New Product Development: Design and Manufacturing

Leaders in New Product Development

Ringland and Young (2009) recommend that organizations develop marketing scenarios to be prepared for the future.  In addition, predictions of the future indicate that consumers will control NPD from the standpoint of how marketing should handle the shift from one-way communication, which has historically been from the marketing department to the consumer (Ringland & Young, 2009).  Manufacturing organizations will need to ensure that NPD is a streamlined process and time-to-market is decreased to improve profitability (Ringland & Young, 2009).  This paper will address tips for design and manufacturing that leads to improved new product development (NPD) and cost effectiveness.

One tip is to have someone in charge of NPD teams, who understands accountability and timelines, such as a Project Manager (PM).   According to the Harvard Management Update (2001), PM should have people skills, as well as understand organizational politics.  In addition, the PM develops charters for the managers of each NPD team, ensures that each team member is on board for the NPD process from ideation to launch by communicating the scope of the project to the team.  PMs utilize GANTT charts and/or PERT charts to track stages of the project and develop a timeline that is shared with the team, and devise a communication medium between the PM and organizational shareholders (What You Can Learn from Professional Project Managers, 2001).   The goal of the PM in NPD is to decrease the time-to-market of successful products and kill the unsuccessful ones.

Belay (2009) conducted case studies that showed decreasing time-to-market is the key to the profitability of the new product.  In addition, the studies show that accurate concept testing is the control that will ensure the project is killed before needed resources have been extended to produce non-producing new products.  Consumers want products and services faster than ever before and mistakes can occur with rapid production (Belay, 2009).  Belay's studies also show that continuous improvement processes are essential to decrease time-to-market, and shows that getting the product design right the first time is also an important key to improving time-to-market (2009).  Furthermore, cost can be cut in the time-to-market if the manufacturing organization utilizes concurrent projects (Belay, 2009).

The last tip is to have multiple projects running concurrently in NPD—this is called concurrent engineering (CE).  Belay (2009) states that by the time a product has been completely designed that eighty percent of the cost is determined and Toyota's model proves that cost is set in the design and planning phase of NPD.  Belay continues to say that organizations that can make large investment on the planning and design by having multiple projects will improve profitability in the long term, but may not see these profits for many years (2009).

Overall tips that will lead to improved NPD and cost effectiveness is to have multiple projects for NPD, have a PM that has people-skills and understands concept testing.  Last, decrease the time-to-market and the profits will flow.

References

Belay, A. (2009). Design for manufacturability and concurrent engineering for product development. Proceedings of World Academy of Science: Engineering & Technology, 37240-246. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

Ringland, G. & Young, L. (2006). Scenarios in marketing: From vision to decision. Hoboken:

John Wiley & Sons.

What You Can Learn From Professional Project Managers (2001). Harvard Working Knowledge Article.  Retrieved from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=2284&t=leadership