Each milestone that goes into the design, innovation, and production of a new product takes attention to detail, awareness of time, and a sensible process. As each milestone is achieved, it brings development one step closer to delivering a marketable product created from the idea of an innovator or entrepreneur. Read more about our recent trip to China and how this expedition helped us hit milestones for several new products and uncovered some beautiful treasures.

For every product we work on, each milestone requires different things — from meeting with an innovator or entrepreneur to overseeing mass production and shipping of finished products. At Envision Product Development Group, we work together with our supply chain to plan the strategic product milestones, and then set-off to meet them.

Earlier this year we planned our overseas production travel itinerary with several projects on-board that were in different phases of Development through Production.

• Derma Shower – A home shower super-filter and transdermal nutrient delivery system…invented to reduce water impurities from entering the body, and infuse the body with life-enhancing nutrients.

• The Kira Book Pack – A local author’s children’s storybook, with overnight back-pack, and monster spray…helping children overcome fears and bringing families together for bedtime story reading.

• Cocktail Cabana – A clever sun-shade beverage holder with a stay-cool tray…targeting the summertime fun-time resort, theme park, and outdoor cocktail enthusiast market.

Planning Strategically

When it comes to developing and manufacturing a product we plan strategically to maximize time and resources. Each milestone is important and plays a significant role in gathering information, making decisions, planning, and delivering a competitive product idea to the marketplace.

During this recent trip, we spent about 7 days covering several different products that are in various stages of development and production. We met with suppliers and engineers throughout the trip to enhance our understanding of niche manufacturing processes and gain first hand financial and lead-time information.  

Design Information

At the early stages of product development, we visit our candidate factories that manufacture similar products to provide us with a better understanding of the manufacturing process and to improve the product design.

For example, we completed a milestone for the Cocktail Cabana by meeting with factory engineers and developing a strategy to avoid common obstacles found in manufacturing similarly produced products. We leveraged our factory engineers and combined our manufacturing experience to enhance the product design and materials resulting in a 40% lower production cost!

Financial Information

While anything is possible with an unlimited budget, innovators, entrepreneurs, and corporations have to consider the financial implications of their product idea at each stage to remain profitable. In developing the product, we must consider landed goods costing early on in the development process. In the case of the Derma Shower project, during our meeting with the factory engineers, we were able to obtain valuable tooling, molding and part cost reduction suggestions.

Lead-Time Information

In addition to compiling design and financial information during this trip, we were able to gather data about lead times. By meeting with our production management and logistics teams in person, we get a better understanding of shipment process details, which helps us create a realistic transport and delivery time-frame. 

Building Relationships

The relationships we build with overseas partners and affiliates play a very important role in meeting product milestones. Our trips to China offer face-to-face communication and provide the opportunity to strengthen business relationships, which puts us in a better strategic position for effective planning and cost negotiations. 

We also leverage our overseas presence to create relationships and uncover innovative new import opportunities. For example, two years ago a Chinese partner was exploring a new artwork style and production method for the vintage USA themed wall hanging art. At that time he had a couple of prototypes and asked our opinion. We offered him some entrepreneurial business advice, and encouragement, and he took it to heart. Two years later he had built a brand, a production line, a showroom, sales revenue, and now offers over 165 different handcrafted 3-dimensional pieces of the most visually and emotionally captivating vintage USA themed artwork I have ever seen. For more information email info@envisionproducts.com.  

At Envision Product Development Group, our job is to bring your product ideas to life. We invest our time and energy into the work we do because we want you to be successful. If you have a product idea and don’t know where to start, reach out to us. We help guide you on a path to success.