FAQ - Niche Elect

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

If you have any other questions not listed here, please feel free to ASK !

How to start a project ?

Below are the suggested steps to start a project with us.

Initial DIscussion

Customer to discuss with us on their project requirements, sending us initial information about their projects. Through this discussion, we would identify the core expertise required as well as the field of the business.

Initial Project Evaluation by Niche Electronics

If the project requirements fall within our competence and does not conflict with interests of any our existing customers. We would proceed to an indepth discuss of the project with the customer.

Indepth Discussion

At this stage, a mutually agreed NDA would be signed with customer to protect customer's interests. The discussion aims at defining a mutually agreed requirement definition at which a quotation or a proposal would be based. In most cases, the outcome of this discussion would be a quotation with details on development charge, development lead time and a list project deliverables. For large project, this may also include milestones of the development with deliverables at each development stage and target completion time.

In case we cannot determine if the project is feasible, this stage may end up with a quotation on a Feasibility Study. The outcome of this feasible study would determine if we would be able to offer a quotation to the customer.

And if we eventually find that we do not have the expertise to undertake the project, we would honestly turn down the project.

Project Commencement

If the quotation or project proposal is accepted, customer can issue a Purchase Order to us to commence the project. The project should commence on a mutually agreed date or from the date the deposit payment is received, whichever is later.

Who own the Intellectual Property (IP) of the Project ?

Unless otherwise agreed, the Intellectual Property of the project belongs to Niche Electronics Company. Customer would be given the non-restrictive rights to use the design in their country of origin or in regions that are mutually agreed. Customer's interests will be protected by the non-competition rules as explained in this FAQ.

How is customer's interests protected ?

Niche Electronics Company follows the below practice to try ensuring customer's interests is protected.

a. Non-competition for end product

If we design an end product for Customer A, we will NOT design any similar product to any customers that are in direct competition with Customer A in their country of origin. However, we reserve the rights to offer similar design to customers outside the country of origin of Customer A.

Kindly take notice that such non-competition clause normally only apply to an end product with specific application. For product with generic applications, such rule would not apply. For example, if we design an IoT Gateway for a specific brand of air conditioner, we would be abided not to develop any such device to other brand of air conditioner. However, we should have the rights to develop another IoT Gateway for other brand of refrigerator or the likes.

b. Non-disclosure Agreement

Sensitive information provided by customer during the product development would be kept confidential to the best of our capability.

c. Other Customer Requirements

If customer has other concern to protect their interests, we are always open to discussion.

What deliverables are available ?

Depending on the project and customer requirements, the below deliverables can be arranged :

Prototype

Working prototype meeting the mutually agreed product definition defined at the beginning of the project.
Quantity of the prototype to be defined prior to commencement of the project

Electronic Design

Circuit schematic in pdf format
PCB design in both pdf and Gerber file format
Bill of Material with detail part number on critical parts
Firmware binary file
Software executable file
Source code for firmware or software (additional charge may apply)

Mechanical Design (if applicable)

3D data on each part
Rendering on individual parts and the assembly

Production Test Jig (if applicable)

Working prototype of Test Jig
Manual on the operation of the Test Jig
Test Jit schematic in pdf format
Test Jit PCB design in both pdf and Gerber file format
Bill of Material with detail part number on critical parts
Firmware binary file
Software executable file
Source code for firmware or software (additional charge may apply)

Other Deliverables (if applicable)

If customer requires other deliverables, we are open to discussion

What would be the normal payment terms ?

The payment would normally be split into multiple stages.

Deposit Payment

The deposit payment should be settled by customer to formally commence a project or a feasibility study.

Interim Payment(s) (if applicable)

For large project that contain various stage of development milestones, interim payment may be applicable. Such payment should be settled within a defined timeline after the milestone deliverables are delivered.

Approval Payment

After the final prototype is accepted by customer, the customer is expected to settled this Approval Payment. And after receiving this approval payment, Niche Electronics Company would release the other deliverables (schematic, PCB files, etc) to customer.

What if the project fail ?

Though we will try to ensure that we would be capable to handle a project before we making an offer, there are always cases that run out of our control. Hence, there will still be cases that project cannot come to a happy ending.

In case we fail to complete a project, we would provide details on the reason of the failure.

For cases related to Force Majeure, all payment that has already been made by customer would be non-refundable. For example, in case one of the critical IC has become unavailable within a reasonable period because of global semiconductor shortage, this kind of project failure would also be considered a Force Majeure case.

In case the failure is related to our competence, we may work out with the customer on a partial refund.

In case the failure is because of negligence, a full refund may also be considered.

We aim at work-out with our customers for a long term relationship. In case we fail to reach an resolution with our customers, the dispute should be settled in Hong Kong under the Laws of Hong Kong Special Administration Region.

Can customer abort a project ?

Yes. If customer is not happy with the progress of a project or for whatever reason, customer can always abort a project in the midst of the development. However, customer may still be liable for payment upto the next stage of the development. And under such case, all payment made by the customer for the project would be non-refundable.

What if the project is delayed ?

In case the project delay is out of our control, such as unexpected long lead time on critical components, we should not be held liable to such delay but we would inform customers as soon as such cases are known to us.

In case the project delay is because of our competence and the delay exceeds 50% of the quoted development lead time or 4 weeks (whichever is longer), customer may discuss with us on a possible discount of the development charge for that stage of development.

Is there any warranty period ?

Unless otherwise agreed, there would be a one year warranty period on the design. Kindly take notice that the warranty is on the design but NOT on the prototype. That is to say, if customer find that the design does not fulfill any product requirements within one year from customer approval on the prototype, customer may inform us for a possible design modification. And we will also offer any bug fix on firmware or software during the warranty period. But if the prototype become defective within one year not because of design defect, we may charge customer for the repair fee.

Kindly take notice that any additional new features would always be subjected to additional charges.