A New Model for Manufacturing + Supply Chain Consulting
A few weeks ago, I wrote about infrastructure for hardware development and distribution. You can find the post here:
As I mentioned in this article, there are a lot of gaps that impede accelerated development in this space. Access to manufacturing and supply chain expertise is one of the big fractures for startups.
I’ve come to understand that in order for a hardware project or company to truly be successful and get a great product into the hands of consumers at scale, they need someone early on who knows the ins and outs of the manufacturing and supply chain world, especially overseas.
Inexperienced founders taking the time to sift through the complexities of the Asian manufacturing scene will only hinder product development, and it’s best to put those operations into the hands of someone who has experience and expertise. A great hardware startup needs someone focused on selecting and vetting contract manufacturers, managing vendors and suppliers, as well as reviewing financials.
Often times, consultants do this work to put systems in place for fledgling companies. There are specialized consultancy firms such as Ops on Tap and Riverwood Solutions.
However, I believe that a better solution would be a technology-enabled marketplace that connected hardware companies with manufacturing and supply chain talent. This model would be powerful because:
- Algorithms could do the heavy lifting and drive the right experts to companies based on certain criteria they have, thus reducing the search and vetting cost for startups.
- The company running the marketplace would do the work of finding the right manufacturing experts, but over time, each project would have a high value and the transaction fees would overcome the upfront cost.
- Efficient talent-matching would speed up the hardware development process and help companies come to market faster.
We’re seeing this model attempted in a few other industries. Clora is building a two-sided platform for life sciences experts and Gigster is connecting software development teams to people who need their services.
Organizing manufacturing talent and connecting them with the companies that need their services most is needed, and I contend that a two-sided technology marketplace model might be an appropriate answer.
What are your thoughts? Do you think something like this could work? Drop me a line at aashaysanghvi[at]gmail.com to discuss further.
