This paper describes experiences from several years of DfE studies at different manufacturing companies, as well as their strategies for approaching DfE. The general experience from the authors is that in order to make DfE truly utilized, it must become a "living part" of the company. To reach this point, it is important to obtain a strong commitment not only from the manufacturing company's management, but also from other DfE stakeholders throughout the company, at both the strategic and operational levels. DfE initiatives must be considered as a strategic issue and an investment in increased competitiveness. When summarizing all the experiences presented in this paper, a conclusion is that manufacturing companies often have a need for a general model that focuses on how to make "DfE thinking" a natural part of the company's way of doing business