Blog 10. Work with your suppliers

Engineering and product development is very complex, especially when digging into details. There is always a limitation on how many fields you can be educated to cover. Sooner or later, you face the question – how to understand how to design a particular part of your product?

To escape from unknown and uncomfortable fields, one solution you often see is that many engineers too soon choose and go for a particular resolution. Then they get away from the anxiety of unsolved problems, and you can happily go on developing your product. But unfortunately, if they practice this policy too often, they will end up with a product being an integration of many ill-considered solutions. As a result, the product will not be useful for its purpose or unnecessarily expensive, or limited in other aspects.

However, if you are a prestigeless entrepreneur, there is a very efficient solution to the above.

If you search around for a while, you will undoubtedly find some specialists who understand your problem domain better than yourself. However, maybe you don’t get an immediate answer from these because you are not informed enough to come up with the right questions at the beginning of your research. Also, such specialists are aware of their ability to help you and may ask you for unacceptable compensation.

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I chose two or maybe three suitable suppliers to help me in this situation. As I said above, they will immediately try to sell you a solution, often the one they earn the most from. Now you should strictly tell them that you are not in a position to order any solution but that you very much want to get into such a position. You ask them to educate yourself in their specialist field to bring you into the position to buy. Sometimes they respond that such education isn’t for free, but since you refuse to order, they most often accept to charge not more than their standard hourly fee.

So you take place in the school desk and let the supplier educate. The best is if you manage to arrange the education with many suppliers in the master’s desk simultaneously. Then they try to compete and overshine each other, and you get into the field quicker. The lesson is simple, you bomb the suppliers with questions, and you never stop this before you understand their answers. Sometimes they think you are a bit stupid, but then you remind them that you pay for their wasted time.

After a series of classes, depending on the complexity to grasp, I promise, you will get competent in the desired fields. It may also happen that you gradually understand that the solution emerging from the education was not what you needed, and then you just pay for the education hours. But most often, at least one supplier takes the lead in understanding your need and feels proud to propose a solution from their company. Finally, you sign an order, and both know that this solution will fit you very well.

I promise this approach never fails; all you have to do is continue until you understand.