new product Archives - Means Engineering, Inc.

Best Practices for New Product Introductions

July 26, 2019 By meiadmin

Companies today must continually release new products to keep up with consumer demand. This can be difficult when you have distributed teams working with external suppliers. Slip ups are common. Unfortunately, one mistake can create numerous problems for your business. It’s important to ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to new product introductions.

What is NPI?

New Product Introduction (NPI) includes all of the processes and activities involved with the design, development, and launch of a new or improved product.

New product introduction (NPI) processes affect every part of production from concept through competition. It’s crucial that companies review and refine these processes to ensure smooth and efficient product development and introduction.

Importance of NPI Best Practices

Around 80% of new products fail. This is an unsettling statistic for any company responsible for the design and creation of new products. Fortunately, there are some NPI best practices that can improve your chances of success. These processes revolve around understanding the consumer, clear communication, and ensuring high quality design and development.

Customer-Focused Approach

The creation of every product begins with design and innovation. During the design process, companies should consider the needs of the consumer. For best results, figure out how your product can solve a problem or relieve a pain point for the customer.

Taking a customer-focused approach to the design process improves the odds of success exponentially. Talking to existing and potential customers provides a unique opportunity to learn what’s needed and what’s important. Performing market research helps define product requirements.

Communication is Key

Clear communication is key to the successful design and creation of new products. This is especially true when working with an external partner. Everyone should know what is expected and what’s going on.

Quality and Consistency

It doesn’t matter how well a company knows the needs of their consumers or how well they communicate these needs with their suppliers if they don’t have the processes in place to ensure the quality and consistency of each product produced.

Utilizing the help of an experienced contract manufacturer ensures the production of high quality products. Partnering with a CM early in the process helps improve design. The right contract manufacturer tests every component throughout the production process. This helps catch issues early, when they’re easier to fix.

Means Engineering provides a wide range of contract manufacturing services. Please contact us to learn how we can assist with New Product Introductions.

What You Need to Know Before Launching a New Product

March 15, 2019 By meiadmin

Companies need to launch new products to stay ahead of their competition. While a new product launch is an exciting time for your business, it’s not something you should rush into. Before launching a new product, take the time needed to learn what it takes to make the launch successful.

Research Your Target Audience

Prior to launch, you need to learn as much as you can about your target audience. Market research can help you develop an effective marketing plan. In fact, market research provides the foundation for all other steps in your product launch strategy.

When conducting market research, focus on learning what your target customers want and need and the most convenient distribution channels for your audience. Use the answers you receive to determine the best way to market your product. You might want to figure out which social media outlets your target customers use and whether they are more likely to purchase products based on logic or emotions.

Develop Your Message

Once you understand your target audience, you can develop your product messaging. This should include a solid value proposition. Make sure your messaging highlights the product’s best features and the problems they solve.

Promote Your Product Launch

Well planned and efficient promotion of your product launch ensures the success of your product. Create a product launch promotion strategy that educates your target audience and gets them excited about your product. This might include posting about your product launch on social media or through your company blog. Attending trade shows can also help promote your upcoming launch.

Plan for Post Launch

Your work isn’t finished once you’ve launched your product. You need to make sure you have a plan to maintain momentum and excitement after your launch. This is crucial to success. Your post launch plan should include tactics to keep your target audience engaged. This might include posts on social media, email marketing, and regular blog posts.

If you’re ready to create new products, Means Engineering Inc. can help. We have years of experience providing design, production, and testing of a wide range of products for numerous industries.

Using a Contract Manufacturer for New Product Development

September 8, 2017 By meiadmin

Using a Contract Manufacturer for New Product Development

As a leading Southern California contract manufacturer, Means Engineering, Inc. has a lot of experience with new product development. We understand what’s important when looking for a company to design and build your product. We also know which details are essential to a positive experience.

Choosing a Contract Manufacturer

You have many options when it comes to selecting the company responsible for the design and build of your product. However, there are a few things that should be considered before partnering with a contract manufacturer.

The contract manufacturer you choose needs to have the capability you require and should have multiple capabilities. Even if you do not think you need it now, it’s a good idea to select a company that has experience with a wide range of materials and processes. The company you choose should be able to provide engineering support. Having an experienced engineering team on your side can help you spot design flaws you might have missed. They can also suggest ways to reduce cost and time to market.

In order to ensure the highest quality, it’s crucial to select a contract manufacturer that is ISO certified. ISO standards are extremely strict in terms of quality control. Producing a part quickly and inexpensively does you absolutely no good if it does not meet quality standards.

Means Engineering, Inc. is ISO 9001, AS9100 and IOS 13485 certified. This ensures high quality products, time and time again.

Realistic Expectations

It’s not uncommon for companies to have unrealistic expectations when starting the product development process. Many companies underestimate the cost and time it will take for the product to go to market. Before assuming anything, it’s important to make sure that you have all of the facts.

Talk to your suppliers, vendors and contract manufacturers. They are in the best position to provide you with accurate cost and time to market estimates.

Final Thoughts

Before selecting a contract manufacturer for new product development, make sure that you check their references and view their previous work. Respectable companies will be happy to share this information with you.

Means Engineering, Inc. has extensive experience working with a variety of industries including the medical, industrial, semiconductor and defense industries. We provide smart, turnkey solutions and work directly with our clients from concept to completion.