Tampa, FL – During the international and domestic economic crisis, Fire Alarm and Life Safety systems peripheral device manufacturers were forced to reduce or eliminate their R&D, Research and Development departments. Key engineers and salaried staff were furloughed and R&D budgets were reduced, delayed or eliminated in an effort to keep the company economically stable.
This lag in corporate R&D focus and drive, the loss of engineering talent, corporate support staff and associated resources were the motivating factors to launch Sterling Langley LLC and replenish the corporate peripheral device R&D deficit.
As a new boutique industrial design company, Sterling Langley’s ambition is to promote themselves as a creative, resourceful and a motivated firm. Although they have decades of career commercial experience in different corporate capacities, Sterling Langley LLC needed a creative solution to entice their clients to provide them with the opportunity to produce new peripheral products.
Designer-At-Risk, A New Industrial Engineering Business Model
The new innovative solution is both goal orientated and scalable. The plan: the client would have no financial risk unless they are satisfied and accepted some of the new intellectual property containing features, functions and benefits obtained from the final Sterling Langley LLC product.
Sterling Langley developed this new industrial engineering business model based on the historically successful theme that construction management firms use to build facilities, titled Construction Manager-At-Risk or CMAR.
As an example in the CMAR scenario, for a predetermined fee that includes the construction project management’s manpower costs, all building materials and all labor costs, are agreed to, in advance. The CMAR is assuming all the financial burden and the financial risk to complete the project as designed within the building construction schedule.
Sterling Langley LLC developed a similar but new model for industrial engineering titled Designer-At-Risk or DAR. Unlike a CMAR that requires monthly payments or a weekly cash draw for the percentage of work completed, the DAR is compensated only if the client accepts some of the final project’s intellectual property that includes new features, new functions and new benefits, as presented.
Creating Value Through Engineering
The financial reward for Sterling Langley LLC is simple. Their pre-negotiated pro-rated licensing fees are payable only when and if the client exercises their rights to accept all or a percentage of Sterling Langley LLC’s intellectual property, for the clients own commercialization. “ No acceptance, no fee’s, no ambiguity. The client is always in a Win-Win situation,” said Lloyd Aronoff, Founder and Principal Consultant.
“If our client does not accept any of our intellectual property designs containing new features, new functions or new benefits, all costs for our application engineering, prototypes, material, labor, documentation and travel remain with Sterling Langley LLC. We would rather absorb all of our costs from a non acceptable product challenge than lose the client entirely. It is our goal to have the same client consider us again, for their next new peripheral project opportunity,” said Lloyd Aronoff.
About Sterling Langley LLC
Sterling Langley LLC is a Tampa based boutique industrial design firm that is motivated to uncover hidden value in a company’s existing investment of products and systems. All too often, a manufacturers R&D staff have been reduced or eliminated for corporate economic survival. Subsequently, brand new innovative product market share erosion may be recognized too late to economically adjust to competitive market demands.
Our prime objectives are discovering renewed product value by providing engineered modifications, revisions or brand-new fresh innovating application engineered products to complement an existing product line.
Additional information about Creating Value Through Innovation can be found by visiting: https://www.sterlinglangleyllc.com Lloyd Aronoff can be reached at laronoff@sterlinglangleyllc.com or (954)-980-9074