Initiative · Project
Developing new products
Development is a relay race. It's lost at the handover.
Taking a physical or digital product from idea and requirements through design, prototypes and tests to production.
The situation
“We want to bring a new product to life.”
The idea is good, and there may already be sketches or a first model. Now come the questions that make development expensive: what exactly must the product do, at what cost, to which standards?
Then come the parties involved, who rarely talk to each other: design, engineering, software, purchasing, test lab and production. Every handover between them costs time and knowledge. And every change gets more expensive the later it comes.
Where it often goes wrong.
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Developing without a specification
Without written requirements, every discipline develops its own picture of the product. Later changes then cost tooling, prototypes and months instead of a paragraph in a document.
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Design nobody can manufacture
The design looks right and works, but parts are expensive to make or assemble. Production and purchasing need a seat at the table early, not just at production release.
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Back to the test lab
Standards and tests shape design, materials and documentation. Clarify them only after the prototype, and you redesign parts and wait for the test lab all over again.
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Need assumed, not tested
A product can succeed technically and still miss the need. Early conversations with potential customers cost little and save expensive detours.
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The device waits for the app
With connected products, software often waits for finished hardware. Then the device is ready, but the app and interfaces are still missing for the launch.
Which disciplines work together here.
4 of 13 disciplines, one team, one point of contact. Every service has a clear role, and you decide which ones we take on.
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D10 Product Development & Engineering
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Turns idea and need into an approved requirements specification, including standards and roadmap.
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Compares concept variants, checks critical functions and calculates target costs before design work starts.
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Shapes form, operation and materials so that brand and production fit together.
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Designs mechanics, electronics and firmware up to a released data set for prototype and production.
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Coordinates prototypes and pre-series with manufacturing partners from our network.
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Plans tests, steers test labs and coordinates approvals with notified bodies.
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Makes the design ready for production and accompanies the ramp-up at the manufacturer.
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Writes instructions, risk assessment and technical files for conformity, service and every target language.
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D01 Business Development
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Uses interviews and competitor comparison to clarify which need the product really meets.
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D09 IT & Digital
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Builds the app or platform for the product, or the product itself if it's digital.
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Tests operating concepts with future users before any code is written.
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D06 Procurement & Supply Chain
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Finds and qualifies suppliers for bought-in parts and production, and negotiates the terms.
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You decide the scope.
Some teams bring us in only for requirements and feasibility, then carry on developing themselves. Others hand us engineering and prototypes, or just the route into production. We also go the whole way, from the first sketch to handover to the manufacturer.
Good questions. Straight answers.
Do you build prototypes and pre-series yourselves?
No, manufacturers from our network do. We have no workshops or labs of our own, but we know how to choose the right ones and steer them.
You have one point of contact for deadlines, quality and costs. Certificates are issued by notified or accredited bodies; we coordinate.
Can production stay with our current manufacturer?
Yes, if quality, capacity and price are right. We then involve them early in the design, so the product fits their processes. If there's no suitable manufacturer, we find and qualify new suppliers.
Will you also take the product to market afterwards?
Yes. Price, positioning, sales materials and delivery readiness are covered in Launching a product. Link the two early: target price and target group already belong in the specification.
Can you say upfront how long development will take?
Only as a range. The biggest uncertainties lie in testing, approvals and lead times for tooling.
So we plan in stages with clear approvals, and you always know where the project stands. We talk through your starting point in the free Initiative Check.
Proof first. Contract second.
In the free Initiative Check, we listen for 45 minutes and ask the questions that usually only come up after the contract is signed. Then you get a short written assessment: what we see, how we would go about it and roughly what it would take.
No obligation. And if we're not the right fit, we'll tell you.
Or write to us at hello@intoops.com.