Product Manufacturing at Alchemy Manufacturing Studio
Recently we covered the first two phases in our 3-step product development service method at Alchemy Manufacturing Studio: Discovery and Design for Manufacturability.
In this final step, we tackle the actual creation of your product: Manufacturing. We can either manufacture for you, including building your supply chain at scale, or you can take it from here with our help along the way.
This stage is where your product goes to the shop floor to scale, and it’s critical that the launch strategy is implemented well.
Alchemy Manufacturing Studio’s Approach to Manufacturing
Our Manufacturing phase includes:
The Manufacturing Plan
The Design for Manufacturing stage preceding this step in the process will have helped us determine the critical requirements for manufacturing at scale, from the ideal manufacturing method(s) to supply and technology considerations.
Now we’re ready to create a plan. Your outsourced manufacturing plan will serve as the blueprint for production, covering the following requirements:
- Shop floor processes
- Quality strategy
- Labor plans
- Training requirements
- Supply and technology strategy
Plan for Scale
We’ll develop a strategy to help you scale that de-risks your growth and anticipates the challenges that can arise when you expand quickly. This plan includes three key elements:
Scale-up schedule: Each person on your manufacturing team needs to know what to expect when production begins. We’ll align suppliers, vendors, project managers, and machinists to a unified time and action plan so they’re all on the same page and ready to go. Do you need to factor in time for special tooling, finishing, and/or market research? We’ll add all these items into your project schedule so we have a timeline that’s accurate and achievable.
Adequate training: We’ll provide product-specific and part-specific training for everyone working on your production. Machining a new part isn’t like flipping a switch—even if you’ve machined several of something already, you can’t just assume that the characteristics of the next part will be the same as the last. Practice makes perfect, especially in full assembly lines. At Alchemy Industrial, we teach by doing, learn by doing, and document everything along the way.
Documentation: Our team will create standard operating procedures (SOPs) and other critical documentation to build processes as we go. The goal is to make the manufacturing process as systematic as possible, as soon as possible. We develop guidebooks to ensure efficient knowledge transfer whenever someone new joins the team. These guidebooks also serve as important records for safety precautions and machine requirements.
Plan for Issues
Whenever humans are involved in anything, there will inevitably be a margin of error. All the planning in the world can’t prevent issues from arising. We minimize the probability that something will go wrong, but when it does, we want to be prepared to address it quickly and effectively. This part of the Manufacturing phase is about recognizing and planning for issues that may occur during production and aftermarket:
Production issues: The better you know your product, the easier you’ll be able to solve issues at scale. That’s why the Discovery phase is so important to our process: if you don’t understand the end customer’s ultimate needs, the margin of error grows.
And what happens if you run into a quality issue somewhere in the supply chain? If you’re making a part and it slips through your own quality assurance checks, how will you fix it? We’ll help you come up with a plan for anticipating and correcting errors in the fastest, most cost-efficient way.
Aftermarket issues: Any product, by default or intention, has an expected lifespan, but building out a sensible warranty or repair policy isn’t always easy. It’s important to determine upfront exactly what you’re prepared to take responsibility for.
You may decide to offer a 5-year warranty on a car, but what about the paint job, the water pump, and other parts of the vehicle? Are you prepared to make those repairs when the time comes? We’ll help you create smart policies based on the resources you have in place to address aftermarket issues.
Alchemy Industrial Will Manage Your Manufacturing Process
The bottom line is that when you’re manufacturing a product at scale, you need to have an excellent launch strategy. At Alchemy Industrial, we’re constantly thinking about all the inputs and outputs required to manufacture at scale so you don’t have to arrive at these critical decisions on your own.
Alchemy Manufacturing Studio serves as your very own virtual factory and your guide through the entire product development process: discovering the vision behind your napkin sketch, creating a design suitable for the shop floor, and developing an action plan for manufacturing at scale.
Let’s get your product into your customer’s hands. Contact us to get started!
