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How ODM development differs from catalogue sourcing
Catalogue sourcing buys a product that already exists; ODM buys a product designed against your market and price point.
Catalogue sourcing is fast and appropriate when an existing product genuinely fits. The risks are that the same product is available to your competitors, and that you inherit design decisions made for someone else's market.
ODM development starts from your concept, target market and price point and produces a product that belongs to your range. It takes longer and costs more at the front, and it produces something a competitor cannot order next week.
The honest test is whether your differentiation is in the product or in the brand around it. If it is in the brand, catalogue sourcing may be the right commercial answer. If the product itself has to be different, an ODM route is the only one that delivers that.
Specifications
| Catalogue | Fast, available to competitors, someone else's design decisions |
|---|---|
| ODM | Designed to your market and price point |
| Test | Whether differentiation sits in the product or the brand |
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Send the concept, the target market and the price point. Development risk is settled in roughly thirty days, before any tooling is cut.