By involving suppliers in the early stages of the product design process, the buyer can help the product design team achieve two crucial objectives:
1. Involving suppliers early on in the design process can significantly reduce time-to-market. This allows for purchased items to be of acceptable quality and ready for use in product prototyping and production roll-out stages during the design cycle.
2. By involving suppliers in the design process, the design team can utilize the suppliers’ expertise in sourcing, cost management, and value analysis to access core competencies that they may not possess or are weak in. This can improve the overall design and outcome of the project.
Advantages of collaborative supplier involvement also include:
1. Including suppliers in the early stages of development allows for the exchange of technological and design information between the buyer and supplier.
2. By involving suppliers early on, product designs can be simplified and standardized, making them easier to manufacture and assemble. This is a significant benefit as it results in products that are simpler to produce and assemble.
3. By simplifying the design in the initial stage of product development, there will be fewer engineering changes and quality problems as the design process progresses. This leads to a more efficient and effective engineering process.
4. Utilizing a supplier’s technical expertise can be beneficial in saving time and resources throughout the different stages of the product development process.