Describes the process of selection by the manufacturer of an assembly of a non-fungible, non-interchangeable component of the assembly, often called a “reference-design.” Early in the process of design, manufacturers of technically complex products will typically need to identify those sub-components that have a broad impact on the overall design; moreover, the supplier of those components may need to engage in some customization of the component, or indeed a complete custom-design.
In order to ensure the supply of such sub-components when the supplier is a third-party vendor, and to compensate the vendor for any customization or development work, a contract will usually be agreed to with the component vendor. The decision to use such a component is known as a design-in or sometimes a design-win.
