The material costs of your product design can have a huge impact on the money you make from your product. If you reduce the cost each product unit this scales up to a large cost reduction.
Read these effective product unit cost cutting techniques:
Eliminate fancy features
Whilst it’s tempting to design a product that does it all, if you’re addressing the core need for your target market and still gives a great user experience it may be that some of those extra features will rarely be used and aren’t a real selling point. By removing these extras you can save costs not just for you but potentially your end users too.
Check your components
Make sure you do your research around component suppliers. It’s also essential to consider the risks around component obsolescence to make sure you don’t end up with a product where you can’t source more components leading to a costly redesign or short product lifespan.
Test new technologies
Sometimes testing new technologies can provide a competitive advantage instead of relying on saving money by using low quality components.
Don’t forget the legal side
Compliance is key and can be particularly strict in some sectors. By getting this done right now this can prevent costs reworks or the worse cost of a damaged reputation.
Check your process
Can steps be removed from the product development process to reduce time and costs? There could be ways to do this without cutting corners
Chose your production partner wisely
There’s a lot of choice out there. It can be tempting to go with the cheapest option but always consider lead times. Getting the balance right on the stock you order can be tricky and if you have a large lead time this can make it worse if you underestimate your product’s potential. Equally consider the quality of communication you receive from your manufacturing contacts. Will they inform you immediately if there is an issue? Are they available to discuss changes to the plan or offer flexibility in terms of holding stock for you?
Get a second opinion from start to finish
It can be easy to get tunnel vision on a project for a number of reasons. Firstly if you’ve designed a product you see its benefits but may not see its flaws. We recently launched a blog on edge cases to show product testing areas that may be missed because it’s not a key way you expect a product to be used. Seeking advice from another business can be a great way to explore new ways to get your product seen by different audiences.
We can help
Lastly, you don’t have to do it all yourself. As electronic design consultants we have a team of engineers with a vast amount of experience in tackling the testing side of product development.
Speak with us if you need some extra advise on 0115 772 2825 or email us
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Blog authorship
This blog article was written by Hannah Ingram Marketing Manager at Ignys Ltd, who has worked closely with electronics design engineers during her employment and has a technical background including investigating wastage at extrusion plants and working alongside a new product development team as part of a marketing role in the healthcare sector.