a great contact to have in Shenzen (if any HN'ers are looking to build hardware - email him)
Any fellow hackers here that import goods from China? If so, care to share your experiences?
I work as a product designer in the UK. Recently for our smaller clients we are finding the the most cost effective way to have plastic parts made (financial, time and environmental impact) is to have the injection moulding tools made and tested in china but then ship the tools to the UK and mould over here. That way we save on shipping costs for the final product and by working with a manufacturing partner who have…
What you say echoes my understanding of creating a product 'in China'. Often there are loads of steps where it makes sense to use local talent instead.
This means a lot of the rhetoric of 'jobs going overseas' can be empty.
I think in future that local firms will have a chinese manufacturing partner and list this fact to clients as a 'we save you money this way'. Local expertise with approved baseline manufacturing cost.
Any fellow hackers here that import goods from China? If so, care to share your experiences?
I'm actually in China right now, on a due diligence trip to check out factories. I'm normally based on the West Coast of the US. Visit manufacturers in the US (or other developed countries) to study how they do it. Then, go to China and evaluate the factories yourself. You have to see the factory. If you don't, many times you won't discover that the "manufacturer" you're working with is nothing more than a trading co…
And working conditions, please. People everywhere deserve to be reasonably paid and have safe working conditions.
I work as a product designer in the UK. Recently for our smaller clients we are finding the the most cost effective way to have plastic parts made (financial, time and environmental impact) is to have the injection moulding tools made and tested in china but then ship the tools to the UK and mould over here. That way we save on shipping costs for the final product and by working with a manufacturing partner who have…
I personally think that make the mold is the most important part, so if anything that is the part I would not want to give up control on.
I work as a product designer in the UK. Recently for our smaller clients we are finding the the most cost effective way to have plastic parts made (financial, time and environmental impact) is to have the injection moulding tools made and tested in china but then ship the tools to the UK and mould over here. That way we save on shipping costs for the final product and by working with a manufacturing partner who have…
But shipping long distances by container via sea or rail is not that bad for the enviroment, it is the last bit of travel by truck that really is the killer. I'm not sure there is a huge difference. I personally think that make the mold is the most important part, so if anything that is the part I would not want to give up control on.
We tent to work with local injection moulding firms that have all the facilities on-site to make modifications to the tools and would check the designs of the tools by the Chinese before they start cutting metal.
There obviously is a risk in going to china that you will have to go out there to solve a problem but we are much happier with that being during the six weeks that they are making the tool and not the 5 years that it is being used.
Any fellow hackers here that import goods from China? If so, care to share your experiences?
Yes, I import a component for a device I sell. It's still stealth mode so I cannot even lever a plug for it here, BUT I'll share my importing experience 1. Sourcing: Alibaba.com is best, Global Sources is a near shadow copy but also good 2. Money transfer: For small amounts I'd recommend Western Union. 3. Chosing a supplier. ====================== Ooh this step is tough. I liked this article because Adam has pounded…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOB_(shipping)
Free on Board means the goods are counted as delivered when they pass the rail of the ship that is going to carry them
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I run operations for an East Coast based consumer products company. The company is small, but we ship many many units per year. We source parts from China in the millions annually. This includes custom and off the shelf components. Typically we buy electronics, custom PCB, and custom plastic assemblies. That is the bread and butter, with other components as needed. Ask away for the next 20 minutes. It is 2:40am here,…
I have a nagging idea for a product - basically a better mousetrap. Actually it's a better light-switch which sounds just as trite. It's not a world changing idea, but it seems like one of those inevitable products that's enable by mashing up existing technology. What would you recommend someone do with specific consumer product idea like this? Prototype and show around to brand name manufacturers? 3d model and sales…
The market you are trying to enter will be next to impossible to penetrate without contacts. A big distributor of light switches won't buy from you because 1) they don't want to pay anyone but themselves, 2) will only do business with big companies, 3) and so on. The same goes for the light switch manufacturers.
The only way they will buy from you is if you can show them a completed product that looks exactly like it will on the shelf, in the exact packaging that they will sell it at. Even with all that, chances are less than slim.
Friends often ask me ways to get into home automation, which is a similar field to what you want to do. My suggestions is always this: Get in with a local builder. Supply your switches to him to put into his new homes. Develop relationships with growing amounts of builders, hit the shows, etc. Once you start affecting the market with your sales, then the big companies will talk to you. Until then, status quo is serving them pretty well.
Regarding provisional patents, I am not an attorney, so you will need to talk with someone knowledgeable in the legal field for that one. Be conscious of first sale doctrine and other things that will invalidate later patent claims.
What my company does is make our products into reality. We see a market, target it with a new product, and then shop it to the large manufacturers and distributors. They put their name on it and everyone gets money.
The reason why we don't do it ourselves is that we make more money working with them. The people we sell to own shelf space and end caps at Walmart, Target, etc. We aren't getting in those stores without our partners. Other partners have distribution arrangements to specialty store markets. Others are large purchasers of TV ads. We work with all these people to get our products to market.
There isn't secret sauce in our products. We make new stuff, cheaper and faster than others, and that is why our products get on the shelf. But without our distribution partner relationships gained from many years in the industry, we would have no path to market and would not make that many sales.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a nagging idea for a product - basically a better mousetrap. Actually it's a better light-switch which sounds just as trite. It's not a world changing idea, but it seems like one of those inevitable products that's enable by mashing up existing technology. What would you recommend someone do with specific consumer product idea like this? Prototype and show around to brand name manufacturers? 3d model and sales…
Patent in China, as China only cares about Chinese IP registrations. Same with trademarks. At least, that's what China Law Blog says.
That being said, we are starting to file for China patents now that they are actually enforcing rights. Before it wouldn't have mattered, so we didn't waste time and money.
Oh wow. Just remembered a story. Last year we sent a plastic part out for quote in China. The price to make it came back less than the spot prices on the resin needed to make the part. Of course that means they were going to knockoff the product and sell it elsewhere, and they didn't even attempt to hide it.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
But shipping long distances by container via sea or rail is not that bad for the enviroment, it is the last bit of travel by truck that really is the killer. I'm not sure there is a huge difference. I personally think that make the mold is the most important part, so if anything that is the part I would not want to give up control on.
The Chinese are very good toolmakers and are significantly cheaper than the UK. By going oversees you same money and give yourself more in the budget for more complex tooling with side actions and collapsible cores. We tent to work with local injection moulding firms that have all the facilities on-site to make modifications to the tools and would check the designs of the tools by the Chinese before they start cuttin…
Here are some tool numbers that I have: US cost = $30k, 8-10 weeks. China cost = $5k, 6 weeks. That is for a tool I quoted last week.
I slightly differ on where to manufacture the parts. Because in my industry pennies matter due to several mark-ups in the chain, we manufacture in China. But as samwillis said, it may not be needed in your business.
samwillis is right when s(he) says that parts and power costs don't change much, but labor does. Labor in the US is $25 / hr burdened, and in China less than $4 / hr. If your parts are labor intensive, it makes sense to be there in China.