New Product Introduction Technology: How it Can Help Your Business
Every year, over 30,000 new consumer products are launched and 80% of them fail.
Launching a new product successfully involves a lot of interrelated tasks that all require a high degree of attention. This involves testing, cost-effective production and assembly and so on.
New product introduction tools can help you get your product to market on time and on budget. Read on to learn how new product introduction technology can make the difference between a successful launch or a flop.
What is New Product Introduction?
New product introduction is a process that involves developing and shipping new products to market. The process begins at early concept and moves to design and prototypes.
Next, testing occurs followed by production, release, and distribution. Often, these steps occur in a cyclical fashion as designs are tested, tweaked and re-designed and tested.
Usually, you will need to work with external supplier partner as well as a variety of internal teams, and product lines. You’ll be required to keep everyone on the product team on board and on plan in order to launch successfully and on budget.
All new product introductions require a solid plan that outlines your quality, scheduling and cost goals for the product. This plan is the foundation for success at launch. It also plays a big role in boosting revenue and sales as well as achieving high customer satisfaction.
Challenges with New Product Introduction
There are several key challenges when working with new product introductions.
One of the biggest ones is understanding your customers’ pain points. Your new product needs to provide a solution to a specific problem that prospective customers experience.
Pain points can be varied and specific. For example, your target audience’s pain point might be financial. They could be frustrated at the price of their current product or service.
A pain point can also be about efficiency. Customers may want to spend less time using a product and service. And your new product can provide the solution.
It’s imperative to take time gathering and understanding pain points so that you can provide solutions and not just another product.
Another challenge is marketing the launch. You might have the world’s greatest product, but if potential customers don’t know about it, then your sales will be abysmal. You will need to reach your target customers via the right platform and then convince them to buy it.
The biggest cause of successful failures is a disorganized and un-defined project management process. Let’s look at how NPI management tools can make all the difference in a successful launch.
NPI Management Tools
Workflow management solutions online are one of the best ways to optimize your processes.
You can configure these tools to your specific needs. Workflow management solutions minimize inefficiencies and allow you to manage your day-to-day operations. You can assign and monitor all your tasks, report on cycle time, all with visual representations of the many processes and moving parts.
The result is a visible workflow that is visible to everyone on any team. Best of all, updates are made in real-time. This gives you total alignment between all the players and an excellent understanding of where you are.
Being able to monitor the status lets you quickly resolve bottlenecks and avoid the high cost of launch delays.
Here are a few of the key benefits of product information management.
Move Away From Stand-Alone Pieces
One of the best benefits of NPI management tools is the ability to manage the entire project from a single graphical chart.
You can view each sub-project and all its sub-tasks, easily and at a glance. Color-coded status indicators help pinpoint any emerging issues before it becomes too late. These early indicators help you asses how a project is performing so you can make strategic decisions.
Because new product launches have so many moving parts, it is better to avoid stand-alone tools for each project. Spreadsheets are also considered stand-alone tools as they don’t provide real-time view and often are organized by autonomous sub-projects.
The truth is that an NPI project is not made up of various independent parts, but a collection of interdependent moving pieces that need to function together in order to achieve a successful launch on time, and on budget.
User-Friendly Tools for All Your Stakeholders
Another key benefit of NPI management tools is that all your stakeholders are able to keep up-to-date on the progress of the project with ease.
You can include suppliers and customers in certain workflows for smoother communication. You will be able to govern the access of each party to ensure everyone has access to only the data they need.
All stakeholders can review assignments and completed tasks with ease. This not only provides peace of mind but also reduces the number of status meetings you need to hold.
Better Data Made Simple
A single, intuitive dashboard allows you to create personalized reports. You can easily export data, tables or reports with just one click of your mouse.
An easy search function lets you locate the information you need with ease.
Alerts
Users will get real-time alerts to let them know about any changes that pertain to their tasks. For example, when they are assigned a task or when one is coming due.
These alerts can keep everyone moving in the right direction and keep teams on task.
Bottom Line
We hope you found this article on new product introduction helpful.
Remember, the success of new product development and introduction depends on how effectively you plan. The right technology can play a key role in your success.
Check out this article on how to find the best product information management system for 2018 and beyond.