About DM32

[jonmoore]

(05-19-2023 02:01 PM)EdS2 Wrote:  Not sure if you can say anything about how reasonable their revenue is without knowing something about their cost breakdown.

It might be mildly interesting to figure out SM's production volumes, whether from filed accounts or from serial number analysis.

I very much recommend Bunnie Huang's blog for insight into manufacturing. Perhaps particularly the 4 part Factory Floor series of posts.
The Factory Floor, Part 1 of 4: The Quotation (or, How to Make a BOM)
The Factory Floor, Part 2 of 4: On Design for Manufacturing
The Factory Floor, Part 3 of 4: Industrial Design for Startups
The Factory Floor Part 4 of 4: Picking (and Maintaining) a Partner

I'm pretty sure he wrote somewhere that some quantity - might have been 1000 units - is the worst quantity from a manufacturing partner perspective. You're too big for prototypes but too small for mass production. You don't represent a healthy future revenue stream.

Quote:After all, “it’s people — supply chains are made out of people!”

I purposely left out any commentary regarding the cots of doing business as that's stretching conjecture to its limits. But the cost of doing business should be informed by the perceived value of the product you're marketing. It's all to easy to over or under estimate that perceived value.

HP in their prime, were masters of marketing hardware to specific niches. In most cases they ensured that the cost of doing business for each product was well matched to its perceived value. Although I suspect they had a few loss leaders in the mix too.

It really doesn't matter whether you're a mass market enterprise or a purveyor of boutique goods. You can't price your products simply on your cost of doing business. If there's a mismatch between that price and the price your customers are willing to pay, the situation won't be ideal.