Product Design in Asia? Think you’re kidding me?
No, we are not!
China’s development has been fast, really fast. Thirty yrs ago they hardly had telephones, now you can get a high-speed DSL connection for US$15 monthly , or sometimes less.
All these changes can also be seen in Product Design. Yes, it is possible now to have your Product Design outsourced to China. There are benefits and disadvantages compared to using a local Product Design resource.
Most likely a Product Design Consultancy based in Greater China will work in a different time zone. If you are in Europe we’re talking about six hrs difference. That’s still manageable yet if you live in america it’s twelve to 15 hours. To make the Product Design a success you have to have on-going communication using email and phone.
At house you can just pop in at your Product Design Consultancy and have a chat to discuss projects. That is a bit difficult if your Product Designer is on another side of the world. To make the project an achievement, both sides need to agree on a meeting schedule.
Language is a great challenge, particularly in the area of Product Design Consulting. Be sure you pick a Product Design Consultancy that employs a native speaker from your country, or at least a native English speaker.
A leading Product Design Consultancy in China will offer you a more competitive fee compared to their peers in Europe, the USA, Canada or Australia. The product design and engineering will be an equivalent level or even better.
Traditional Design Homes in western countries will most likely just have contacts to prototype and do small scale manufacturing operation in their home countries. But if you want to roll out your product on a large scale, you’ve to produce in Asia. That is the benefit of a Product Design Consultancy in China. They’re right next to the doorstep of the factories. If you want to manufacture your product after development, your Product Design firm in China will simply hop over the street and get it started. And because they are in China, they can provide a quality control from begin to finish. That way you won’t experience any surprises.
Thus to put it all in a nutshell: Yes, there are some drawbacks you’ve when utilizing someone on one other side of the planet. But all of these could be overcome by planning well and communicating on a regular basis.
On the upside, you will get the same service for less and you can quite easily start economical manufacturing after the design is ready.
So what are you waiting for?
Georgette Adanas has been writing content articles on What is Product Design since 2000.
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