Choosing a factory is one of the most important decisions a manufacturing company can make. This article looks at key steps your company should take when selecting a factory.

Define and Protect Your Product

Before even selecting a factory for manufacturing, it is essential to have a well-thought-out product your company will make. Do market research to predict whether your product will be successful. Decide whether your company will distribute the product itself or hand the process off to another company (known as licensing). If applicable, obtain a patent, copyright, or trademark protections for your product. At this stage, it is also advisable to build a prototype for testing in possible factories (and to see if the idea is feasible in the first place).

Decide Where It Will Be Made

Once you have a well-defined product, you will need to decide whether it will be manufactured in the United States or overseas. Both have perks.

Manufacturing in the United States includes these advantages:

• American customers may respond more favorably to American-made goods. 

• Checking in and performing quality control at the factory will be easier. 

• Small-batch orders may be more easy to obtain.  

Meanwhile, manufacturing overseas offers these advantages:

• Some overseas factories may be able to make products US factories cannot. 

• They may be cheaper than US factories.  

Hone In on a Specific Factory

The next step is to select a specific factory. If you can only find one that can make your product at a cost within your budget, the choice is easy. However, if there are multiple choices, ask yourself questions like these:

• What are the technical capabilities of this factory? Can it supply the product? 

• How experienced is this factory at making products like the one my company wants? 

• Does this factory have a good reputation with other companies it has worked with?  

Resources to help you answer questions like these include interviews with factory representatives and websites like Global Sourcing Specialists, Alibaba, Maker’s Row, and MFG.com.

For more business tips, take a look at the other blog posts from Goldendale Capital.