I am the first to admit that this is not the most entertaining of subjects to sit through. But bear with me as this small hack will help you with whatever you are trying to source. If you are a hardware startup looking to get off the ground, then these are the topics that you need to know.
An RFQ stands for request for quotation, (I apologise if I am teaching you to suck eggs here), trust me it gets a bit more informative than this…
Now, a request for quotation is the most overlooked piece of documentation in purchasing interactions. Simply put, it's the instructions to a vendor (supplier) to supply you with a price of something that you need, that they have, or, the ability to produce. You are providing an opportunity for a group, to swap money for goods or services. …
There is no one single secret to successfully launching a powerful product. But with a considerable amount of thought, process and planning; it’s 100% achievable. In this article, we will discuss some of the key lessons on how you can plan a successful product launch by developing your initial design ideas.
The key to a successful launch of any product is grasping the concept of control, learning to be on top of everything, and when. Well, before you are thinking about product construction and the nuances of its function, you need to register if your product is actually viable.
The viability of anything is the key to success. It will drive your idea through to fruition; it will push you through the hard days when everything appears stacked against you (and trust me when launching anything, there will be many of these), and give you the inner determination to strive towards the light at the end of the tunnel. …
Success is not hard to achieve if you understand what success is, and more importantly, how to measure it.
From getting up in the morning till sleep at night, we all strive for success. For some, it's a successful day being able to wake up, for others, it's keeping warm, not going hungry or having enough money in the bank to live their perceived successful life.
It's all about measurement.
Don't worry; this article isn't some nihilistic story. It's about how we can accurately understand how we all, regardless of situations, can, in 100% of situations be successful.
It's all in the measurement. …
There is a reason why planes don’t fall out of the sky due to their wings falling off or when driving down the road cars don’t spontaneously combust.
Aeronautical and automotive components; through frequent testing, continuous monitoring and the implementation of control systems, maintain an exceptionally high degree of quality; meaning that it’s no lottery taking a flight or driving a car.
Ok, you have probably been in a car that has broken down or failed to start. Indeed there have been instances; even recently, where planes have fallen out of the sky (737 Max).
But the vast majority of cases, you go to your car in the morning; it starts, it continues to run, and it gets you home safely. Additionally, you can fly to locations knowing that in the vast majority of cases you will land without issue. …
By George Tewson
MerchSprout Founder
When refining customer needs before sourcing new components from overseas suppliers, we always determine five essential questions from customers and suppliers. This post will discuss the five questions, their ideal answers, and what you should be looking for when sourcing new components from overseas suppliers.
When sourcing from new suppliers abroad, it can be challenging to determine the suppliers’ ability and their capability to fulfil your order to your specifications. But first, you need to understand your specifications. With this in mind, the first question you should ask is not actually from suppliers. …
How can you characterise an issue?
Think about it: what is an issue? An issue to you may not necessarily be an issue to your peer, your loved one or your boss?
So how can we reduce something so subjective to circumstance?
That's what we will be discussing today, how we first characterise issues, highlight them as a problem, and finally cut them to boost productivity.
If we were to look at an issue in Engineering, we would first produce a problem statement. A problem statement recognises the disparity between reality and the recognised expected outcome.
Therefore, to characterise an issue, we need to generate a statement around the problem- A Problem Statement. …
Before we delve right into the benefits of objective testing and what it is. Let’s look at one of the biggest frauds of the past decade:
Theranos was a privately held health technology company. On paper, it had a spectacular, groundbreaking new technology that used a wearable chip; this chip communicated with servers to realtime monitor your blood for a whole host of ailments, and, in equally splendid fashion; diagnose and treat you. The documentation at the time stated that it could monitor over 200 individual diseases and infections—some real groundbreaking technology.
There was so much excitement around this technology that in the years 2013 to 2014, Theranos was valued at almost 10 billion dollars. …
Phthalates are carcinogenic chemical compounds used in production to make plastics malleable and durable. Because these compounds are not bonded to the plastics themselves, they can be ingested and absorbed into Humans.
They are primarily used in the production of plastics like PVC, they were banned for use in Children’s toys in the US and the EU. However, that has not stopped the use, production and supply of products containing them arriving from China.
A study of products containing Phthalates in school products was conducted by The Danish Environmental Protection Agency finding the use of six banned substances in school supplies (1). …
What is quality?
Really, how can you define quality? We sure know when something is of poor quality: It's loose, doesn't operate in the way that it should, or occasionally it doesn't operate at all. Possibly it fails prematurely or does not operate to our expectations- we class it as of poor quality.
So subsequently you would suggest things of good or exceptional quality behave in the opposite of ways?
Yes, and no.
You see its not as clear cut as that. I will give you a conundrum:
The aeronautical industry has some of the most stringent risk-averse, safety standards of any industry. And with good reason. With 176 thousand individual flights daily; the aviation industry has to ensure the safety of a huge number of people. …
With Coronavirus travel bans in full swing, lockdowns galore and just general danger every time you stick your head out of the front door (or so the media would have you believe) my world travelling adventure has taken somewhat of a backseat.
Throughout 2019 and 2020 we were travelling the pristine waters of SE Asia. Alas, Coronavirus put a firm stop to the majority of international travel. But, it didn't stop the travel bug from itching.
I have recently moved from the UK to reside in Moscow.
Moscow is an interesting place; I am not 100% sold on it currently, maybe it needs time, maybe it's the constant mask-wearing, maybe its the state of the world at the moment, or the grey concrete on grey skies. …
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