The Asia advantage, by the numbers.
Developing and manufacturing in China, India and across Asia can cut product costs dramatically. Led from Melbourne, the hybrid model combines that cost advantage with Australian strategy, quality and control.
All figures on this page are illustrative examples based on typical market rates. Actual costs depend on design, volumes, materials, suppliers and exchange rates; our should-cost assessment calculates yours.
More than a lower price.
The strongest reason to develop and manufacture in Asia is not cost alone, but the combination of speed, ecosystems and scale, led with Australian strategy.
Lower cost
Tooling, engineering hours and unit costs commonly 40–70% below Australian equivalents.
Speed
Time zones keep design moving overnight, and prototype and tool shops turn work around in days.
Supply ecosystems
Component, tooling, electronics and finishing suppliers clustered within short distances.
Scale
Capacity to grow from pilot runs to hundreds of thousands of units without new investment.
Process depth
Deep expertise in die casting, progressive stamping, deep drawing, electronics assembly and more.
Australian control
Strategy, quality and IP decisions stay with an experienced team in Melbourne.
Injection mould tooling and validation: Australia vs China.
For a two-cavity production mould built to the same specification, tooling and validation fall from about $82k to $32k, roughly 61% less, with around half the lead time.
Product development: Australia vs India.
Indian engineering charge rates are around 70% lower per hour. With an Australia-led hybrid model, a typical electro-mechanical development budget falls by about 52%.
Landed unit cost savings by product type.
Labour-intensive products such as electro-mechanical assemblies, sheet metal enclosures and moulded parts gain the most. Large, bulky, low-labour parts may be better made locally.
What a massive cost advantage does for a start-up.
Savings before launch extend runway; savings on every unit lift margins and fund growth. Over five years the effect compounds.
Processes we source, set up and manage.
From plastics and sheet metal to castings, machining and electronics, we manage the processes behind your product in Australia, China and across Asia.
Plastics
- Injection moulding
- Overmoulding & insert moulding
- Two-shot moulding
- Blow moulding
- Extrusion
- Thermoforming
Sheet metal
- Laser cutting
- Sheet metal folding & bending
- Progressive stamping
- Drawing & deep drawing
- Metal spinning
- Welding & fabrication
Machining & casting
- CNC milling
- CNC turning
- Sand casting
- Pressure die casting
- Investment casting
- Forging
Electronics & assembly
- PCB assembly (SMT)
- Cable & wire harness
- Electro-mechanical assembly
- Testing & programming
- Cleanroom assembly
- Packaging
Finishing
- Powder coating
- Anodising
- Plating
- Pad & screen printing
- Laser marking
- Texturing & polishing
Read more on the Asia advantage.
Total landed cost: when Asian manufacturing saves money and when it does not
Headline prices mislead. In a worked example, an Asian ex-works price 55% below Australia becomes a 41% landed saving after freight, duty, inventory and management. A total landed cost model shows when Asia wins and when local production is smarter.
Hybrid development: Australian leadership, Asian delivery
The strategic advantage of Asia is not just lower cost. Speed, supply ecosystems, scale and process capability matter just as much, when they are led well from Australia. How the hybrid model cuts development time from 52 to 34 weeks.
What a massive cost advantage really means for a start-up
A 40–60% saving on development, tooling and unit cost does more than improve margins. For a hardware start-up it extends runway, lifts gross margin from the low 30s to the mid 50s, and can decide whether the business survives.
Let’s turn your next idea into a market-ready product.
Whether it’s a bold new product, a strategy that needs sharpening or an operation that should be doing more, a conversation with a senior consultant is the fastest way to find out what’s possible.
- Free initial consultation with a senior engineer
- Response within one business day
- Confidentiality and NDA available on request
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