Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Contract Manufacturing Meeting and...

Today turned out to be rather informative! I had the conference call with the Contract Manufacturer and they actually gave me an idea regarding my physical device that I was not aware of! Turns out, they have decent experience in this field and really opened my eyes to some possibilities.

They are going to have information to me by this coming Friday with respect to a quote. I should know my initial startup costs associated with getting this thing built, along with per item fees for orders in various quantities.

I like the fact that this company opened my eyes to a device that will actually make my product BETTER! How I missed it in my various levels of research is beyond me, but I did. Since the device already exists and since they have familiarity with it then it looks like a slam dunk. The "off the top of my head" number was very reasonable and I anxiously await seeing it in writing. I trust their past experience will allow that number to be pretty close to accurate.

I'm so excited!!! Can you tell? Action, Action, Action. I am so proud of myself (brag) for taking the first step and actually contacting someone for additional information. It makes this task seem so realistic and possible! My spirits are high right now and I can't wait for Friday when I get some numbers to plug into a business plan and start figuring out the pricing model.

Did I say I was excited? Oh yeah...I did! Keep coming back - this is going to get good...soon!

Today was a great day!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Quick question for you;

On your blog you mentioned having success with a contract manufacturer. I'm also interested in getting a product made and would love to know how you found this contractor, and if you would be interested in making a referral. This is for another side project (something outside what I'm outsourcing above),'

Can you provide any help / guidance feedback on contract manufacturing outsourcing -- how to find, how to qualify, and who to talk to?

Rex

The Four Hour Trial said...

Hi Rex,

I got this straight from the 4HWW! Page 163, you can find www.thomasnet.com on the list.

I went to thomasnet and proceeded to type keywords that were relevant to my project. I sifted through many of the results, went to their websites and tried to get a general feel for the companies. I then started placing calls. One company was particularly responsive to my needs and ADDED VALUE as I explained in one of my subsequent posts. Based on his input, I went and did some google searches and sent him links to TWO of the products that matched what I thought I would need. His company worked on one of the projects! How about that?

He's sending me a sample this week and still generating the quote. I know he already knows what it will cost but I think he's trying to give me as quality of a response as possible.

Long Story Short: I'm VERY big on following my gut or first instincts. When someone blows me away, price becomes a secondary concern so long as it's in the right ball park. I've discovered through my professional years that it's critical to follow your first instincts. Nearly every time I have gone against them has let to trouble or disappointment.

Does this help?

-M

Unknown said...

This is a great article and very informative. It has come to my attention that the Cosmetic Contract Manufacturing industry has really grown over the years. Companies pay big bucks for experts to formulate and package these sorts of substances.