“Value engineering, when done right, is a great alternative for outsourcing to low-cost countries.” Over five posts, our specialists share trends and developments for 2026. This week, Ard Geelkerken, Team Leader of Value Engineering at Hittech Multin, explains how Value Engineering is not always used to its full potential.
Ard: “Many high-tech companies are not well prepared for efficient NPI because they have their focus on performance increase i.s.o. Design for Manufacturing and Assembly improvements they can make. There is a general misconception that outsourcing production to low-cost countries is less risky than altering the design to reduce the cost price, because most companies are well aware of the risks and consequences of design changes, such as new tests, validation, and component availability.
Is your advice to postpone outsourcing to low-cost countries?
Ard Geelkerken: “Don’t get me wrong, transition to low-cost countries can be a great option, but it will be more efficient and productive once you have improved your manufacturing and assembly process first. In an ideal situation, you combine the best of both worlds, as we do by cooperating between our European and Malaysian companies. Moving the production or the assembly of a high-tech product within the same organisation has few risks and many benefits. My advice to companies that only use outsourcing to low-cost countries as a strategy for cost reduction: this might save you production costs, but you will probably run into a range of unexpected, costly challenges.”
