15 Criteria That Help Qualify your Copacker

Hey There!

If you're looking for a one-night stand, you've likely closed this newsletter already. You probably never even opened it up, to begin with! But if you're looking for a long-term, successful marriage with your manufacturer, keep reading...

I've been doing this for 13 years, and there are hundreds of things you can ask, but I strongly believe these 15 criteria will help you understand whether or not your manufacturer is the right partner for you. Lastly, this is just one part of the full vetting process.

The Criteria

1. Experience and Expertise: How long have they been in the business? What types of products do they specialize in? Do they have experience with the specific type of product you want to produce?

2. Manufacturing Capabilities: Do they have the necessary equipment and processes to produce your product at the required scale? Can they handle the complexities of your product design?

3. Quality Assurance: How do they maintain the quality of their products? Do they have any certifications (like ISO) to attest to their quality standards? How do they handle quality issues or defects?

4. Sustainability Practices: What are their environmental policies? How do they manage waste? Do they use renewable energy sources or strive for carbon neutrality?

5. Supply Chain Transparency: Can they provide information about their suppliers and the origins of their materials?

6. Labor Practices: Do they adhere to fair labor practices? What are their worker safety protocols? Do they provide fair wages and decent working conditions?

7. Innovation and Technological Capabilities: Are they up-to-date with the latest manufacturing technologies? Do they use automation or AI in their processes? Can they support the development of new product ideas?

8. Financial Stability: Can they provide financial statements or other evidence of their financial health? This is especially important for long-term contracts.

9. Scalability: Can they scale up production if your demand increases? How quickly can they do this?

10. Communication: How responsive are they to your inquiries? Do they provide regular updates on production?

11. Customization Capabilities: Can they customize products to meet specific requirements or unique designs?

12. IP Protection: How do they protect your intellectual property rights? Do they have processes in place to ensure your product design won't be copied?

13. Disaster Recovery: What contingency plans do they have for disruptions like natural disasters, labor strikes, or supply shortages?

14. Lead Times: How long will it take from placing an order to delivery?

15. References: Can they provide references from other clients they've worked with? Can you contact these references?

You'll likely need to execute a mutual NDA prior to receiving any of this information, which is standard practice. Also, a manufacturer might not share some of this information. It'll be up to you to assign a weight for each of these criteria and ultimately come up with a pre-evaluation score. This will make the process of weeding out manufacturers more objective.

Oh yes! You need to do this for every manufacturer you've got lined up to talk to about your new product development.

Time-consuming? Yes. Waste of time? Absolutely not!

If you found this helpful, please share this with someone in your network that can use this guide! Also, would love to hear your experiences with vetting manufacturers - what questions are you asking?