High Supplier Quotes Aren't the Problem. Your Product Design Is.
Your supplier isn't overcharging you. They're pricing the design you gave them. 70-80% of product cost is locked before the RFQ goes out. Here's where the real savings are.
Latest Articles
Estimating Manufacturing Costs Before You Have a CAD Model
You do not need a finished CAD model to estimate manufacturing cost. Material class, likely process, approximate size, volume, and functional requirements are enough to run should-cost analysis while the design is still flexible.
Your Design Review Is Missing the Most Important Person in the Room
Most design reviews approve geometry. They do not challenge the manufacturing consequences inside that geometry. The fix: bring manufacturing in early and give the team a shared, quantifiable way to compare options.
Tariff-Proof by Design: One Year Later
With the Supreme Court weighing tariff authority and global supply chains still in flux, DFMA remains the only cost-reduction strategy that doesn't depend on trade policy outcomes.
Design for Assembly
A comprehensive guide to DFA principles: how systematic assembly analysis reduces part counts, simplifies operations, and cuts manufacturing costs at the design stage.
DFMA ROI Calculator
Quantify the financial impact of DFMA on your products. Input your assembly and part costs to see projected savings from design simplification and process optimization.
Costing Tool Differentiator — Part 3 of 3
DFMA Software Costing Tool Differentiator — Part 3
The final installment explores how DFMA's process-based costing model creates trustworthy should-cost estimates that stand up to supplier negotiation and design review scrutiny.
See what DFMA can do for your products
Get a personalized cost analysis on one of your own assemblies. No commitment, no generic demo.
Costing Tool Differentiator — Part 2 of 3
DFMA Software Costing Tool Differentiator — Part 2
Why black-box costing tools fail procurement teams and how DFMA's operation-level detail changes the conversation with suppliers.
Costing Tool Differentiator — Part 1 of 3
DFMA Software Costing Tool Differentiator — Part 1
What makes a costing tool trustworthy? Part 1 examines the fundamental difference between parametric estimation and DFMA's process-driven cost modeling approach.
DFMA Case Study: Network Connector Redesign
How a systematic DFA analysis of a network connector assembly identified redundant fasteners and enabled a snap-fit redesign that cut assembly time and part count.
DFMA Global Manufacturing Data Primer
An introduction to DFMA's Global Costing Data module: 200,000+ data points across 22 countries covering labor rates, machine rates, and material costs.
DFMA Cost Analyzer Service
For teams that need should-cost answers without software deployment. BDI's cost analysis service delivers detailed manufacturing cost breakdowns from experienced analysts.
DFMA Product Update: Global Manufacturing Profiles
New country-level manufacturing profiles let you compare production costs across regions instantly, replacing manual rate gathering with validated data.
