How Product Companies Can Leverage Service Companies to be More Effective and Efficient?

Businesses across industries stand at the threshold of a new future that mandates their transition to a software-centric model. This shift is irreversible and it promises to disrupt traditional industrial companies and markets.

Given this dynamic business environment, there’s immense pressure on companies to deliver products that attract top-line growth while providing a superior experience. The situation demands quick release cycles and an iterative approach to software product development that involves continuous testing for enhanced quality and on-time delivery.

Unfortunately, however, the majority of companies often end up allocating a significant amount of time and resources behind product development. The worst part is in most cases the product may or may not be market-ready due to lack of technological expertise or insufficient funds. The 2017 State of Project Management Survey indicates that only 34% of enterprise software development projects finish on time and only 42% projects are completed within budget. In another study, only 23% of organizations have reported that they use standardized project management practices.

Such bottlenecks are enough to divert an organization from its core business and revenue-generating objectives, leading to unprecedented losses. Additionally, a poorly structured product development process can also restrict a company from experimenting with new technology and products which helps maintain a competitive stance in the market.
 

As companies harness new technologies to innovate and enhance processes, the move to an agile operating model will undeniably serve as a natural action, driving enterprise-wide digital transformation. In this light, companies will have to take calculated steps to redefine their product development processes and revenue margins.

While startups are a viable option, it entirely depends on how much a company is ready to shell out in order to make a promising acquisition. Another way to stay ahead of the curve is to opt for product engineering services that can help companies seamlessly create and deploy innovative products and applications, without impacting the existing repertoire of standard legacy products.

To understand how product engineering services can be beneficial, an organization needs to identify where the project requirements arise. All organizations today are racing to offer better product features, functionalities, and quick time-to-market. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the need to manufacture quality products and applications within the shortest timeframe comes at the forefront of every manufacturing initiative.

The good news is, product engineering services play a critical role at every stage of the product lifecycle. Starting from the initial conception of an idea to documentation and development, the right product engineering services can tell whether the concepts are worth pursuing or not.

An external engineering services firm can not only help a company in simplifying the product development process but also allow it to enhance conversion rates through:

Compressed Development Cycle:

Companies offering engineering services have highly skilled and experienced manpower at their disposal. Moreover, they also leverage advanced engineering tools and technologies to serve clients. Thus, with these services a company can tap into the potential of skilled engineers and high-end software and technology without directly investing in the same.

For example, companies operating in the healthcare space can consider collaborating with an engineering services provider to expedite the process of developing advanced 3D imaging and printing applications that can transform medical implant development in the field of orthopedics. Quick deployment of critical medical equipment not only helps patients with quick post-surgery rehabilitation but also ensures that the healthcare service provider scores high on customer experience index.  

Enhanced Operational Efficiency:

Three major factors are involved in the market deployment of a finished product, namely fixed asset investment, engineering resources, and manpower. An engineering service provider can suffice for these three distinct requirements, which means that a company is left with enough resources and budgets to invest in the development of new competencies.

Faster Turnaround Times:

Engineering service providers have access to a ready team of trained and highly-skilled engineers which ensure that a particular project is executed well within the stipulated timeframe. While working with a service company on research projects, an organization can be assured that deadlines will be met, at times even earlier than what was initially planned.

Strategic Resource Management:  

Opting for product engineering services from an external firm, can allow a company to leverage suitable engineering resources as and when the need arises. This eliminates the need to invest in permanent assets and resources. The extra assistance provided by an external firm enables a company take up more projects independently while expanding customer base simultaneously.

Going forward, product engineering services can become a go-to solution for core product companies looking for specialized capabilities such as Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) design. These chips can help product designers minimize product size while reducing its power consumption and enhancing its performance.

For all future products, security will be a key concern and given the fact that next-gen products are going to be digitally smart, ASIC systems/chips are an inevitable reality. However, there are very few companies that excel in integrating security in ASIC chips as there are no external trainings/courses available for capability building and the only way to secure your next-gen products is to partner with the existing pool of experts which are provided by such companies.

Offshore vendors are aggressively moving up the value chain to include specialized service offerings in their inventory such as ASIC that require research support, technical expertise, and next-gen engineering resources. As they become more streamlined and improvise their operating models, product companies will increasingly be at the gaining end, considering the value add that these engineering services companies are poised to deliver.