By the time a product reaches the RFQ stage, many design problems have already become expensive.
Many brands assume product issues begin during sampling or mass production.
But some problems are already decided before a supplier even sees the design file.
This is not only a manufacturing opinion. In engineering and product development, it is widely recognized that early design decisions have a major impact on later cost, quality, and execution.
NASA’s Systems Engineering Handbook gives a clear example: during the design phase, only about 15% of the costs may be spent, but the design itself can commit around 75% of lifecycle costs.
The exact percentage may vary by industry, but the principle is highly relevant:
the earlier a decision is made, the more influence it has on everything that follows.
A design may look complete in a rendering.
But once it enters real manufacturing, different issues start to appear:
Inner corners may be too deep to polish properly.
A structure may be too thin to remain stable after forming.
A surface finish may look beautiful on a sample but become difficult to keep consistent in mass production.
A clasp may look refined, but lose stability after repeated use.
These are not only factory problems.
They directly affect the final product feel, lead time, rework cost, quality consistency, and whether the brand can still protect the original design intent.
For stainless steel jewelry and bag hardware, this is especially important.
Stainless steel is a very honest material.
It does not hide design problems.
Whether the structure is reasonable, whether inner corners can be polished, whether the selected steel grade suits the target surface finish, whether PVD coating can remain stable, and whether connectors can withstand repeated use — all of these questions will eventually be tested in production.
For example, a clasp design may look clean and minimal in a rendering.
But if spring space, wall thickness, and assembly tolerance are not considered early, the sample may pass visual review while the product becomes less stable after long-term use. At that stage, changing the design may affect not only the structure, but also tooling, cost, lead time, and launch schedule.
This is why ODM suppliers should not only enter the conversation at the RFQ stage.
If the supplier first sees the design after the structure, material, surface treatment, and cost direction have already been fixed, many key decisions are already locked.
The supplier can still quote, sample, and produce.
But many issues that could have been prevented earlier may already have turned into later revisions, higher cost, or quality risks.
Industry research on early supplier involvement has also shown a similar direction: when suppliers are involved earlier in product development, companies can reduce development cost and shorten time-to-market.
Early supplier involvement does not mean letting manufacturing limit creativity.
It means allowing the design to be tested against real manufacturing conditions before tooling begins.
At Yibi Group, we believe the value of an ODM supplier should not only be measured by how well it executes a finalized design, but also by how early it can help identify risks before the design becomes expensive to change.
We prefer to work with brand teams earlier in the product development process to review structure, material choice, surface finishing requirements, assembly logic, and mass production stability.
The goal is not to change the brand’s design language.
The goal is to help the design become a real product with more stable execution.
A small adjustment before tooling may prevent multiple rounds of sample revisions later.
A more accurate material decision at the beginning may reduce surface finishing issues in mass production.
A more reasonable structure may reduce processing time and material waste without changing the visual identity of the product.
For brands, involving an ODM supplier earlier is not about adding another step.
It is about reducing later compromises.
So one question is worth asking:
When does your ODM supplier first see your design?
At the RFQ stage, when most decisions have already been fixed?
Or at the concept stage, when manufacturing knowledge can still help improve the final result?
The earlier manufacturing knowledge enters the design conversation, the less a brand may need to compromise later on design, cost, and time.
