How to select suppliers and substitute factories for hardware startups?

Encounter this real problem, each time to struggle. Suppliers where the most afraid of broken goods, the factory most afraid of rework.

When choosing devices and suppliers, the direct face is to quality assurance or control costs. For example, a roll of material, the difference between the different quality of several times more than the thousand, the pursuit of maximizing profits on the instinct to choose the price is low, enough is good; the factory is the same, cheap, look passable, attitude and enthusiasm, on the cooperation. But after a few lessons, it is clear, here to save the rest of the place must return, if so rework, return a replacement, serious impact on the reputation, it is not worth the candle. Although we have not encountered similar things, but the bitter experience heard many, the lightest is also a waste of time inexplicable bugs, stability and durability, not to mention.

How can we save money and develop and produce reliable products? My practice is the prototype stage to find a large agent to take authentic samples, generally have (no free also to buy authentic), entrepreneurial team as far as possible to choose a mature version of the sample, do a little white mouse taste sometimes very collapse. But the early appearance really did not need to look for the big brand Generation factory, can meet the conditions on it, sometimes small batch production can also find them. This will ensure that you avoid unnecessary interference and save time when developing, and focus on your functional realization.

There is a special case that some big-name factories may actively support your project, even free to provide you with a full range of services, this time you have to make a choice, first of all, it is a good thing, but there is a small danger, if you do not intend to cooperate with them in the future, before the previous design, Processing technology, etc. may be other plants can not do, later your mass production plan may be completely overturned.

Finally, to see your product shipments, a few k, dozens of K of the amount of basic small factory can also be done, and more must look for big-name OEM, to ensure the process, quality and duration. Once the product quantity, must choose the high quality device, this absolutely did not discuss, even if expensive on hundreds of times times also want to use stable, otherwise the six months is your nightmare beginning, repair, return is not what, your reputation is too difficult to recover.

According to hear, there is always a special case, others use demolition parts, loose A can also make durable good products. We have no way to discuss this, they are not ordinary people. In short, we are talking about the entrepreneurial period, or careful and prudent focus on design and function bar. The amount of prenatal I propose to finance first, to bear fruit, it is best to get enough money to find the most reliable suppliers and the most suitable for the factory, to ensure that the most NB products can be made.