Sofeast Pricing

No, we have never done this. Think of us as a professional service provider. We always have to be paid for our work. We can sometimes propose flat fees for specific deliverables, but we never do work on a contingency basis.

We fulfill many of the same functions, but our business model is a bit different. We keep our clients by providing value, not by making ourselves indispensable, and certainly not by keeping certain information close to our chest (our clients know everything).

Note, that we do provide a solution where we take on the role of your procurement office.

First, what is a good factory for importer A may not be a good factory for other buyers.

Read why there is no such thing as “a good factory” in this blog post

Second, we can probably help you source a supplier, and you can select this solution here. We will activate our network of suppliers, get them to confirm they are interested in your business and screen them to ensure they are a good fit for your project.

If you look online, you will find many people with low rates, and many (probably most) of them work remotely.
Our product engineers work on-site in our facility and within the frameworks of our company. Their managers look after the quality of the work. They have access to rapid prototyping equipment and testing equipment.

They also work within a larger team. They can tap our purchasers when they need to find sources for certain parts – not just to make a prototype, but also with the capability to make production batches. They can ask our process and manufacturing engineers to confirm the feasibility of certain designs.

All this translates into better work, fewer obstacles that slow a project down, and much lower risks of losing intellectual property.

For very simple products, “making a prototype” might simply mean pressing a button and sending a CAD file to a 3D printer. For the products we tend to work on, it means some initial analysis, the testing of a few hypotheses, some engineering design work, discussions with a few specialized suppliers about the feasibility of a certain approach (for production), purchasing parts and assembling them, having them tested based on a customized plan, and sending the prototype. Oh, and most products require several rounds of prototyping, especially if they include electronic parts.

All this takes a certain number of hours. It is better if we are straightforward and mention a minimum amount (which might end up being much higher for a given project), to avoid breeding unrealistic expectations.

If you take an existing simple product and you only make a small tweak to its design, in a way that doesn’t impact manufacturing methods, there is no need for a DFM review.

In other cases, you need to confirm that your design can be made in a way that allows you to reach your objectives (budget, quality, timelines, …).

Read more about this on https://www.sofeast.com/product-engineering/dfm-review-asia.

In many cases, that would result in either an abnormally high pay for us (not in your interest) or a very low pay for us (which means our incentive is to do as little as possible, again not in your interest).

In general, the best is to keep the QA & QC work separate from commercial considerations.

Yes, sure, as we usually do random inspections. But, in some cases (complicated products, high quantity, many SKUs), we’ll have to reduce the proportion of samples taken, as well as the scope of the inspection work, so much that it may no longer make sense.

We are happy to provide a quotation based on your product & order information, and based on what is important to your company.

If you only engage us for quality assurance services, no. Some people have a misconception and think they can pay for an inspection and use that contract as an insurance policy. In reality, we only help reduce your risks by assuring quality (and it takes much more than just doing inspections – please look at our other QA services).

If you want us to be responsible for your production, we need to work at another level, and it is driven by our Supply Chain Management department.