Our first experience with "off shoring" was when we sent a lamp base job to a foreign fabricator. We kept the bulb selection and holder design. Since the 'head' screwed on to the base with one standard coupling and two electrical wires, the interface between the two was deemed trivial, so success was a foregone conclusion.

We chose a plasma-type bulb similar to the ones we'd always used. Unbeknownst to us, marketing told our Pacific Rim contractor to put a dimmer in the base. It was internal to the base, so it didn't appear in the interface specs. The base designers didn't know and didn't care what kind of bulb we used -- the bulb wasn't in their module. We never had a full design team meeting with them because it seemed unnecessary given the straightforward design. So we delivered a fully-tested head, and off shore delivered a fully-tested base. All the parts went into production, and the lamps assembled flawlessly without a hitch.

A few months later, the complaints started. Bulbs dimmed to about half brightness only lasted a few weeks. That's a problem because these bulbs were expensive. Turns out you can't -- or shouldn't -- dim this kind of bulb. It depends upon 'sublimation and redeposition' at full operating temperature to maintain its function and life. The filament quickly vaporizes at lower voltages. Worse still, the bulb starts to draw excessive current and burn up the socket. Either our Asian contractor never should have put in a dimmer, or we should have been advised and used a different bulb.

The net result of our off shoring effort: The product had to be recalled, and we ate the cost.

Eric S., Lexington, Kentucky