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Product Development
07 / Engineering Partners

The right engineer
for the job,
not the one who wants the order.

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The Problem
Three ways engineering help
goes wrong before the drawing exists.

Engineering help in China comes in six distinct kinds of firm. Most brands only ever meet one of them, and it is the one that wants the parts order.

01

The shop that quotes the parts also reviews the drawing

Manufacturability feedback offered to win the order is useful and cheap. It is also why that shop cannot be the reviewer of record on a part someone else makes.

02

One tier does not fit every job

A bracket, a bounded design review, and a new product line need three different kinds of firm. Sending all three to the same one pays for capability you did not need, or misses capability you did.

03

The drawing stays with the vendor

When the design lives at the factory, changing factories means starting over. Your drawing package should be yours to take anywhere.

The Tiers
Six kinds of engineering firm.
We name the one your job needs.

Every tier below is one we have sourced, priced, or worked with. We earn nothing from the choice, so the tier we name is the one the job needs. The cost lines are relative. The real number arrives in a quote you approve before anything starts.

01 / Factory desk

Factory Engineering Desk

Right when the part is close to something they already build and the improvement is a process one. Wrong when you want an independent read, or to take the design elsewhere later. Cost sits inside the unit price.

02 / Rapid shop

Rapid Manufacturing With Manufacturability Review

Right when you need a first article in days, or a manufacturability check on a drawing you already own. Wrong when you need someone to review a part that a different shop makes. Cost is low and often bundled.

03 / Full service

Full Service Consultancy With Its Own Plant

Right when you want one accountable party for the whole program and will pay the intermediary for it. Wrong when you want design separated from parts, or an honest opinion on their own work. Cost is high, and layered.

04 / Studio

Independent Engineering Studio

Right when you want structure, tolerances, and materials from someone with nothing to gain from the answer, and a drawing package you own. Wrong when you also need them to run production and manage suppliers. Cost is moderate.

05 / Design group

Industrial Design Group

Right for a whole new line, with styling, electronics, and supply chain in one contract and a budget to match. Wrong for one bracket, one review, or a first product. Priced by program, with minimums.

06 / Process

Process and Quality Consultancy

Right when the drawing is right and the factory is the problem. Wrong for anything that is actually a design fault. Charged by the day.

How It Works
Scope, quote, manage.
You approve before anyone starts.

The tier is named before a firm is contacted, and the quote is approved before a dollar is spent.

01

Scope

We write the brief and name the tier the job needs, before anyone is contacted.

02

Quote

We source the firm inside that tier and show you the quote with the vendor's name withheld until you approve it.

03

Manage

Our Shenzhen team runs the engagement day to day. Everything the firm produces is yours, with no vendor lock on the drawing.

What You Get
The right firm, the approved quote,
and a drawing package you own.

Engineering bought as engineering, with nothing attached to it.

Tier Recommendation

Which tier the job needs and why, in one page.

Approved Quote

The firm's quote, approved by you before a dollar is spent.

Drawing Package You Own

Every file the engineer produces, portable to any manufacturer.

Engineering Review Report

Findings from a reviewer with nothing to gain from the answer.

Vendor Invoice Pack

The firm's invoice behind ours, identity withheld, totals visible.

Cost Plus 10%

Engineering is bought from the right tier for the job and passed through at cost plus 10%. The drawing package is yours to take anywhere.

Next Step

Tell us the job.
We will name the tier.

We work through referrals. If you have been referred, send us a message with what you need reviewed or designed, and we will come back with the tier, the reason, and a quote to approve.