Basic configuration of Products

At the most basic level, a product is:

• Something that satisfies a need, or a want.

Other ways to describe products can be:

• Intended to create profit, or in some way drive commerce

• As we shall see, profit isn’t always required! But for now, assume it is.

• Made up of Components

• Components that may be products themselves.

• But from your product’s prospective, they are components.

• Can be discrete objects, services, platforms, systems or concepts.

Product development requires some basic elements. They are:

• Process

• These are both technical and business ‘steps’ that are followed to go from idea to product. BUT, it’s not a cookbook. Successful processes are dynamic processes.

• Money

• Every part of product development costs money, for example R&D,development and production.

• There are many other indirect costs as well like advertising.

• Total costs can be from a few thousand to tens of billions of SEK.

• Resources

• Infrastructure, equipment, supplies, tools, services, knowledge references

• People

• The number of people required depends on the scope of the project. It can be a few a one or two people, or it can involve a team of thousands involving multiple groups or companies.

• Support

• These are people not directly in the project team, but are necessary. Technicians, IT support, human resource support (HR), upper management and company champions.

• Time

• Products can take a few months if they are incremental, or several years of they are technology driven breakthroughs. The longer it takes, the more money it costs.

• Strategy, Execution, Tactics

• This is about how all these elements are brought together. The best processes and resources are no good if you have no strategy, or can’t execute.

Engineering:

Both R&D and

Manufacturing      <--->        Marketing    <--->    Sales

Product Operations

• Products are defined, designed, developed and manufactured.

• Engineering, Marketing and Sales contribute to product definition.

• Customers are vital in the entire product development process.

• Sales is the ‘front end’ of a company. They support the customer.

• Engineering is the ‘back end’ of a company. They support the product.

• Marketing is in the middle. They support both customers and products.

• The success of a company is about customers and products.

Marketing in Brief

• Remember, it’s all about customers and products.

• Marketing’s role is to find new customers for new and existing products and to find new products for new and existing customers.

• They do this by identifying customer wants and needs.

• Working with engineering, product ideas to solve these wants and needs are formed.

• Identifying customers wants and needs can be very difficult. Often the customers don’t know themselves.

• A variety of processes and tools are used to help. We will look at those later on.

• Marketing decides where, when and how a product will be sold, and for how much money. It’s about meeting needs and wants.

• Marketing has a direct impact on product development.

• Marketing is not the same as Sales. Don’t confuse the two.

Sales in Brief

• Remember, it’s all about customers and products.

• Sales is responsible for the actual sale of a product to a customer. People skills are important.

• This involves contacting customers, making the product available and doing everything necessary to exchange product for money.

• Sales also is responsible for customer support.

• Sales evaluates customer satisfaction and lets marketing know.

• Sales measures product success and lets marketing know.

• Because the customer interacts only with sales, you can see how sales has an indirect influence on product design.

R&D Engineering in Brief

• Remember, it’s all about customers and products.

• These can be engineers of any discipline. EE, CE, CS, ME, IE, etc.

• They are responsible for working with Marketing and each other to define products that satisfy the customers’ needs and wants.

• They perform research to identify and evaluate technologies that are appropriate.

• They also perform research in order to invent new technologies.

• They develop these technologies into prototype products and prove the intended functionality or concept.

• They do this under a variety of constraints, for example resource, time and money.

• There are many tools, methods, processes and skills used.

Manufacturing Engineering in Brief

• The role of the manufacturing engineer is to go from prototype or proof of concept to factory production of the product.

• This involves further Design For Manufacturing (DFM) development.

• It involves many processes such as Supply Chain Management, Logistics, and Quality assurance and control.

• They are also constrained by resources, time and money, for example production costs including equipment as well as materials.

• It’s more than just the product. Manuals, packaging, accessories, regionalization and recycling are just a few.

• They need to train Sales in product use and support.