This was just posted on the indiegogo page:
Production & Delivery Update
Hello Everyone,
Hope you all have been well! We have been quiet on this channel as we have continued with the production of our Kickstarter units.
Firstly, we would like to thank you for your patience. There’s been a lot happening in the background over the past months. Due to the ongoing COVID and logistical issues happening globally, our timeline has continued to shift out of our control and while we were - until recently - in a position to catch up to the August delivery timeline, unfortunately we’re facing some additional set backs that doesn’t allow us to fulfill the timeline we promised.
The key challenge has been the delivery of the metal components. As mentioned, we were on schedule for an August delivery, but during an initial QC round, we made the decision to reject the components as the parts we received from our fabricator were not up to our standards. We did not feel comfortable delivering you a grinder with the parts that we had, and we are not willing to compromise on the quality of the product that you backed, just to meet the timeline, when issues can be relatively easily eliminated by postponing, allowing our fabricator more time to remake and QC parts. We are currently working with our supplier to fix the problem, and figuring out what the new timeline will look like. You will be updated as fast as possible!
This is our main priority before our Indiegogo production run can start, but we also want to keep you up to date with our entire company journey for complete transparency to understand the delays. We’ve attempted to outline the challenges - and solutions - below to give you and insight of our process:
Whilst we have been getting through our Kickstarter campaign, we have learnt a few things: We underestimated how hard it would be to go from a prototype to scale and manufacture our KOPI Devas, especially as we have been relying on a team of only 1 person on assembly - Brandon. We have learnt that our design for the Kickstarter unit was not conducive to scale our production due to the finer electronics and soldering work that was needed to complete this. Each element within the Kickstarter production unit took delicate handiwork and each task, while only taking a few minutes to complete, did not help to scale up production, and has increased our timeline significantly. On top of this, whilst assembling the Kickstarter units, we completed a 2nd QC, focused on the fit and feel of the components vs. aesthetics which was the primary focus of the 1st QC, before we had comparative knowledge of the necessary fit and feel, and the fine tolerances needed for efficient assembly. Similarly to our Indiegogo metal components, we have sent parts back to our supplier to be remade so we can complete our Kickstarter campaign. This is unfortunate, but not at all uncommon, when scaling up from prototype to production, especially with tolerances as fine as required for a coffee grinder capable of espresso.
Whilst setting ourselves up for the Indiegogo production run, we have changed some of the internal components for the KOPI Deva which will make manufacturing easier and faster for your production run. We will also have 2 more people on our assembly team. With the added workforce, we can form a more efficient assembly line, and speed up the process. Please note, nothing visually or functionally will change with the KOPI Devas you have ordered, all changes made to the final design impact our side of manufacturing and production only.
With the further delays, what is most important to us, is to ensure that we are able to deliver you your promised units without compromising on the quality. Your trust in us is of utmost importance and we hope to keep it this way.
We are almost at the finish line of delivering and fulfilling all of our Kickstarter orders which we will do before we start on the next production round for our Indiegogo backers. As I’m sure some of you have read through the Kickstarter updates, as of today, we have completed 76% of our Kickstarter units. Over the next few weeks, this number will not change as we wait for the additional components to arrive, and also deal with some personal issues. We will update you when possible, but in the short term, it will mean all tools are down and production will cease for a few weeks. We appreciate all of the messages that we have received and apologize for not getting back to you all, we needed more clarity on the timeline with our supplier before we could communicate individually to you all.
As we continue to finish our Kickstarter and move our full attention to our Indiegogo campaign, we will be more active on this channel and provide more updates. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. We appreciate all of the support that we have been met with, and continue to work towards getting your KOPI Deva unit into your hands.
KOPI Concepts Team - Brandon, Sara and Clare
