Production service

What if you have a great idea, a great prototype or a great one-off piece of furniture? You want to turn this opportunity into a product you can sell in large quantities. Pli’s production service allows designers to develop a ready-to-manufacture production model on a pay-as-you-go basis.

This gives you access to our applied knowledge of the furniture industry and our proven manufacturing network, without the overheads of full-time staff, expensive technical resources or costly learning curves. In other words, we can save you time and money — and we can give you a saleable product with the benefit of all our experience.

Pli has offered expertise and know-how to other designers since 2005, resulting in the development of good products that would otherwise stayed as just good ideas. Take advantage of our production service to make your product idea into a reality.

Project outcome

What do you get? A production model made by the manufacturing company we have selected as the best partner for your product, plus technical drawings, bill of materials and costings ready for the first batch of production. You’ll know how your product is going to be made, what it should cost (for both materials and manufacture) and how you should price it for retail.

Project costs

What will it cost? Pli charges in £75/hour increments. Costs will be estimated up front, with agreed limits. On top of the hourly rate, all expenses (including prototypes) are covered by the client.

We will provide you with:

• A project plan with milestones and gateway reviews
• Estimated costs of each stage of the project
• Financial analysis with target manufacturing costs and retail pricing
• Access to our manufacturers, supplier network and logistics
• CAD models and manufacturing drawings
• Applied knowledge of product development for the furniture industry
• Safety and standards testing
• A review and risk assessment of the product’s commercial viability

What we need from you, before we start:

• Proposed construction and materials for the product
• Ranked list of priorities for the product (e.g. price, quality, material, etc)
• Proposed recommended retail price for the product
• Proposed batch size
• Distribution or retailer interest
• Market analysis and existing market research
• Critical dates to be met
• Tooling budget
• Product development budget

What you own at the end of the project:

• All prototypes, tooling and material samples purchased during the project
• A full set of manufactured drawings and CAD parts/assemblies
• All design rights relevant to the project
• Pricing structure developed for your product

Notes:

• Under the terms of our agreement, you will not use any of the suppliers or manufacturers we identify in this project for the production of this design or a similar design, for at least 2 year following the end of the agreement.
• You can terminate the agreement at any time and simply pay for the work that has already been carried out.
• We will keep all of your information confidential.

Other services we can provide on a pay-as-you-go basis:

• Production management
• Marketing strategy, graphic design, promotion and communications
• Sales and distribution using Pli’s existing channels

Further Information

Contact Christopher Pett on +44 (0)20 8670 6857 or use our contact form to request more information about our resources, rates and availability.

No project is too large or small for us to consider: our hourly and daily rates are really competitive and we will offer a simple flat cost for predetermined project briefs. Our designers have worked in large design companies and know how to integrate with busy teams to cover overflow work. We also understand the need to keep costs low and to work at maximum efficiency because we design and manufacture our own products too.

We are happy to work under the terms of your confidentiality requirements or to supply non-disclosure agreements of our own to ensure your intellectual property is protected at all times.