Bringing a Physical Product from Concept to Customer: An Overview

Here are the steps businesses usually follow when creating physical products:

At Custom Industrial Solutions, we help manufacturers maximize production rates through efficient design and custom tooling, resulting in higher quality (i.e. lower defect rates) and fast assembly (i.e. quicker time to market).

1. Ideation & Market Research

Conducting competitor analysis and customer research.
Identifying a problem or market need.
Validating demand through surveys, focus groups, or early testing.

2. Concept Development & Feasibility Analysis

Refining the product idea and defining key features.
Conducting feasibility studies (materials, costs, technical challenges).
Initial sketches, mockups, and rough cost estimation.

3. Product Design & Prototyping

Developing detailed technical drawings and CAD models.
Choosing materials and manufacturing processes.
Creating prototypes for testing and refinement.

Custom Industrial Solutions LLC can assist you in this step, providing engineers with experience in AutoCad, material sciences, and prototype creation. Our 3D printing services are a great way to create your initial prototypes for testing and refinement.

4. Engineering & Pre-Production Testing

Addressing design-for-manufacturing (DFM) concerns.
Testing durability, performance, and compliance.
Iterating based on feedback to finalize the product.

Custom Industrial Solutions LLC can help you in this step, designing assembly processes that reduce waste, shorten production schedules and increase quality. Testing alternative product line designs at this early stage eliminates defects and errors that can cause higher defect rates.

5. Manufacturing & Production Setup

Selecting manufacturers and suppliers.
Running small-batch production for quality control.
Scaling up for mass production.

Custom Industrial Solutions LLC specializes in this step, by providing assembly line processes, and custom tooling to facilitate the production of high quality products from day one.

6. Branding, Packaging & Marketing Prep

Designing product packaging and branding.
Creating marketing materials (website, advertisements, social media).
Planning a go-to-market strategy.

7. Logistics, Distribution & Fulfillment

Setting up inventory management and warehousing.
Establishing shipping and fulfillment processes.
Ensuring regulatory compliance for distribution.

8. Launch & Sales Execution

Officially launching the product through chosen sales channels.
Managing customer orders and supply chain logistics.
Monitoring sales and adjusting marketing strategies.

9. Post-Launch Support & Continuous Improvement

Handling customer service, returns, and warranty claims.
Gathering user feedback for future iterations.
Scaling production and expanding distribution.