As an inventor, do you relate more to Steve Jobs or to Steve Wozniak? If you consider yourself a Steve Wozniak with a great idea, where is your Steve Jobs who can turn your great idea into a successful product? Self-styled inventors, like Mr. Wozniak, typically have a keen ability to quickly think up new products and new ways of doing things. They can recognize a potential need and create a unique concept to meet that need; in the end, almost everyone can benefit. Yet, with all the great ideas that have been developed and/or patented, the reality is that only a fraction of these ideas actually joins the ranks of successful products through the custom manufacturing process. So how is it that so many inventions languish in a state of quasi-development, or end up barely penetrating the market, eventually becoming nothing more than a completely unsuccessful great idea? The bottom line is that there are many things that must be taken into consideration…
What inventors need to know first is that, though there is a lot of potential value in great ideas, after the idea happens, turning it into a real product requires a lot more work, time, and monetary investment. A great idea in and of itself does not have the momentum to become a great product without the process of custom manufacturing. What potential retail buyers want to see is the final product, in its packaging, and ready to put on the shelf. Great products happen when great ideas evolve through a structured product development process, and then progress into well rounded product designs.
Effective product development requires multiple cycles of prototyping, numerous design draft revisions, functional testing, and failure testing, all before releasing anything to custom manufacturing. In the case of a retail product, this includes packaging. Most inventors may not be fully aware that the product development cycle can be expensive and time consuming. That cost, coupled with the “grind” of development, is often too large a hurdle for inventors who have few resources, limited access to capital, and have not the willpower to persevere.
Custom manufacturing is the final step in turning that great idea into a real product. The idea has been proven, the prototyping and design revisions are complete, and the functional and failure testing is successful. Now is the time to actually make the product to sell. There is still chance for disaster. Quality products require quality, custom manufacturing. Without this quality all of the time, effort, capital, worry, late nights, and frustration to get to this point will have been in vain.
When an inventor is ready to go offshore to take advantage of the benefits of custom manufacturing there is a fresh, new set of hurdles waiting for them. Fortunately, ITI Manufacturing can help manage all of those details for inventors; as well as guarantee the quality of their product, and help protect their intellectual property rights.
If you want to discuss your situation with experts in offshore, custom manufacturing, Contact Us for a confidential, no-obligation review of your product.
