Manufacturing insights

Straight from the Production Floor

Discover in-depth perspectives on key manufacturing topics, from emerging technologies and supply chain optimization to sustainable production methods, quality control innovations, regulatory compliance, and global logistics strategies. Access actionable insights designed to help you innovate, scale, streamline operations, and excel in competitive markets.

Latest Post • March 14, 2025

Whipsawed!

“Hope for the best, expect the worst. Some drink champagne, some die of thirst. No way of knowing which way it’s going. Hope for the best, expect the worst!” Who knew that Mel Brooks, the esteemed actor, comedian, filmmaker and songwriter, has a side business advising clients on manufacturing strategy and international trade? But not […]

Blog
Archive

Every time we step onto the shop floor, we learn something new—explore insights that drive smarter manufacturing and more seamless builds.

July 18, 2021

Three Important New Product Industrialization Guardrails

Folks, Back in the Precambrian era, I was a young engineer working for GE Plastics’ Electromaterials division. Communication has come a long way since then. We sent Telexes and faxes, early versions of email were emerging, our version of Instagram was a projector slide show at Thanksgiving and we met in person all the time. […]

May 18, 2021

The Design-Reality Disequilibrium

Folks, This month’s newsletter focuses on the importance of defining your entire supply chain when designing and launching a new product. If you want to get off on the right foot and succeed at scaling to volume, it’s critically important to pin down all of the “CTF” (critical to function) components, materials and parts before […]

March 10, 2021

Different Isn’t Necessarily Better

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” Mark Twain Folks, We see many new product concepts every month. For the past nine months, they’ve been coming in a torrent. This happened before… Following the financial crisis of 2008, new businesses and […]

January 10, 2021

New Product Development: A Roadmap for Managing Suppliers

Folks, Happy New Year to all! I’m expecting that 2021 will be a better year for all of us. Stepping off on the right foot, my colleagues have taken the keys away from blog car this month and Jason Marietta our Engineering Director in Arizona is penning this installment. I’m sure that you’ll enjoy his […]

November 10, 2020

A Road Map To Mitigate Your Supply Chain Risk in China

Expanding and Transforming Your Sources of Supply Folks, If you’re an ODM, OEM, manufacturer or distributor who’s purchasing tangible products, you’re in China. We’re in China too. At this point, we all are. Purchasing from suppliers in China was once a bold move, a roll of the dice. Over the past ten years, it has […]

October 18, 2020

New Product Industrialization – Ten Ways That We Add Value

Folks, I hope that you all enjoyed the summer season and are thriving during the early fall. We’ve been busy with our work and are extremely thankful for that. We serve many different product segments, which makes our business more resilient. We’re now working on two new dental projects, one used in hospital settings and […]