Source Development – The EastBridge Process

Folks,

Not to stretch the creation metaphor too far, when a new or redesigned product is conceived, is in gestation and is about to spring forth, it pays to have an experienced midwife in the mix. We frequently hear that EastBridge is just that – the midwife who guides the birth of new products.

When you get down to it, we’re in the business of landing (birthing) fairly priced and top quality custom products on the docks of our customers. There are many steps (and countless phone calls, meetings, design reviews, BOM development, mold-flow analyses, material testing and email notes) before we arrive at that point and a lot to juggle.

In order for the “baby” to arrive healthy and on time, we follow a process that’s tried and true. The checklist that guides each of our projects is summarized below:

STAGE I

Phase I

• General Specification Review

• Pre-qualification of approximately three (3) contract manufacturers (CMs) and a corps of supporting subcontractors

• Execute customer / vendor mutual non-disclosure agreement (NDA)

• On-site factory audit of the candidate vendor(s)

• Confirmation of the specification and generation of budgetary quotations, FOB term

Estimated Duration: Four Weeks

Phase II

• Specification refinement and confirmation

• Sample generation / trial run (tooling build, FAI, etc.)

• Secondary pricing and commercial terms negotiation

• Finalize vendor(s)

• Design for manufacturing and assembly (DFMA) and process optimization

Estimated Duration: Twenty Weeks

STAGE II

• Place initial order on behalf of customer by transmitting customer’s PO to the vendor(s)

• Expedite the order and advise the customer of the delivery schedule

• Perform work in process inspection (WIP)

• Perform inspection of the finished goods

• Supervision of all shipments

• Shipment coordination, administration and translation

Estimated Duration: Ten Weeks

Now, while the timing shown for each phase differs from project to project, the overall process and trajectory for complex products is defined by this checklist. With or without us, it’s a lot to keep track of. We think that the EastBridge process is helpful, and we hope that you will as well.

Cheers,

Jack Daniels

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