What’s the best way to scale up from prototyping?
Partner with Alchemy Industrial
Determining if your product is ready to scale can sometimes feel more like an art than a science. Although scaling a part from prototype to production is often the goal, there’s no hard and fast metric out there to tell you when you’re ready for it.
So how do you know when you’re primed to take your prototype to scale? Here are some factors to consider:
- Established proof of concept. Is your product tried and tested in the market? Have you explored its capabilities in different settings, environments, and situations? Perhaps there are certifications you need to acquire in your state or city. If you can guarantee that your proof of concept is bullet-proof, that’s a good sign that you’ll have enough demand when you move to production.
- Traction. Are you gaining a following and growing your customer list? You want to see continuous growth in your brand’s visibility, your personal network, or your waitlist of future customers. Publicity is often a good indication of traction, but only if you’ve got an established proof of concept as well.
- Small scaling vs large scaling. Scaling is an iterative process; in an innovative business, you’ll never scale just once. If you’re at a phase where you need small-scaling, new developments might look like knowledge transfer and process development, not huge capital investments and new hires. Expect changes in materials, tooling, techniques, and even your relationship with your manufacturing partner over time.
- Efficiency and accuracy. Challenge yourself to find ways to serve more customers with the resources you already have. There are probably tools, procedures, and processes you can use to enhance current productivity and efficiency without adding major expense. Generating clear standard operating procedures (SOPs) or investing in project management software might be your next best step rather than custom tooling.
- Cash flow. Proper cash flow planning and a sense of how cash flow relates to production are imperative to scaling successfully. Run your projections through some worst-case scenarios so you can develop contingencies in case you don’t hit your targets.
Successful early manufacturing scaling is achievable—with the right planning and expertise. At Alchemy Industrial, our product development services will help you create your prototype, establish proof of concept, and scale to production.
Start your outsourced manufacturing journey with us today.
