Benefits of Outsourcing your Electronic Controls’ Product Design

November 15, 2024
Chanelle Dupre
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The HVAC global market is poised to grow to $234B USD with an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) 7.4% from 2024 to 2030, according to Grand View Research which is higher than its historical average rate over the past decades. This growth is driven primarily by consumer demand for energy efficiency incentivized by rebates and subsidies, enhanced indoor air quality, technological advancement leveraging AI and IoT to optimize performance, adherence to new regulations and the rise in construction activities.

The HVAC industry remains fiercely competitive prompting OEMs to continuously innovate and outsource projects to external partners who complement their in-house team of engineering experts in developing new products. The rapid advancement of technology in combination with a gap in in-house knowledge and expertise can hinder their rate of innovation for many OEMs aspiring to grow their product portfolios. They are in a race against time and the most practical solution is to enhance their in-house skill set with outsourced experts tasked with developing new products. Aside from freeing up your team to focus on their current projects, outsourced engineering services offer many benefits.

outsourcing engineering product design

Cost Savings

Outsourcing gives OEMs financial flexibility and cost savings in terms of optimized resource allocation. An outsourced engineering partner with a global talent network could recruit and manage high caliber engineers from lower labor cost regions, enabling OEMs to minimize development expense while maintaining high quality output.

By contracting external services, OEMs will also benefit from the flexibility to expand and contract resources to fulfill their changing needs providing greater control over their development budgets. This approach allows them to postpone or avoid hiring full-time engineers until a clearly defined need arises, saving them from costly permanent overhead expenses and the training costs associated with onboarding new talent.

Another area of cost efficiency lies in leveraging the tools and equipment that their partners already use, allowing OEMs to avoid the unnecessary investment of purchasing additional equipment

In essence, engaging an outsourced partner allows the OEM to efficiently allocate financial resources according to their evolving needs, reducing financial waste and optimizing operational efficiency.

 

Access to Highly Specialized Skills Mitigates Risk

Another key benefit to partnering with external engineering services is the access to highly specialized experts. Rather than redirecting your in-house team to learn new technologies through trial and error, outsourcing provides a scalable, practical solution especially for those still in the market validation phase of their product development process.

Experts with knowledge in these specific areas, like AI and BACnet, bring significant value by providing the necessary guidance to avoid costly mistakes and errors. Their proficiency with proven design methodologies ensures more reliable, efficient, high-quality results thereby mitigating risk.

product design engineering outsourcing

Experience Accelerates Time-to-Market

Outsourcing projects gives you the benefit of operational efficiencies and faster time-to-market. Outsourced engineering experts will typically have a well-defined and optimized process that streamlines the design phase, shortening the development timeline. Their learning curve for product development will likely be much shorter than the time required to ramp up your in-house team. As they become more familiar with your business, their ability to adapt to your needs will accelerate the development process, reducing the overall project timelines.

With their resources, outsourced partners can quickly adapt to the evolving demands, avoiding delays caused by staff shortage and bottlenecks. If your partner offers an end-to-end solution that includes not only engineering but also sourcing, manufacturing and logistics, you benefit from the advantages of a full turnkey, seamless process that expedites your time-to-market.

Diverse Perspectives Fuels Innovation

Innovation is driven by fresh ideas fueled by diverse perspectives. Partnering with an outsourced company enables OEMs to tap into fresh ideas, best practices and insights that can provide a competitive edge that incorporates advanced design concepts to your products. Drawing on their specialized experience from working with multiple clients across various industries, outsourced partners bring deep  insights and broad skills sets that can enhance product design.

For example, an OEM that lacked the in-house experience with AI integration for a building automation product can leverage the expertise of external engineers who have the knowledge in machine learning and developing algorithms to enable smart centralized building controls to learn user behavior and optimize energy usage. The collaboration could inspire the OEM team to adopt new design methodologies and introduce predictive and real-time energy analytics to their product that they never thought would be possible.

Tapping into Regulatory Knowledge and Compliance

Design firms that specialize in electronic controls are familiar with industry standards, regulations and safety requirements ensuring that products meet compliance needs thereby minimizing risk financial and reputational risk. They can be tasked to conduct thorough testing and iterations on prototypes to ensure that the products meet the required performance to support a successful global product launch.

Key Takeaways

Outsourcing product design in specialized areas, such as electronic controls, allows OEMs to reduce costs by leveraging their partner’s global network of high caliber talent from lower labor cost markets. This strategy complements the in-house team in building innovative, new products. In addition, their partner’s access to existing equipment and tools for testing and validating quality, performance and safety, alleviates the need for costly capital investment.

Collaboration with highly skilled experts from diverse backgrounds not only fosters innovation, but also ensures they have the right support and guidance for meeting regulatory requirements, avoiding costly mistakes and errors. The right partnership enhances the OEM’s ability to deliver reliable, quality products with a shorter time-to-market, helping them maintain a competitive position while mitigating their overall risks.

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If you’re looking for a partner to help you build your electronic controls solution, contact us.

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