Reasons Why Companies Should Outsource Prototyping

Bringing a product to market – from ideation to design to mass production – isn’t easy. The full cycle of product development requires a heavy load of investment and skill. However, prototyping can rapidly accelerate and improve this process by offering a functional version of the product that can be reviewed, tested, and iterated before its launch.

Prototyping represents the initial phase of a product, program, or design – where the product undergoes development, iterations, and the necessary evolution that takes it to its final form. Serving as a “rough draft” of the idea, it helps developers and entrepreneurs test the physical appearance and performance of the product through experimentation rather than unsuccessful launches. With prototyping, product development and design can be checked and validated repeatedly. Any revisions are done according to the timeline so you can have the grand launch on the expected date you have projected.

Whether companies want to create high or low-fidelity prototypes, they need to follow a certain procedure that will yield a realistic early model of their design. For both large and small companies, there are many advantages of outsourcing this process.

Faster Time To Market

Designing, editing, and creating a product is a long and complex process slowed down by bureaucracy, overarching values, and inefficient processes. An outsourced team experienced in the process is unencumbered by any such constraints and can move quickly through the design, production, and testing phases.

Indecisiveness from company officers may delay the launch of a product, but if a seasoned outsourced team handles it, they can have an unbiased view of the product and make objective decisions.

There are now many companies that also offer rapid prototyping services. By using various techniques, these providers can deliver a turnaround time as short as three days. A lot of rapid prototyping China based companies also deliver this speed at a fraction of the cost, which is why outsourcing to the country is becoming increasingly popular among product developers.

By trying to fit prototype development into their existing manufacturing schedules, midsize companies make the mistake of putting a strain on their in-house systems and production resources. Employing external resources can help them lay out a timeline beforehand and ensure it doesn’t interfere with their existing scheduling.

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Cost-Efficiency

Lack of speed can certainly kill innovation, but sadly it is not the only resource companies have to guard. Enterprises and startups spend thousands building one iteration of an idea, only to scrap the project because they’ve burned through all their financial resources. Outsourcing these projects can eliminate a lot of this financial burden and improve the process all around.

Outsourced prototyping companies can design and run hundreds of tests for various hypotheses.  They invest heavily in this and have found intelligent ways to cut costs without sacrificing quality because their reputation lies here. So, when searching for an outsourcing company, make sure you recruit only reputable and established ones. 

Companies that have experience with prototyping methodology can improve and optimize their production processes to deliver superior results at significantly lower costs. Additionally, they can suggest testing methods, experiments, and new ideas that you might not have thought of before, which can help you fix and iterate your design early on and avoid additional production phases that add to the cost.

Improved Ideation

One of the first things companies do when developing an idea is to flesh it out with a business model. Once they’ve laid out all their assumptions – like the target market or whether the product offers a solid solution – it’s natural to tunnel vision and glaze over opportunities that might add further value. External parties can have a more realistic view of the product, thus helping it become stronger and more stable.

An outsourced team can always present a fresh set of eyes – bringing in new ideas and testing methods that might have been overlooked. Quite simply, the more people you have on the project, the more insight you will gain in the early stages of development. A professional product design team can also point out flaws in your product that you might not have known and find early and smooth fixes.

Outsourced prototyping companies employ professionals in various fields, so there are multiple and interdisciplinary approaches to rating and assessing the success of a product depending on the industry. 

Innovation

All the resources you can save when outsourcing – including both time and money – can be reinvested in the company to generate more ideas or incubate the ones that gather traction. If the product you’re building is part of a larger project, these resources can improve your overall chances of success and open more opportunities for further development.

By using external expert knowledge, organizations can also benefit from innovative materials and production methods they would have 5 Tips for a Successful Tech Startupotherwise not had in-house. Naturally, this translates to current or future improvement in innovation projects and products. In the long run, this will help your business expand and develop faster and in possibly unexpected ways.

Another great thing about established prototyping companies is that they can compare similar products with those they have handled in the past. So, they can tell if your product is innovative enough. At times, they can even judge if you have an edge compared to your competition and maybe suggest some changes for your product’s improvement. 

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Final Words

Prototyping can help companies develop and test their products early on, which increases their chances of success after introducing them to the market. However, issues like costs, development times, and other procedural obstacles can hinder such in-house projects – making outsourcing a much more beneficial option for companies of varying sizes.

Some of the reasons why companies should outsource prototyping include a faster time to market, cost-efficiency, improved ideation, and more opportunities for innovation. By exposing their product to more opinions, testing, and an improved methodology, companies can ultimately reach a superior and successful outcome.

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