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.