Magazine Article, Source : The Manufacturer US
Zone : Manufacturing operations
Published : 11 Apr 2006 20:22

How can innovative manufacturing companies successfully introduce new products while meeting their obligations to existing customers? Rich Weissman finds out

There was a pronounced swagger in Stan’s step as he approached the cafeteria for his morning coffee. After all, he had been selected from all of his company’s manufacturing engineers to be on an important new product development team. During the product launch meeting, the CEO himself said how important this new product was for the company, and that this new cross-functional team had to think creatively – and work quickly. Stan looked forward to implementing some new manufacturing techniques that he had recently read about. Little did Stan know that he might be placing his company, and customers, in danger.

Leading edge manufacturers are continually reducing the length of the new product development process to meet the demands of the marketplace, but may be putting existing customer orders at risk. Shorter product life cycles force companies to convert ideas into functional designs and product, using innovative manufacturing processes. Those processes may ensure fast time to market and high quality, but they must also meet the financial and operational needs of their business – else, companies risk production turmoil, unhappy customers, and financial hardship.

Both old and new product development processes have pitfalls. The multi-functional new product development process is often fractured from the start, resulting in an inefficient and ineffective launch and integration into factory operations. Traditional methods began with marketing to identify a need, then flowed through research and development and ended with manufacturing operations. However, the cumulative lead time of all sequential operations would often result in missed market opportunities.

There are controlled methods to align manufacturing processes and new product development. Concurrent engineering, where product development, including design and manufacturing activities are done in parallel, provides opportunity to reduce lead times and improve cross-functional communication.

3P, a structured product design process, incorporates the elements of ”production, preparation, and process” into a lean manufacturing flow that focuses on reduced lead time and cost. Yet, there may be other less structured methods such as greater organizational alignment and focus on the entire new product development process or looking to outside resources for help. Some companies may even outsource new product development, manufacturing, and distribution, removing it from the factory all together.

Dr. Robin Karol, chief executive officer of the Mount Laurel, NJ, based Product Development & Management Association (PDMA), an advocate for product development and management professionals, feels that new product development needs to be a disciplined and comprehensive process. “Companies need to take a holistic approach,” says Karol. “It needs to be an integrated business process and not just a research and development effort.” Karol sees that new product development can easily be integrated into existing manufacturing processes if the new product is properly studied. “With all new product development activities, companies need to determine how the new product will be introduced and how its introduction will impact existing operations.”

Karol sees the need to quickly determine resource allocations. This is especially important in smaller businesses that may have fewer resources than a larger company as well as additional market, financial, and operation pressures. “No matter the size of the business, it will benefit from a disciplined approach to new product introduction,” says Karol. “The complexity may change based on the size of the business but the importance of the process does not.”

Renowned 3P expert Michael Giuliano, a senior lead and project manager with the Cincinnati, OH, based professional services organization TechSolve, worked with Tier 1 automotive supplier Greeneville Technology, Inc. (GTI) on a successful 3P project. Honda supplier GTI, based in Greenville, OH, used a one-week 3P event led by Giuliano to analyze the manufacturing process for the 2006 Honda Civic visor subassembly. “Focused 3P events can have quite a positive effect on sub optimized manufacturing processes,” says Giuliano. “Using 3P we can train engineers to take cost out of the system prior to product launch with concepts such as idea generation and rapid prototyping.” Some of GTI’s improvements included a 100 percent elimination in changeover time, a 31 percent reduction in capital cost, and a 77 percent reduction in required floor space.

The objective of the 3P process at GTI was to eliminate waste prior to production, determine the minimal resources and cost to meet TAKT time (the desired time between units of production output), and to build quality and flexibility into GTI’s production system. According to Kathy Galentine, GTI’s vice president, it was a successful process. “GTI’s participation in this activity proved to be very successful and all participants had very positive feedback,” says Galantine. “It has become very apparent that 3P can play a critical role in the success of a new model launch.” Galentine felt it critical to develop a manufacturing process that was already lean and would immediately fit into the established manufacturing flow. “In this industry we don’t have the luxury of backtracking to create a lean process. Once the investment is made, it is not cost effective to change it.”

Some companies look to state and local resources for help. Kim Sayre, engineering services manager for the University of Kentucky Center for Manufacturing, works with manufacturing businesses throughout the state of Kentucky on new product development and manufacturing strategies. Sayre’s organization, a non-academic unit based in the University of Kentucky’s College of Engineering in Lexington, is part of the state’s industrial extension program. “Our staff of engineers and product development people work with Kentucky manufacturing companies, especially those focusing on automotive products and metal forming,” says Sayre. “We also work with an array of large and small companies.”

Sayre sees that larger companies may have their own product development resources and do okay with simple revisions and upgrades. But they may have trouble in taking the product to the next level. “We will work directly with the company to analyze their products and even to perform destructive and non-destructive testing,” says Sayre. “We’ll use computer simulations to make sure the results of the design change will work well in their manufacturing operations.” Sayre also works with client companies on ergonomic and sustainability issues. “Assisting in the product development process opens the door for us to contribute in a whole range of issues in the plants. We show our client companies the science behind their products and help to rationalize their processes.”

Small companies may be ahead of larger ones when it comes to new product development. “Smaller companies may have more expertise in a particular product niche than larger companies,” says Sayre. “Their core competency may be in the marketing or assembly, but not in the process side of the business.” When dealing with smaller companies, Sayre needs to be more of an overall business advisor and that includes even working with clients on the selection of new manufacturing equipment. “We try to be as objective as possible to determine what equipment is available and appropriate to the operation and how it may mesh with the future growth plans of the company,” says Sayre. “Some of our clients rely on equipment suppliers to recommend equipment and that may poorly impact process development. We try to be a bit more objective.”

Some companies may even outsource their new product development process. Columbus, OH, based New Product Innovations, Inc. was originally founded as an engineering company, but an increased customer focus on streamlining and accelerating the new product development process allowed New Product Innovations to include all aspects of product development and manufacturing. This includes anything from market research and design through manufacturing and logistics. “Some companies struggle with new product development and it may be best for them to outsource the whole process, from market research through distribution,” says Neil MacIvor, chief operations officer of New Product Innovations. “Meeting changing market needs is critical and some companies may not have the capabilities to do it in house. Or, they are focusing on other important issues and don’t have the bandwidth for new product development.”
New Product Innovations initially saw its client base as primarily small companies, but now even large and well recognized companies outsource their product development and manufacturing processes in order to shorten time to market and not impact their existing manufacturing operations. MacIvor offers some suggestions for companies looking to outsource product development.

Companies should not try to do everything themselves, but at the same time, should be careful to fully analyze their intellectual property exposure. “Some things need to remain in house,” says McIvor. Next, partner carefully. “Make sure that there are written agreements in place and that you can live with the company you are working with.”

Finally, do your market research. “Companies need to do their homework,” says MacIvor. “Companies that do a poor job in market research will fail.”

Global market-driven demands will continue to pressure companies to shorten product development and manufacturing times to meet customer demand. Those companies that best integrate their new product development and manufacturing processes, and do that quickly and easily, will be in the position to be market leaders.