Field Notes #4: The Modern Supply Chain Team - Bridging Design Intent to Reality

I love hardware, but I absolutely LOVE consumer hardware. I still remember sitting in the offices at ASML in Wilton, CT while we're working in cutting edge tech, but checking out Engadget every single morning, after lunch and right before leaving the office. Sharing articles and updates with my cubicle mate then and great friend now, Rob (apparently he's too busy at SpaceX building propulsion systems to be on linkedin).

I still remember Jason Orach keeping us up to date on the first iPhone launch and then being the first to get it and us all laughing at it not being able to copy and paste like my Blackberry Bold. But now we know he was right all along!

This love for consumer products has always stuck with me. I love working on products that combine functionality with great design. As I started my startup journey you'll see a trend, littleBits, Walker & Company Brands, Inc. (Bevel), quip., Atoms - all super functional but absolutely beautifully designed.

With my experience bridging both, product development and manufacturing I became enamored with figuring out how I in my role could help bridge design and engineering with manufacturing in a way that enables super functional products to be able to be made without compromising the design intent, which at times can be limited by manufacturing constraints from a capability or cost perspective.

This is where Design for Manufacturing (DFM) comes in. I'm going to give you the framework, and you can use it to build internal processes relevant to your product and company. This approach integrates manufacturing constraints and supply chain realities into the earliest stages of product design and creating a process that leads to:

1. Manufacturing Process Optimization

   • Making design choices that minimize assembly steps and complexity

   • Tooling investments that balance upfront costs with long-term scalability

   • Quality control integration points to ensure the design intent is delivered perfectly.

2. Robust Component and Parts Strategies:

   • Integrating supply chain risk assessment into component selection

   • Sourcing suppliers with manufacturing capabilities early on in the process of development to ensure

3. Cost Engineering Structure

   • Material selection based on both performance and availability

   • Assembly time reduction through smart design choices. This is a whole another subject that deserves a full post one day.

   • Packaging designed not just user delight and protection but also cost efficient shipping.

Key Factors that lead to success:

1. Concurrent Engineering, Manufacturing and Supply Chain Planning

   The most successful hardware startups run product development and supply chain planning in parallel rather than sequentially. This means:

   • Supply chain team members participate in early design reviews

   • Manufacturers are consulted during early prototyping phases

   • Logistics considerations influence product dimensions and materials

   • Testing procedures are developed alongside production processes

2. Building Strategic Supplier Relationships

   Successful hardware startups build relationships that go beyond traditional vendor-buyer dynamics:

   • Co-development partnerships with key suppliers

   • Early engagement with contract manufacturers in the dev process

   • Shared risk and reward structures

   • Consistent technology roadmap alignment

3. Thinking About Scale Earlyyyyy

   The intersection demands careful attention to scaling challenges:

   • Design decisions that work at both low and high volumes

   • Flexible manufacturing processes that can scale with demand

   • Supply chain redundancy without excessive overhead

   • Quality control systems that scale efficiently

Common Pitfalls You Want to Avoid:

1. Over-optimization for Scale

   This is hard to balance. You’re racing to grow but that doesn’t mean you’re ready to build 100,000 units for your first run. Roll out in a measured way, balancing risk of overstocking versus stocking out.

   • Investing in expensive tooling that can make 2-3M parts too early when you just need 100K

   • Committing to high minimum order quantities before product-market fit

2. Treating suppliers as 'vendors' rather than strategic partners:

   If the only time your suppliers hear from you is when you’re sending a PO, asking about production status or yelling at them when they’re late, they’re a shop not a supplier. Avoid:

   • Insufficient communication about roadmap changes

   • Engaging last-minute with manufacturers whether it’s on development initiatives or replenishing inventory of sustaining product lines.

3. Insufficient Flexibility in Design

   The reality is you want to ensure the design intent comes to life as intended but in most practical cases that has to be balanced with the business’ goal to grow. This is where you need to explore if you can modify some design elements without impacting the overall feel and usability of the product. Avoid:

   • Designs that lock into single-source components. This risk reduces as your company grows and can co-invest with manufacturers on process development.

   • Designs that require rigid manufacturing processes that can impact cost to a point where it does not make financial sense to sell the product.

   • Over-commitment to specific novel technologies or processes that can only be single-sourced. If that supplier goes out of business, so will you if you’re over-reliant on them.

That's it for now - but this is just scratching the surface of how to bring amazing hardware products to life in the way they were meant to exist. I've learned that magic happens when we treat manufacturing and supply chain as a creative constraint rather than a limitation. Some of the most resourceful ideas in design and manufacturing come from the pressures of constraint. It's about finding that sweet spot where great design meets sensible execution.

I’d love to hear challenges you may have faced in bringing your hardware designs to life? Let me know!

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Appreciate you✌🏽