How we help each department

The chances are high that you are balancing multiple new product development projects and maybe even some production related issues. You need to deliver these products on time and to specification so that product launches aren’t missed and competitors don’t gain an advantage.

If you can’t deliver with your available internal resource, we can help you stay on track, solve technical issues and quickly eat through the backlog to maintain your release dates and give you peace of mind.  We offer both a borrow an engineer and virtual CTO service if you need an extra hand.

Take a look at our services to see our full range of offerings.

If quality is your focus then consistency, repeatability and minimising opportunities for error and non-conformity are vital.  Process improvements and quantifiable measurements are likely to be high up on your radar.

You will expect that new products have been properly designed, tolerance and tested before New Product Introduction (NPI) in production. Access to thorough product verification testing may be helpful to you, if so get in touch for verification testing.

Printed circuit board assemblies are key components in your products.  There are chances for faulty PCBs, incorrect parts, missing components, dry joints, solder bridges and more to occur which could prevent the product from working properly.  Some of the issues may not be easily found with a simple functional test.

You’ll want to capture non-conforming products as early as possible to minimise the downstream impact, minimise rework and resolve manufacturing and components issues as early as possible.

New test fixture solution RapiJig™ from Ignys

Rapid deployment test fixtures to help you improve test coverage, reduce test time, capture test data for trend analysis, and provide route enforcement to ensure each board has been tested.  Until now test fixtures have been reserved for high volume manufacture product, the Custom Test Fixtures solution now makes this accessible to much lower annual volume manufacturers.

You clearly understand your customers’ needs and have your finger firmly on the pulse of the USPs and benefits your products bring.  To increase sales and hit that ever increasing target you will want all signed off projects to complete as soon as possible, to reinvigorate customers and keep serving them.  You might be frustrated about the length of time it takes to get that new product idea in your hand, extra highly focussed engineering resources can speed up delivery and allow you to bring multiple products to market rapidly.

BORROW AN ENGINEER, ELECTRONICS DESIGN, SOFTWARE

Some of your best-selling products will, at some point, start to face obsolescence and supply chain problems.  This can cause fulfilment delays or worse stop further ability to supply that product.  We can help you here by identifying and testing alternate component sources.  Where alternates aren’t available partial redesigns are often possible to keep the product line alive.

 OBSOLESCENCE PROTECTION

Manufactured product cost may be high on your agenda. If you’re losing sales to a lower priced competitor or the gross margin is lower than you would like then it could be time for a cost reduction or value engineering project.  Not all products have high enough volumes to justify and recoup the project spend, but on the right product this can be gold.

COST REDUCTION

You’ve put your heart and soul into building a business.  The longevity, reputation and ongoing relevance of your company is vitally important.  You probably have far more ideas than its possible to deliver and might not be the expert on every area that they involve.  This can lead to chaos, busy work and disappointment at missed opportunities.

Having a clear product roadmap for new products and incorporating new technology where relevant puts the control back in your hands.  Having a tangible plan to work from brings focus and momentum.  You will be able to see what is possible with your current resource and identify if additional skills or capacity is needed to achieve the plan.  Time is money after all.

The plan should also look at your current product portfolio.  Are there products that could be value engineered to improve margins? Which products are beginning to be impacted by component obsolescence issues and need to be factored in to avoid interruptions in supply?  With this information clearly at hand you can then make the key decisions on which projects are key for the next 12-24 months of your business.

If you’re a start-up we’ve been there. We’ve had 3 years experiencing the ups, downs and growing pains of a tech business.  Its easy to spend a lot of your investor’s money on great ideas but without getting to that vital product-market fit.  Are you quick and nimble enough to find the solutions before you run out of runway?  Do you have the expertise to ensure that the prototype or MVP implementation doesn’t let you down?  Do you have a clear understanding of the compliance requirements for CE marking to have confidence that your product will pass?

There are numerous ways we can help you be successful from electronics and software to producing MVPs and helping take those first steps into low volume manufacturing.

You might be the only person (other than the business owner) with your eye on costs, profitability, and cash flow.

Costs and profitability – do you have a good handle on what the manufactured costs of the new product are likely to be?  When was the last time you reviewed the cost build-up of existing product lines?  Are there opportunities for margin improvement through a value engineering project?

Cash flow – New product development is heavily front loaded with costs with no revenue generated until launch. There is the opportunity cost of internal development teams, that could be working on other products, outsource dev teams and technical experts, prototyping rounds, tooling, compliance, manufacturing setup, packaging, marketing, and initial stock.  Do you have a handle on all the likely costs and when they will be paid for?  How are you planning on managing a product launch with unknown sales volumes?

Product returns – do you have the confidence that the new product has been properly tested and production quality proven?  If you are trialling a low volume with a few customers there is lower financial exposure than if the product is being launched and sold in high volumes.  A problem that requires a product recall for high volumes can have huge implications on cash and reputation.  Design verification and validation can be viewed similarly to an insurance policy to minimise risk.

If you’re a product designer or innovation manager you’ve come to the right place if you need help, support and technical resources to ensure you produce a winning product.

Depending upon your requirements there are a full range of product development and test services we offer that give you a boost and help turn ideas into prototypes for test and into products for sale.

Without a conversation it’s difficult to cherry pick select resource recommendations as this could be all, some or none of the services we provide.  Have a browse through our services pages and lets set up a conversation to understand your needs better.

Check out our full range of services and give us a call on 0115 772 2825

Let’s talk.

Although our services aren’t directly related to HR we have a number of techniques we use for employee wellbeing which we’ll be happy to share.

These include virtual coffee meetings, 1 to 1 wellbeing sessions, employee recognition schemes and using slack for messaging and lone workers.

Reach out to our marketing department to find out more.

We are also conducting a digital wellbeing survey design a solution to Nomophobia.