HOW TO SELECT A FACTORY

SCOTT N. MILLERCEO

www.dragoninnovation.com@dragoninnovate

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AGENDA

http://en.wikipedia.org

•Quick Survey and Context

• Step 1: Decide Where to Build

• Step 2: Run the RFQ Process

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Quick Survey

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Quick Survey

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MIT RoboTuna

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Agenda

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Robotic Corvette Powered Dino

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Agenda

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Initial iRobot Expertise (Revenue)

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Journey from $100,000 to $100 Price

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My Real Baby ~ 100kVelociraptor ~100k

+

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Roomba and Scooba

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We are going to take something as insanely

complex as manufacturing consumer electronics and

make it feel easy.

VISION

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BOLT

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BOLT

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DRAGON INNOVATION HAS HELPED LAUNCH AND SCALE OVER 100 COMPANIES SINCE 2009

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Why is Manufacturing Hard?

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Hint

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GOING FROM THE PROTOTYPE TO PRODUCTION IS A LONG JOURNEY WITH MANY “UNKNOWN UNKNOWNS”

• COGS, tooling and manufacturing costs• Lead times• Permanence of Quality• Iteration cycles• DFMA• Factory Selection and Management• Team Scalability• Schedule & Project Management• Specialized skills (ME / EE / SW/ Q / SC / Logs)• Retail Channel

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STEP 1: Decide Where to Manufacture

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EXAMPLES TO TALK THROUGH

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CHINA?

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YES! MANUFACTURE IN CHINA IF YOUR PRODUCT...Requires significant manual labor to manufacture and assemble

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YES! MANUFACTURE IN CHINA IF YOUR PRODUCT...Requires higher production volumes (>10k units)

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YES! MANUFACTURE IN CHINA IF YOUR PRODUCT...Is COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) sensitive

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YES! MANUFACTURE IN CHINA IF YOUR PRODUCT...Uses existing manufacturing technology (i.e. injection molding, etc)

http://berkeleysg.com

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YES! MANUFACTURE IN CHINA IF YOUR PRODUCT...Is tolerant of variations in supply chain and logistics

http://berkeleysg.comhttp://kilterpulse.com

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YES! MANUFACTURE IN CHINA IF YOUR PRODUCT...Can benefit from low cost Design for Manufacturing (DFM) Non-recurring Engineering (NRE)

http://berkeleysg.comhttp://kilterpulse.com

http://plasticstoday.com

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YES! MANUFACTURE IN CHINA IF YOUR PRODUCT...Has “physically” protectable IP

http://berkeleysg.comhttp://kilterpulse.com

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USA (aka Domestic) ?

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YES! MANUFACTURE IN THE US IF YOUR PRODUCT...Requires low volumes

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YES! MANUFACTURE IN THE US IF YOUR PRODUCT...Can be manufactured and assembled through automation

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YES! MANUFACTURE IN THE US IF YOUR PRODUCT...Is sensitive to shipping time and expense

http://berkeleysg.com

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YES! MANUFACTURE IN THE US IF YOUR PRODUCT...Has difficult-to-protect IP

http://berkeleysg.comhttp://kilterpulse.com

http://www.independent.co.uk

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YES! MANUFACTURE IN THE US IF YOUR PRODUCT...Requires non-standard capital equipment

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YES! MANUFACTURE IN THE US IF YOUR PRODUCT...Is part of a government contract

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STEP 2: Select a Factory (RFQ)

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OVERVIEW OF THE CM SELECTION PROCESS

http://en.wikipedia.org

1. Talk with trusted network connections who have manufacturing experience.2. Create a differentiated list of 5 - 10 CMs.3. Down select to 3 - 5 factories based on your product category (why?)4. Create a Request for Quote (RFQ) Package.5. Visit!6. Analyze Results.7. Negotiate Big Items.8. Talk with the CM’s customers.9. Select the winner, and leave the others on good terms.

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RFQ PACKAGE

http://en.wikipedia.org

• Company Overview- Team overview- Funding- Product- What’s done- What needs to be done- Factory Criteria

• BOM- Canonical format (A2A) in Excel- Transparent and Formula Driven- Separate Std, Special and Consigned Margins/Markups- Include all costs to Ex-Factory- Fill in the blanks

• Schedule- Gantt chart (Cloud)- Fill in the blanks

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FACTORY VISIT CHECKLIST

http://en.wikipedia.org

Do you like the team? Are they experienced and friendly?Do they have the right manufacturing capabilities?Does your intended volume match their volume capabilities?Are they financially stable?Do they have enough working capital to get going?Do they have favorable payment terms?Are they transparent in their costing?Do they take IP seriously? Did they show you something they shouldn’t have?Are they ethical in their treatment of their workers and otherwise?Do you have access to upper management?Are they excited about working on your product?

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CM COMPARISON (A2A DECISION MATRIX)

• Total Material Costs• Labor• Margins/Markup (Std, Special, Consigned)• Pareto of Top 5 Most Expensive Components• Fixed Costs (tooling, fixtures, NRE)• Schedule• Fit Criteria

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RECOMMENDED READING

"Factory Girls", Leslie Chang:  W.S.J. Reporter Who Lived In China Interviewing Migrant Factory Workers In The Pearl River Delta.  Great Insight Into The Workforce.

"Poorly Made In China", Paul Midler:  Light, Humorous, And Scary.

"Mr. China", Tim Clissold:  Older Humorous Memoir Of One Of The First Westerners To Do Modern Work In China After Mao.

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