February 12, 2018 Articles, News For almost any manufacturer, accelerating the time‐to‐market of New Product Introduction (NPI) is a key strategic imperative within the constantly changing nature of today’s market environments. Aspirational growth targets are fundamental to future business strategy and a large part of achieving this growth will involve the introduction of new opportunities and new products into the business. Seamless New Product Launch Accomplishing a seamless new product launch is therefore critical in an organisation’s ability to meet both the constantly evolving market demands and internal growth targets identified within the business strategy. Executing a seamless new product launch however, is always going to be a challenging endeavour when taking into consideration the complexity of collaborating with multiple business functions such as engineering, planning, manufacturing, quality assurance and supply chain. Managing risk Every New Product Introduction opportunity brings an inherent level of risk with it. Managing these risks, within such a complex environment, is a key factor in the success of any NPI project or programme. In order to manage these risks effectively, an organisation has to be aware of the potential risks that will impact upon the programme, from the very outset of an NPI opportunity. Introducing the right opportunities It can prove hugely beneficial when selecting potential opportunities for future NPI projects, if the business has a clearly defined strategy on its product market groups and can provide feedback from the performance of its existing products. This will help the sales and marketing team to bring the right product groups into consideration for future NPI projects. This, in turn, will mitigate the risk of selecting the wrong opportunities; something which can be a major cause of conflict within a New Product Introduction environment. Applying NPI best practice The use of a defined, structured approach alongside the application of NPI best practices and proven tools will support an organisation on its NPI journey. In order to make a real impact on business growth however, NPI teams must ensure that they align closely with other parts of business. Managing the lifecycle of the opportunity The ultimate aim of a New Product Introduction programme must be to provide efficient methods and standards to aid manufacturing operations in taking the baton forwards and managing the lifecycle of the opportunity. New Product Introduction must therefore, act as the bridge between your future growth strategy and the efficiency of your current manufacturing operations. For this to happen there have to be clear linkages and hand-offs with both parts of the organisation. Only then will an organisation gain the rewards of revenue growth as part of a successful NPI implementation. If you have any further thoughts or would like to share your NPI experiences – we’d love to hear from you? [contact-form-7 id=”22076″ title=”Comments”]
