A Complete Guide to Product Development Process in China

When working on a new product, the challenge is making sure that it can be brought to the market as soon as you can, preferably ahead of your competition. You also want to ensure that you are staying within your budget. The best solution is to outsource product development in China in most cases.

But why China?

China is globally known for providing inexpensive manufacturing services. Besides, it has a great range of product development specialists, to take advantage of lower prototype costs and save time. As long as you work with the right company, you can be confident that the product being designed is of high-quality and ready for affordable mass production.

Selecting the right product developer

The success of your product development in China can depend on many factors, including the manufacturing solutions provider that you choose. It makes sense to be discerning when making a choice by ensuring that their in-house product development services can cover these areas:

  • Research and development
  • Industrial design
  • Prototyping
  • Electronic product development

However, it is not all the time that the service provider can accommodate all kinds of projects. In that case, they must have affiliated partners to assist them in creating your product.

Avoid the usual manufacturing companies

In selecting a partner for product development in China, you might find yourself looking for them in marketplaces like Alibaba and other common sources, getting quotes, exchanging emails, and choosing one based on how fast they respond and their price quote. But you might want to take a more methodical process by including aspects like determining how many days it will take for them to develop your product and when you can expect delivery.

Have a plan

Come up with an appropriate plan and strategy that will lead you to the right supplier and product developer, make a proper agreement from the start of your contract, and be flexible in case you have to switch suppliers down the line.

Get to know the people who will work with you

Make sure that the lead industrial designer is skilled and talented in what they do, and that they have extensive experience in China manufacturing. Take some time to verify their work by exploring their bio and portfolio.

Some companies can also go beyond the usual product development process and involve other services like packaging development, graphic design, and logo development. They can also provide layout designs for websites, literature, or catalogs, thus, making them your one-stop source for all your product development needs.

Speaks your language

Language barriers can cause delays and costly mistakes in product development. Thus, you need to consider working with a western owned and managed manufacturing solutions provider who can communicate in your language. That way, you can aviod any misunderstandings. In addition, the process can be smoother for both parties.

Get to know the process

A reputable provider of product development in China can work virtually on any idea from the concept all the way to the finished product at a more reasonable cost that what you can expect from western-based companies. Moreover, they are able to do it much faster as compared to when you outsource the service to a local company. Just be sure to know the entire process before you commit to the service.