Whatever manufacturing sector you are in, new product development and production innovation is vital for business growth – and survival.
Most products undergo several updates and revamps throughout their commercial lives. These incremental changes are important as they usually improve the functionality, aesthetics or manufacturing cost. Incremental improvements will not radically change a product’s image or performance in the marketplace, but will help to preserve market share and competitiveness.
The return for the company is an extended revenue/profit stream from that product for a small development cost and often at little risk. Every day we see new product launches. Most tend to be incremental improvements or line extensions, some will be new product ranges but occasionally we see real ‘breakout’ innovation. When done well this not only excites the consumer and the media but can also have a major positive impact on profit and shareholder value.
However the risks are high and there are frequent signs of a product development process going wrong:
- new products ‘pipped to the post’ by competitors
- product recalls
- products pulled from the market, disappointing existing owners
- products made obsolete overnight by new technologies
- non compliance with new legislation and regulations
- price wars in commodity markets
- adverse media coverage.
So what’s the secret to getting it right and avoiding the pitfalls? Not surprisingly there’s no one magic solution, but 30 years in the product development business has given PA's experts some key pointers:
