Large procurement teams are built to buy existing products: compare suppliers, negotiate and manage contracts. When the answer is a product that doesn't exist yet, they often get stuck, because custom work needs problem definition, design, prototypes and a factory willing to make something new. Handing that part to a small product team, under NDA, is usually faster than building the skill in-house.
Why buying teams get stuck
Many of the newer companies operating at scale, last-mile delivery businesses among them, have large purchasing teams. Those teams are very good at what they were set up to do: find vendors, compare quotes and negotiate for products that already exist.
A different kind of request breaks that model. Something keeps going wrong in the field, nothing on the market fixes it, and the solution means putting a few things together in a new way. There is nothing to quote on yet. The team needs someone who can define the problem, design an answer, prototype it and then find a factory to make it, often before anyone knows the volumes.
Two problems we were asked to solve
Through BikeKit, our last-mile delivery brand, we took on projects for outside organisations. We can't name them because of the confidentiality agreements we signed, but the problems are worth describing.
Cakes that arrived damaged
A large delivery company in India found that cakes and pastries were getting smashed in the delivery box on the way from restaurant to customer. We prototyped a simple way to lock the cake box inside the delivery box, with trays, a handling process for riders and some shock absorption, so the cake no longer moved over road humps or got smudged when it was taken out.
Watching rider safety
For another organisation, we developed a delivery box fitted with multiple cameras and real-time analytics, to see whether riders were riding safely and how they behaved on the road. Much of the hardware was sourced from China, and the development was done by our own team.
What makes these projects work
- A precise problem statement. "Cakes get damaged between pick-up and drop-off" is a brief. "We need a better box" is not.
- Watching the problem where it happens. Riders, roads and handling decide what works, not drawings.
- Cheap prototypes first. Test the idea with simple materials or 3D prints before paying for tooling.
- A small pilot. Try it with a few users, fix what fails, then scale.
- Factories willing to start small. In China in particular, there are collaborative factories that will develop a new product before volumes are known, if you come prepared.
When to bring in an outside product team
- The problem keeps recurring and nothing on the market solves it.
- The solution combines parts from different suppliers in a new way.
- Your team can buy and negotiate well, but has no one to design and prototype.
- You need a working answer in months, not a new department.
How we approach it at the Studio
The Studio mostly works with founders of premium wellness brands, but the method is the same for a larger company with a specific problem: define it, prototype, pilot, then produce, with our own office in China handling factories and quality. Every project is covered by NDA. If your team has a problem it can't buy its way out of, we're happy to talk it through.
Questions founders ask
Why do large procurement teams struggle with custom products?
Most procurement teams are built to buy existing products well: compare suppliers, negotiate price and manage contracts. A custom product needs something different: defining the problem, designing a solution, prototyping it and finding a factory willing to make something new.
What kind of problems can an outside product team solve for a large company?
Problems where nothing suitable exists to buy: a part that has to fit an existing system, equipment for a new kind of operation, or a fix for a recurring failure in the field, such as goods getting damaged in delivery.
How long does a custom product project take?
It depends on the problem. A simple prototype can be ready in weeks; a new product with custom tooling usually takes a few months from final design to production. A clear problem statement at the start is what shortens it most.
Do you work under NDA with large companies?
Yes. Every project with an outside organisation is covered by a confidentiality agreement, which is why we describe past projects without naming the companies.
Planning a premium wellness product?
Global Wellness Brand Studio develops and produces premium wellness products in China, with a team on the ground and our own brands as proof.
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