Hands-on product development expertise across design, engineering, and Far East manufacture. Helping founders, start-ups and SMEs take hardware from concept to mass production — or anywhere in between.
Whether you need help at concept stage, are stuck mid-development, or need someone to own your supply chain — I can step in at any point in the journey.
Full NPI process management from idea through design, prototyping, validation and into mass production. Plastics, electronics, consumer and industrial.
Trusted factory relationships built over 20 years. Supplier selection, tooling management, QC, DFM reviews and on-the-ground communication — not cold Alibaba searches.
Fractional engineering director or programme manager. Keep your product on time, on budget and on spec without the cost of a full-time hire.
Deep expertise in plastic injection moulding, twin-shot, in-mould assembly and tooling. From tool design to production sign-off.
Every engagement starts with understanding where you are and what is blocking you. Then we move fast.
Understand your product, your stage, your constraints and where the real risks are hiding.
Identify technical, commercial and supply chain risks early. Protect your runway and your investors' confidence.
Design, prototype and validate. Iterate fast with the right suppliers and the right processes in place.
Into tooling, into production, into market. Managing the factory relationship so you do not have to.
Most hardware programmes do not fail because of bad engineering. They fail because of misaligned expectations, miscommunication, and a fundamental misunderstanding of how business is done on the other side of the world. McKenny Consulting Limited bridges that gap — fluent in both cultures after more than two decades working across the UK, China and Taiwan.
Western companies bring rigour, process, and contractual clarity. Asian manufacturers bring extraordinary capability, speed, and deep technical knowledge. When these two worlds align well, the results are exceptional. When they do not, programmes stall, relationships break down, and costs spiral.
The difference is almost never technical. It is cultural. It is knowing when to push and when to wait. Knowing that a factory saying they can meet your timeline may mean something very different to what you heard. Knowing that the relationship you build over dinner matters as much as the contract you sign the next morning.
That knowledge cannot be learned in a classroom. It comes from doing it — repeatedly, over decades, across China and Taiwan, in factories, in meeting rooms, and in the gap between what was said and what was meant.
Western businesses expect clear, direct answers. "Yes" means yes. "No" means no. Disagreements are aired openly and resolved through discussion. Silence is uncomfortable and usually means something is wrong.
In Chinese and Taiwanese business culture, direct refusal causes loss of face. "Yes" often means "I have heard you." Silence can mean deep consideration — or serious concern. Reading what is not said is as important as what is.
We interpret supplier responses in cultural context — flagging when a "yes" needs probing, when silence warrants a follow-up visit, and when a vague answer signals a problem that needs surfacing before it becomes a crisis. We brief Western clients on what to expect and coach them on how to communicate in ways that get real answers rather than polite agreement.
In Western business, the contract is the relationship. Once signed, both parties are bound by its terms. Personal relationships are pleasant but ultimately secondary to legal obligations and commercial terms.
In China and Taiwan, guanxi (relationships and mutual obligation) underpins all business. A factory will go further for a partner they trust and respect than for one they merely have a contract with. Investing in the relationship is not soft — it is strategic.
We have built genuine guanxi with manufacturing partners over two decades. That means our clients get preferential treatment, honest information, and genuine effort when things get difficult — not just contractual compliance. We also help Western clients understand how to invest in these relationships themselves for long-term advantage.
Western companies often expect factory counterparts to be empowered to make decisions, escalate issues autonomously, and flag problems as they arise. They send mid-level engineers expecting authority to agree changes on the spot.
Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers are typically highly hierarchical. Junior staff will not contradict or escalate past their manager. Key decisions require senior sign-off. Sending the wrong level of person to a meeting signals a lack of seriousness and can damage the relationship.
We ensure the right people are in the room on both sides. We help clients understand the seniority signals that matter in Asian business culture — who should attend, how meetings should open, and how to frame requests so they reach the decision-maker rather than stalling at middle management.
In Western business, a signed contract is a firm commitment. Deviating from agreed terms — on price, specification, or timeline — is a breach. Contracts are detailed, legally reviewed, and enforced.
In China and Taiwan, contracts are often seen as frameworks rather than fixed commitments. Circumstances change, relationships evolve, and renegotiation is normal and expected. A factory that agreed a price six months ago may revisit it — and consider that entirely reasonable.
We structure supplier agreements that are appropriately detailed and enforceable, whilst being realistic about how they operate in practice. We advise on stage-gate payment structures, tooling ownership clauses, and the commercial levers that maintain discipline — and we spot renegotiation signals early enough to address them before they become disputes.
Western project management is built on milestones. A date agreed is a date committed. Missing a date requires explanation, remediation, and a revised plan. Slippage is a programme management failure.
Chinese manufacturers will almost always agree to a timeline to preserve harmony and avoid embarrassment. The date may be genuinely aspirational rather than a firm commitment. Pressure and public deadlines can backfire — strong relationships and regular check-ins deliver more reliably than contract clauses.
We build realistic programme plans that account for how Chinese and Taiwanese factories actually work — not how Western project managers wish they would. We maintain regular, relationship-based communication with factory partners, identify slippage signals early, and apply the right kind of pressure at the right time to keep programmes on track without damaging the partnership.
China and Taiwan are not the risk. Going in unprepared is. With the right experience and the right structure, manufacturing in Asia is a significant competitive advantage. Here is how McKenny Consulting Limited helps clients do it safely and successfully.
Finding a factory on Alibaba is easy. Finding one you can trust with your product, your IP and your reputation is not. We conduct rigorous supplier qualification — assessing capability, capacity, quality systems, financial stability and track record — before you commit a penny to tooling.
Quality problems found in the UK cost ten times more to fix than quality problems found at the factory gate. We establish clear quality standards, inspection protocols and acceptance criteria from the outset — and manage the process throughout production, not just at final inspection.
Tooling is where most Asia programmes go wrong. Misunderstood specifications, underquoted tools, and DFM issues that only surface at T1 samples can add months and tens of thousands to a programme. With 30 years of injection moulding experience, we review designs before they go to tooling — not after.
Intellectual property protection in China and Taiwan is achievable — but it requires the right structures in place before you share a single drawing. We help clients put practical, enforceable protections in place and retain meaningful leverage throughout the supplier relationship.
The cultural gaps between Western clients and Asian manufacturers are real and costly when unmanaged. We bring two decades of direct experience managing these dynamics — knowing when to push, when to listen, and how to get the outcomes you need without the misunderstandings that derail programmes.
Tariffs, trade tensions, and the Taiwan Strait question are now boardroom conversations. We help clients map their exposure, build contingencies — dual-sourcing, nearshoring, supply chain diversification — and make informed, strategic decisions rather than reactive ones when the landscape shifts.
A one-hour conversation is usually enough to identify the two or three things most likely to cause you a problem — and what to do about them. No obligation, just a frank discussion from someone who has seen it all before.
I work best with clients who have a real product to build and need experienced hands, not just advice.
You are raising and running the business. You need a trusted technical lead who can own product development without hand-holding.
Burn rate is real. You need principal-level expertise at fractional cost, with none of the agency markup.
Launching a new product line or entering new manufacturing territory. You need experience, not a learning curve on your budget.
The research is done. Now you need someone who knows how to turn it into a manufacturable, sellable product.
From injection mould tool designer to Principal Consultant — every role hands-on, every industry different.
Start with a no-obligation call. Bring your challenge — concept sketch, half-built prototype, or supplier headache — and we will work out where I can help.
Book a free discovery call →