Don't Overstuff Your Great Idea.

Many of us just spent Thanksgiving over-indulging on turkey, pecan pie, and dinner rolls.  I know that I certainly overstuffed myself, so that I could try at least a little bit of every single dish that crossed my path; who knew that there were so many possible varieties of casseroles in the world?  So, now I’m faced with the unfortunate choice of either buying bigger clothes or of subsisting on green leafy things for a couple weeks (until we do this all over again at Christmastime).

In product development, there can also be a temptation to overstuff.  In this case, we’re not talking about your aunt’s casseroles, but about all the wonderful features that a new product could have.  It’s very easy to want to add a new feature, use a new material, or grab a new marketing claim, because any one of these things could be the key to opening a new market space or outshining the competition.  Such changes and additions can be costly, and may or may not be justified, even if they increase market share.

To protect the innocent and the guilty in the following example, I’ve blended a few stories and changed industries, but this amalgam of anecdotes is representative of a situation I see all too often in product development. 

The client’s new tea kettle product concept was developing nicely.  It had some revolutionary new features, and was going out under a powerful brand name.  It would surely make a splash at the industry trade show.  But, a few months before the schedule called for tooling release, the client had a few epiphanies. 

Couldn’t we add a feature that let consumers make coffee using those cool Keurig cups? 

Well, yes, but the schedule…

Could we change the interface to a touchscreen, because the CEO really likes the idea of a touchscreen? 

Well, yes, but the schedule… 

‘We just want to launch a perfect product, even if that means pushing the schedule back.’ 

Okay… 

So, we pulled the development back a few levels, added the desired features, and launched a fantastic product, a year later.  The product entered the market and did well.  But, what about the year of sales and market opportunity that was lost while overstuffing the product with new features?  The product could easily have launched on schedule per the original specs, and been very successful.  Then, the company could have released the “super” version a year later and had two successful products on the market.

Bottom line is that every situation is different.  Often, though, it makes better sense from a business standpoint to launch a good product, then launch a great one, rather than continuing to develop and overstuff with features in search of the unattainable “perfect” product.

Innovating Quality Products in China

“Just go away and leave us alone.”  Your offshore supplier won’t say that, but they are certainly thinking it when your quality control manager is standing on the production floor evaluating the deficiencies in the latest batch of products.  In my experience, the supplier will quickly shift priorities to correct any production problems to get their customer’s QC inspector out of the factory, and back en route to wherever they came from.  The last thing the supplier wants is the QC manager to camp out for a few days to “help them” solve the problems.

This is an important dynamic for product companies to understand, and it emphasizes the need to have feet on the ground near the factories.  Companies that have been making product in Asia for years understand this; that’s why they’ve established offices in China and elsewhere to manage their sourcing and quality control.  But, companies that are new to offshore production, or companies that don’t have the resources to establish a permanent presence near the factories can be at a significant disadvantage.

Are these Quality Parts? (Yes in this case)

If your supplier knows that you’re an expensive, twenty-hour flight away, they will naturally assume that you’re probably not going to show up for every little problem.  So, they will prioritize other customers who have QC engineers based in Hong Kong or Ningbo, and your project will be bumped a little lower on the priority list.  

So, what options exist for a company that doesn’t have, or doesn’t want a full time presence in Asia?  One option, is to just manufacture domestically, but this can quickly price certain products out of the market – let’s face it, there is a reason many products are made offshore.  Another option is to just fly back and forth to Asia regularly, but this can be very costly, and can get in the way of all the other things you or your company leaders need to do to make your business thrive, like sales and marketing.  A third possible option is to rely on manufacturer’s reps to achieve quality control, but it’s important to understand that their interests usually lie primarily with the manufacturer more than with your business.    

The option which I prefer is to work with an independent sourcing and quality control team that is Asia based, but not tied to any particular factories.  My company has built an alliance partnership with such an organization based out of Hong Kong, and we’ve found it to work exceedingly well for our clients.  Our team can be in a factory the same day an issue is discovered, and since they are local, they can come back every day until the issue is resolved.  Since the factories don’t like having outside QC people hovering over them, they prioritize our projects and resolve the issues.  Our clients get top priority because we’re on the ground at the factory, so their products are made the right way, and are shipped on schedule.  And, our clients (and my US based team) don’t have to fly to Asia every month to get it done!