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A company is in the later stages of the development of a new semiconductor pump ഀ
laser for the metropolitan area network market. However, they need to integrate ഀ
an electronic control element to both regulate and control the laser. This firm ഀ
has neither the staff nor the time to develop this in house; instead, they wish ഀ
to outsource this work. Ideally this outsourced firm will be able to work with ഀ
the company through the prototyping and manufacturing cycle by providing quick ഀ
turn-around times, minimal hassle, and high quality results. Who should the ഀ
company contact? How can they quickly find a reasonable price? Wouldn't it be ഀ
nice if they could contact a number of potential outsourcing firms, find out if ഀ
they are capable and willing to work with the company on this product – all ഀ
without having to expend substantial time or money for the search? To do so, ഀ
they call Fortnight. ഀ
The client and the Fortnight ഀ
Associate work together to create a ഀ
Request (more like a request for proposal (RFP)) for distribution to ഀ
our ഀ
Network of Experts. The Request is written with enough detail so that ഀ
potential respondents can adequately judge if they have the capability to meet ഀ
the client's needs, but absent information that could reveal the client's ഀ
identity. The Request reads: ഀ
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A company needs a circuit board made to directly control their product. The ഀ
product is packaged in a TO-can and the leads are attached to the PCB with a ഀ
pitch of 200µm. The PCB should have dimensions of 10x20 mm² and provide ഀ
600 mW power dissipation. ഀ
Interface with device: seven lines (wire bonded) : +5V, isolated ground, -3V, 2 ഀ
voltage sensors (with respect to ground) with impedances of 10kΩ and 1MΩ, ഀ
respectively, a current sensor with < 3Ω resistance, and a variable current ഀ
supply from 0 to 150 mA. ഀ
External signals and control: External voltage sets a target for one of the ഀ
voltage sensors; the PCB adjusts the current supply until the sensed voltage ഀ
meets its target. ഀ
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Several responses are returned from the ഀ
Network. These include the ഀ
Leads: ഀ
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"I know a company that specializes in creating custom bread boards that can be ഀ
integrated with devices and chips. They have been around for more than 10 years ഀ
and have an excellent service reputation." ഀ
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"We are a consulting company with 9 electrical engineers with an average of 12 ഀ
years work experience. We have done several projects like the one described in ഀ
this request. We would be glad to meet with the client to discuss details. Some ഀ
questions that immediately come to mind to determine if we can do this, ഀ
however, include: (1) What current levels needs to be sourced? (2) How much ഀ
noise on the signal can be tolerated? (3) Does the PCB need to be of a certain ഀ
material to help with temperature stabilization?" ഀ
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"I worked at another laser company. We had similar needs as those described in ഀ
the Request. We used company XYZ, and they did a good job. I called them up and ഀ
described the client's needs to them. They felt they could do the job well." ഀ
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"We are a large contract manufacturing company for electronic control ഀ
instrumentation. We have done many projects like the one the client has ഀ
described. We work with the client at all levels. Depending on how many changes ഀ
need to be made, we can use a standard board that we have designed for cases ഀ
like this with a turn around time of 4 weeks for a prototype. We can also make ഀ
an entire custom assembly if needed. We will be interested to hear from the ഀ
client what their specific time schedule is and how many boards they anticipate ഀ
they will be producing in the long-run." ഀ
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After reviewing the responses, the Fortnight ഀ
Associate and the client decide to modify the request, adding detail ഀ
with answers to some of the questions raised by the initial respondees. The ഀ
Fortnight Associate also contacts company XYZ with the updated ഀ
information to gauge their interest, which is positive. Several of the issues ഀ
the client needs addressed are similar to ones they have already handled in the ഀ
past, and they feel that they will have to make only minor modifications to ഀ
previous work to satisfy the client. ഀ
The client decides to pursue three ഀ
Leads more ഀ
In-Depth: the consultant, the large contract manufacturer, and the ഀ
small company that made the boards for another laser company. All of the ഀ
Experts whose responses Fortnight presented to ഀ
the client are rewarded, and the three whose ideas the client wishes to ഀ
investigate in more depth work with the Associate and client to bring the ഀ
client and ഀ
Solution Provider into negotiations for a deliverable product. These ഀ
Experts receive substantial additional compensation for the In-Depth research ഀ
and work. ഀ
DISCLAIMER: This is a contrived example. Any ഀ
semblance to any existing company or problem is merely coincidental. ഀ
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