Innovation and New Product Development

Our team of consultants and experts help with operational innovation and new product development (NPD), as well as the complete process of bringing new products to market. A product is a set of tangible and intangible benefits offered in exchange for monetary compensation, and intangibles like customer loyalty, market position, credit ratings, social acceptance, that can create a strong position market position.

There are two parallel paths involved in the NPD process: one involves idea generation, product design, detailed engineering, and service innovation; the other involves market planning, research and capital planning. Companies typically see new product development as the first stage in generating and commercializing new products / services within the overall strategic process of product / service life cycle management used to maintain or grow market share. We help in the following areas:

Idea Generation

We can help you generate Ideas for new products can be obtained from basic research using a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats), Market and consumer trends, company’s R&D department, competitors, focus groups, employees, salespeople, corporate spies, trade shows, or Ethnographic discovery methods (searching for user patterns and habits) may also be used to get an insight into new product lines or product features. Lots of ideas are being generated about the new product. Out of these ideas many ideas are being implemented. The ideas use to generate in many forms and their generating places are also various. Many reasons are responsible for generation of an idea. Idea Generation or Brainstorming of new product, service, or store concepts – idea generation techniques can begin when you have done your OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS to support your ideas in the Idea Screening Phase.

Idea Screening

The object is to eliminate unsound concepts prior to devoting resources to them. We ask several questions: Will the customer in the target market benefit from the product? What is the size and growth forecasts of the market segment/target market? What is the current or expected competitive pressure for the product idea? What are the industry sales and market trends the product idea is based on? Is it technically feasible to manufacture the product? Will the product be profitable when manufactured and delivered to the customer at the target price?

Concept Development and Testing

We help develop marketing and engineering details, investigate intellectual property issues and search patent data bases, as well as the target market decision makers in the purchasing process. Understanding what product features must be incorporated, what benefits the product provides, how consumers may react to the product, how the product be produced most cost effectively, and how feasibility can be realized. Product testing is one of the most important steps in NPD.

Business Analysis

In evaluating the feasibility of new product/service ideas we estimate likely selling price based upon competition and customer feedback, estimate sales volume based upon size of market and other tools as the Fourt-Woodlock equation, and estimate profitability / break-even point.

Beta Testing and Market Testing

Our design team can help you produce a physical prototype or mock-up, Test the product (and its packaging) in typical usage situations, conduct focus group customer interviews or introduce at trade shows, make adjustments where necessary, and produce an initial run of the product and sell it in a test market area to determine customer acceptance.

Technical Implementation

Our NPD program initiation plan will help finalize quality management systems, review resource estimation, requirements publication, publish technical communications such as data sheets, develop engineering operations planning, implement department scheduling, initiate supplier collaboration, develop a complete logistics plan, develop resource plan publications, program review and monitoring, develop contingencies, and risk management / what-if planning.

Commercialization

Post-NPD planning involves product launch, advertising, packaging and promotions, logistics and supply chain management. Critical path analysis is most useful at this stage.

New Product Pricing

We evaluate the economic impact of new product on the entire product portfolio including Value Analysis (internal & external), Competition and alternative competitive technologies, differing value segments (price, value, and need), Product Costs (fixed & variable), Forecast of unit volumes, revenue, and profit. Idea Generation is often called the “fuzzy front end” of the NPD process, Ideas for new products can be obtained from basic research using a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats), Market and consumer trends, a company’s R&D department, competitors, focus groups, employees, salespeople, corporate spies, trade shows, or ethnographic discovery methods (searching for user patterns and habits) may also be used to get an insight into new product lines or product features. Many ideas are being generated about new products, and many ideas are being implemented. Ideas generation takes place in many forms and their generating places are also various. Although there are many things responsible for the generation of an idea, specific processes are involved in successfully developing and launching products based on those ideas.

We assist with specific processes including:

• Estimate sales volume based upon size of market,
• Estimate profitability and break-even point,
• Beta Testing and Market Testing,
• Produce a physical prototype or mock-up,
• Test the product (and its packaging) in typical usage situations,
• Conduct focus group customer interviews or introduce at trade show,
• Make adjustments where necessary,
• Produce an initial run of the product and sell it in a test market area to determine
• customer acceptance, and
• Technical Implementation.

Set Up a Strategy Session for a complimentary discussion of product ideas.

1-800-791-6962 | Email: info@millennium-mgt.net