Commercial Excellence
Protean needed to industrialise its in-wheel motor product and bring it to market ahead of any competitors; however its parent company, Chinese investment group, Evergrande, required a robust business case in order to secure funding.
In 2019, Protean was manufacturing its fourth generation in-wheel motor and Evergrande had challenged the business to achieve a significant reduction in its bill of materials (BoM). However, some design complications were proving difficult to eradicate and, had they been left unresolved, could have undermined investor confidence.
A targeted design-to-cost strategy was proposed to drive down the BoM, whilst refining the product on route to market. The combined sector knowledge and engineering expertise of Vendigital’s team made it possible to apply ‘should cost’ modelling techniques and challenge every aspect of the product’s design and production.
By the end of 2020, the project team had validated with supplier quotes that the BoM reduction target was achievable and could even be reduced further. Vendigital’s hands-on delivery in sourcing suppliers and supporting the engineering process also helped to resolve several design challenges and add commercial value.
The successful evolution of Protean’s in-wheel motor, combined with the BoM reduction, enabled it to secure significant industrialisation funding through 2020/2021, thus moving it closer to securing its first major supply contract.
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