Establishing the platform to Value Creation
The key to establishing and maintaining meaningful customer value at the outset is managing to avoid the common pitfalls that many new businesses fall into. Whether through investor focus or customer demand the pressure on getting to launch can be intense.
In our experience the two most commonly recorded areas where mistakes can occur are:
Optimising your design for manufacture
Time to market pressure can be mitigated by ensuring your design can not only be manufactured in quantity but also tested and delivered at the expected quality and cost. In an outsourced model the earlier your manufacturer is involved in the design process the better.
As your business moves into its growth phase your customer will apply pressure to continually look for cost reduction opportunities. Understanding this at the outset will be important in the selection of technology and components. Establishing a suitable supply chain with the right partners will allow you to fully grasp the costs and trends of the material base at the same time as ensuring life cycle continuity and quality of supply. In addition, considering the whole life of a product should also consider the ease of service and maintenance and possibly field upgrades.
Investing time at this stage will reap significant benefits to the business in the long run. Optify will work closely with you offering guidance and support when making these strategic early choices.
Selecting and preparing an appropriate Sales Channel
Even the best innovations can flounder if the channel to the customer is not right.
Investing in a clearly defined and sustainable sales strategy whether using a direct or indirect route to you customer will be intrinsic to the long-term success of your business. Beyond the sales phase your capabilities supporting your customer or channel through professional account management will go a long way to ensuring future prosperity and keeping the competition at bay.
With our breadth of expertise partnering many new businesses to commercial success, Optify can advise and support you in making the right choices at the right time.