“After a number of manufacturers returned our design with ‘no bid’ responses, we ran the design through aPriori, which recognized the part of the design that was causing the problem – a deep undercut needing special tooling. The engineer re-evaluated the design and determined that the undercut was not a …

“When we reached a certain level of customization and intricacy in the manufacturing process, we realized that we did not have the necessary expertise elsewhere in the business. We were essentially at our limits. We didn't have much confidence in approaching certain suppliers and saying, ‘Hey, you know you need …