Folks,
During challenging times, we continue to push forward. Our colleagues overseas are all at work and doing well. While it’s still mandatory to wear face masks and have your temperature taken when entering factories, office buildings, shops and restaurants, two weeks ago, they all felt comfortable enough to dispense with their masks once in the EastBridge offices. Once client visits resume, we’ll be sure to follow sound public health guidance.
We’ve modified our company’s business travel policy to enhance the safety of our staff, their families and the people with whom they interact. No more travel by bus or subway – we’ve switched to taxis and ride sharing services. When traveling by train, we now purchase first class tickets to allow for additional spacing and we no longer double up on hotel rooms for overnight travel. Small changes that will help to keep everyone safe.
During this unusual period, inquires about launching new designs and building new products have actually increased – significantly. The new projects are originating with companies at every size and resource level, from raw garage startups to Fortune 500 companies. A wonderful trend that may predict a busy time ahead.
One question that comes up repeatedly is “how much is this thing gonna cost? The design and new product development community is being pressured to provide a COG (Cost of Goods) snapshot before their clients agree to move forward and fund the project. Often, there are a handful of competing concepts. In the case of proposed telemedicine project, the design team was considering two designs: fabricating the enclosure using sheet metal and a fold down display; and a molded plastic straight up kiosk.
Understanding the ex works price (cost of the finished device once it’s shoved to the edge of the manufacturer’s dock) or the landed cost (the door-to-door, delivered price of the product once it hits the OEM’s warehouse) guides the discussion. It also minimizes the risk to the project and allows the team to up-feature or down-feature the product at the earliest stages to match market needs.
The EastBridge engineering team is skilled at estimating what finished products should cost. Our staff have shop floor experience in chemical, electrical, electro-mechatronic industrial material science, mechanical and many other manufacturing domains.
If there’s only a pencil sketch, what we generate is really a +/- 15% guesstimate. If there’s more – a PRD (Product Requirements Document), initial renderings, form factors, applicable international certification & registrations, the accuracy of our estimates increases a lot.
We’re also called on to “build the BOM” which involves identifying and pricing critical components, engineered materials and sub-assemblies that will become the foundation of the new design.
If you’re launching a new design and need a cost snapshot, give us a call to chat.
Cheers,
Jack Daniels
+1.617.285.2486
