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2002, Handbook of Marketing
AI
Product Development - Managing a Dispersed Process explores the contemporary challenges and strategies in product development amidst growing global complexity and competitive pressures. It discusses the evolution of product development processes, emphasizing the importance of customer satisfaction, marketing’s role, and the need for an integrated approach. The chapter provides insights into the strategic end-to-end product development process, addressing various stages including customer opportunity identification, concept selection, prototyping, and organizational strategy, while also envisioning future research directions in this domain.
Engineering …, 1995
The planning stage of an innovation project has a great effect on the commercial performance of the project. During the "fuzzy front-end," the organization formulates a concept of the product to be developed, and determines whether or not the organization will invest resources in the concrete development of the idea. The integration of R&D and marketing activities is a necessary condition for success in innovation projects. The research question of this study is: from an information processing perspective, what role does information transfer play in integrating R&D and marketing functions during the planning stage, and what effects do project formalization and project centralization of R&D and marketing planning activities have on the efficiency of marketing and technological uncertainty reduction? The authors use an expostfucto research design to test the propositional model. The findings show that successful project teams are characterized by a maximum uncertainty reduction during planning, i.e., by a maximum decrease of R&D and marketing task variability, and a maximum increase of R&D and marketing task analyzability. Information flows between these functions help them to achieve this efficient uncertainty reduction. While project centralization has a negative effect on efficient uncertainty reduction, project formalization is curvilinearly related to the amount of uncertainty reduced during planning.
2004
In the traditional company marketing approach, marketing people concentrated on how to sell the enormous volume of products, and how to achieve specific quotas based on the human relationships with clients built up by individual salesmen. On the other hand, the main concern of today's leading companies is "intelligent marketing". Here, a "total solution-oriented business" is important, which not only involves selling products, but also gathering information from clients and making business proposals to clients. Here, by focusing particularly on marketing as a link to the market, we shall show that if there is poor interfacing with product development, this marketing strategy will not succeed. The question and topic addressed by this research was the marketing-product development interface in the context of what product strategy we should introduce in an uncertain market. The hypotheses we introduced were based on two points. First, concerning the hypothesis that "marketing information is useful in product development", the answer was negative. Next, concerning the hypothesis that "the value of marketing information varies depending on the product development process", the hypothesis was corroborated, and we found that the information required for new product development does have different requirements for each process and new product type. We found that new product development processes and new product types are intimately related to the need for acquiring information and the effect of decision-making. 2 Now, when considering product development in highly uncertain markets, I would like to discuss whether marketing information or information-gathering functions play a useful role in product development, and if they do, what that role is. Firstly, the topic: "marketing is the link between the market and product development" is discussed here. Let us assume that the role of marketing as concerns the relation between the market and companies, is to bring companies directly into contact with the market [2,17,18]. In this context, the information flow in product development becomes clear, but there are two types of information, i.e., market-marketing that is the flow of information between the market and companies, and marketing-product that is the flow of information within a company. When we consider a company's marketing activities, we often hear the words external marketing and internal marketing. If this internal marketing is marketing-product development, and the external marketing is market-marketing, specific relationships emerge. In the contingency theory 1 , if there is a high degree of technical and market uncertainty, the interface between marketing and product development is strongly related to the success of product development, and conversely, in a market with a high degree of certainty, the connection is not so strong [11,12,19-22,26,28,31-35]. In the traditional company marketing approach, marketing people concentrated on how to sell the enormous volume of products, and how to achieve specific quotas based on the human relationships with clients built up by individual salesmen. On the other hand, the main concern of today's leading companies is "intelligent marketing". Here, a "total solution-oriented business" is important, which not only involves selling products, but also gathering information from clients and making business proposals to clients. The marketing is not concerned merely with sales volume, but more with profit that has the highest merit. Here, the traditional mentality gives way to a client-centered approach based on analytical and planning expertise. And in order to implement this "total solution-oriented business" or "proposal-oriented marketing", the most important factor is a company's total combined potential, i.e., an integrated sales and marketing strategy, which today's managers are stressing as the most important factor. Here, by focusing particularly on marketing as a link to the market, we shall show that if there is poor interfacing with product development, this marketing strategy will not succeed [19-22]. Therefore, in "intelligent marketing" for today's world, the importance of internal marketing, i.e., the importance of interfacing with product development, is becoming even greater. And when we discuss the relationship between marketing and marketing-product development functions of information gathering become more important. There are
R & D Management, 2002
Effectively managing the 'upfront or fuzzy front-end' (FFE) of the product development process is one of the most important, difficult challenges facing innovation managers. In this paper, we define the FFE as the period between when an opportunity is first considered and when an idea is judged ready for development. We classify the outcomes of the FFE into product definition, time, and people dimensions. We suggest several strategies to manage the FFE by assigning a FFE manager or team; by providing organizational support for FFE activities; by understanding the sources of FFE ambiguity; by building an information system; and by developing relationships with supporters, partners, and alliances.
2011
Achieving close and on-going co-ordination between the various stakeholders involved in the product design and process development has been a main issue in complex new product development (CoNPD). Challenges arise in balancing product innovation and process optimisation, particularly when business customers place an order with a requirement featured as open system specification (OSS). This paper examines CoNPD projects in two international engineering companies based in the UK. The aim is to explore the use of specification management, with a particular focus on the project stakeholders that are both internal and external to the companies. Analysis of the data reveals issues associated with how the stakeholders interact to: manage the risks of associated with OSS projects, develop solution-based approaches and deal with the novelty of technology integration. The research findings provide evidence for a make-to-concept specification management process for contracted CoNPD projects. In doing so, the paper makes a contribution towards developing an approach to solution-oriented businesses that is informed by a rich understanding of how project stakeholders work together to manage CoNPD projects.
The front-end phase of the innovation process decides over up to two-thirds of the total cost for new product development. Practitioners and innovation researchers agree upon the relevance of this early innovation stage which consists of opportunity identification, idea generation and evaluation, business-plan development and product conception. Yet the need for structuring the front-end phase for more performance in innovation is slowly gaining recognition. Companies current product development processes concentrate on sequential methodologies. They are not transferable to the fuzzy front-end phase with its iterative learning cycles. As a result, product requirements and technical feasibilities are typically not fixed before the official product development process starts. Furthermore customer requirements are neither fully explicit nor stable. They must be uncovered or stimulated by prototype modules which can be viewed, explored and understood by customers. Consequently, this st...
Eindhoven Center of Innovation Studies, 2004
In this article preliminary design propositions are developed to organize and manage the fuzzy beginning of the Front End (FE) of New Product Development (NPD). These preliminary design propositions are based on the literature and on cross-case analyses of five case-studies. They include the proposition to organize the Fuzzy Front End (FFE) around the three basic processes option generation, option development and option screening and to use clearly distinct management regimes for the various processes of the FFE, the FE and of main stream NPD itself.
The literature on product development continues to grow. This research is varied and vibrant, yet large and fragmented. In this article we firBt organize the burgeoning product-development literature into three streams of research: product development as rational plan, com> munication web, and disciplined problem solving. Second, we synthesize reseorch findings into • model of factors affecting the Buccess of product development. This model highlights the distinction between process performance and product effectiveness and the importance of agents, including team members, project leaderB, Benior management, customers, and suppHerB, whose behavior affects theBe outcomes. Third, we indicate potential paths for future research based on the concepts and links that are missing or not well defined
Omega, 1996
In response to an increasingly global and competitive environment, reenglneering of fundamental cross functional processes is being actively pursued by corporatiom. This is particularly true in those industries which evolve rapidly. The flexibility to adapt to changing market needs and develop innovative products in such an environment is quintessential to success. This would make new product development arguably one of the moot critical cross functional process. Traditionally, this process has involved ine•cient sequential processing of information and plans between functional specialties. We propose a conceptual framework in this paper that facilitates innovation, flexibmty, and an understanding of the reenglneering of this product planning process. In particular, we consider the case of high technology firms in the semiconductor and telecommunications industry, which demands a high degree of product innovation. We propose that achieving innovation and flexibmty would require a considerable degree of planning and coordination through the various phases of development. This cunrdlnation is required not only across functional groups, but also across the hierarchical levels in the organization. Top level management support through a product champion, and proper interfacing with the external environment and the target market are essential components of such a planning process. The proposed framework is initially developed based on information elicited from an expert engaged in the product planning and development process at a large progressive telecommunications firm. The framework is then refined and finally presented based on feedback from five experts in the high technology electronics industry, and also evaluated in the context of prescriptive literature in the reengiueering and innovation areas. The information and conceptual content of the framework presented in this paper can facilitate better planning, formation, and organization of crnss-functianal work teams and groups that may be involved in the product development process. Implications of the framework for strategic product planning and its impact on the manufacturing function within a firm are also discussed.
Advances in mechatronics and mechanical engineering (AMME) book series, 2018
Globally, new products are launched almost every day. They are developed to provide solutions to common or specialised problems; to enrich our lifestyle; to release us from mundane and monotonous jobs; to give reliable alternatives to old solutions; to amuse us; to provide items that are more pleasing to the eye; to be more ecologically aware etc. What the companies that develop, design, manufacture, market and sell these products are seeking is commercial compensation in the short, medium or long term "success" however you measure it. Subsequently, New Product Development is a major issue for most companies as they seek to reduce time to market, reduce the development cycle, access new technologies and develop more and better products and services. As the development of such new products that can successfully compete in local, national and global markets has thus become a key concern for the majority of companies, so successful NPD is now being seen as a fundamental to both stimulating and supporting economic growth. It is therefore a subject, which has received and continues to receive much attention, particularly in seeking to improve its effectiveness and efficiency. Therefore, paper reviews the New Product Development (NPD) process and considers the variables associated with the different approaches, which may be needed when developing a new product.
Academy of Management Perspectives, 1998
For many industries, new product development is now the single most important factor driving firm success or failure. The emphasis on new products has spurred researchers from strategic management, engineering, marketing, and other disciplines to study the new product development process. Most conclude that in order to be successful at new product development, a firm must simultaneously meet two critical objectives: maximizing the fit with customer needs, and minimizing time to market. While these objectives often pose conflicting demands on the firm, there is a growing body of evidence that the firm may employ strategies to successfully meet these objectives. Successful firms are those that articulate their strategic intent and map their R&D portfolio to find a fit between their new product development goals and their current resources and competencies. Their success also rests on how well the technology areas they enter contribute to the long term direction of the firm by helping them build new core capabilities critical to the firm's long term goals. Strategic alliances to obtain enabling technologies may shorten the development process, but partners must be chosen and monitored carefully. When firms are choosing technologies to acquire externally, they must assess the importance of the learning that would be accrued through internal development of the project, and its impact on the firm's future success. Other imperatives include using a parallel (rather than sequential) development process to both reduce cycle time and to better incorporate customer and supplier requirements in the product and process design, and using executive champions to ensure that projects gain the resources and organizational commitment necessary to their completion.
High-tech product development is a challenging area to work with. It involves multiple disciplines, an endless series of trade-offs, dilemmas, and as a rule, also dead-ends. Yet, it also involves captivating moments of insight, joy, and sheer excitement in juggling technological challenges at the same time with psychological, social, organizational, financial, and legal ones. This book covers a full array of high-tech product development concepts from the very basics of ideation, usability, strategic and project management, and quality control to Internet marketing, patenting, and financial considerations. We believe you will find our book to be a very useful tool in understanding the modern high-tech business processes, regardless if you are a top management strategist, an experienced product developer, a student in an engineering or business school, ICT - business entrepreneur or industrial business angel.
Institute for the Study of …, 2007
The Fuzzy Front End of innovation is the messy getting started part of the product development process before a solid product concept it in place. Since Smith and Reinertsen coined the term in 1991, several research teams have investigated it, focusing on defining what needs to be done in the fuzzy front end, finding mechanisms for taking the chaos out of this process, and developing processes or systems that firms can put in place to manage projects through the fuzzy front end.
Journal of Product Innovation Management, 2015
and has research interests in new product/service development in the B2B sector. Current studies deal with Global New Product Development, Fuzzy Front End of NPD, and Market Vision for new-to-the-world high-tech products. Her work is published in top journals dealing with innovation, research, and B2B marketing. She was awarded the-Thomas P.
2004
Abstmct-Product development based on customer preferences with applications of innovative technologies is a key to obtaining a larger market share and faster sales growth for organizations in high-tech products market. The purpose of this paper is to develop series of product development strategies designed for different innovation levels and recommend the strategic approach for organizations frequently introducing new products. The strategies are developed from three viewpoints: level of product improvement, scope of product change, and speed of product change. Level of product improvement shows level of technology application differences for products. Scope of product change explains the affected area of product categories required to be modified due to the innovative product introduction to the same market. Speed of product change indicates speed of technology transmission to the same or other product categories in the same target market after innovative products are introduced to the market. The each strategy allocated by the three factors is effective method for designing their products to satisfy target customers' expectations. The factors are strategically generated by the analysis of current competitive innovative market condition.
Lean Product Development: A manager's guide
The purpose of this study is to clarify what role the purchasing function should have in the product development process in order to enable a correct supplier selection at an early stage. To fulfil this purpose a case study was performed at a global manufacturing company. The case study consisted of interviews with people from both the purchasing function and the product development function. The initial literature review showed that purchasing activities has become increasingly important the last decades. The need for purchasing to take a more integrated and strategic role in the companies has with this emerged. Some trends have been supply base optimisation, buyer-supplier relationships and buyer-supplier product development collaboration. The purchasing function then has a key role, where they must coordinate these activities because they know the supply base. However, a gap in the literature was identified concerning the incentives why purchasing should be involved in the product development process as well as how this involvement could be managed. Our conclusion is that involvement of the purchasing function in the product development process will result in cost savings of different kinds, increased product performance, reduced development time and that risks related to delivery are reduced. But to acquire these benefits this thesis has also identified several potential issues that might inhibit the integration of the purchasing function in the product development process. To avoid them it is important that the main objectives for both functions support this integration. Secondly, it is important that the communication between product development teams and the purchasing function is made earlier in the process and to further improve it templates for requests and also recommended parts list should be established. Thirdly, to ensure that suppliers are selected in a proper way the product development process should be complemented with such instructions and this should also be cross-checked at the gates. Finally, the purchasing organisation must be configured to facilitate this integration which can be accomplished by introducing a new role that coordinates purchasing related issues in the product development team.
Digital Enterprise Challenges, 2002
Firms are facing very short and important innovation cycles, particularly in IT and Telecommunication sectors. Then a question appears: why do some innovations succeed whereas other fail. From offer's point of view, a way could be to evaluate impacts of a decision to innovate for each of the actors involved in this product trajectory. Therefore the goal of such an approach is reducing high Innovation development risks by integrating the diverse stakes of life cycle actors and by helping design teams to integrate the evolution of some key environmental processes. We introduce in this paper the characteristics of the Innovation Process and Engineering Design Phase for high level innovations. In this framework, we propose an Innovation Valuation Model integrating strategic and tactic impacts in term of value and cost.
R&D Management, 2002
Despite the importance of the early stages of a product's life, very little attention has been paid to empirically testing the activities performed in the front end of new product development. This article presents the results of a survey of 53 individuals from fifteen high technology firms in the integrated circuit board industry. Our study adopts Cooper's (1988) 'predevelopment' model consisting of idea generation, product definition and project evaluation stages, and probes the activities undertaken in each stage. Particular activities were found to play pivotal roles in achieving the objectives of each stage. The results present a clarified view of front end activities that can be used as a starting point for adequately preparing products for development and market success.
Trends and Innovations in Marketing Information Systems, 2015
Successful organizations continually operate in a state of innovation in terms of the offerings they produce, frequently introducing new products or modifying and improving existing products as needed and by the market. The means of conceptualizing, designing, and marketing new products is known as new product development. Successful new product development is a considerable challenge for any market oriented organization. The cost of designing and developing new products is increasing while the rate of success of new products is not. Marketing managers are constantly looking for ways to improve their new product development process. This necessitates, among other things, linking an organization's capabilities and resources with the new product demands of the markets they serve. This chapter considers some of the internal process any market driven organization should focus on to improve the likelihood that their new products will enjoy market success.
2015
This chapter deals with processes in the development of new products. In practice, there is a range of established New Product Development (NPD) processes that are often divided into two groups: innovation and new product development. Innovation processes begin with the phase of idea generation and ends in the successful market introduction of the product. In contrast, new product development processes solely serve the purpose of structuring the processes of a product development activity. In this chapter different structures and implementation approaches for development processes derived from the so-called V-Model are discussed along with various tools and methods. Subsequently, simultaneous engineering and its principles are introduced. Finally, virtual and rapid prototyping as methods in today’s NPD process are explained.
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