The Need for a New Product Develompment Process

This is the third part in a series of articles that take the need of innovation under the loop and share some of the imperatives, must haves if you will, to create and sustain “NEW” in business or organizations. This article focuses on the new product developing process.

by Robert Brands

Innovation is the key to your company’s survival. It is an imperative and it must be an integral part of your organization. Innovation — it must be encoded in your corporate DNA. One of the most important parts in your innovation process is having an up to snuff new product development process.

The New Product Development Process

A formalized New Product Development NPD process is essential. Although alternative approaches exist the most common type is referred to as the Stage-Gate® Process (Stage-Gate ® is a registered trademark of Product Development Institute Inc.). The Stage-Gate innovation process is, according to its developers, ‘‘a carefully designed business process’’ and the result of comprehensive research into under- standing the reasons behind product success and failure (see http://www.stage-gate.com for more information). The process was pioneered by Dr. Robert G. Cooper and is widely used, and trusted, by companies around the world.

The process, in essence, has two key elements:

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i-drill power tools empower DIY homeowners, expand markets

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the single-family housing market is forecasted to grow by 21 percent in 2011. The majority of this growth is predicted to be driven by twenty-something, Generation Y members moving into the housing market.

i-drill power tools anticipated this housing boom and designed its new product line with the inexperienced homeowner in mind. Every aspect of i-drill’s products is designed to empower new do-it-yourselfers and take the worry out of homeownership. From its familiar-sounding i-drill name to the products’ stylish packaging and ergonomic design, this product line fits the younger market—even at first glance. Its lithium-ion battery and LED lights provide the kind of features young people are already looking for in electronic equipment. The i-drill’s 5-year warranty provides needed peace of mind to anxious new homeowners—a definite competitive advantage.

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Redesigning a legendary product: Arrow’s new R.E.D line

Arrow Fasteners, the leading manufacturer of manual, electric and brad nail fastening tools for the professional building trades and do-it-yourself markets, first designed its legendary T50 heavy duty staple gun in 1929. For 5 decades, the Arrow T50 has been the world’s best selling staple gun.

 

Today at the National Homebuilder’s Show, I caught a glimpe of Arrow’s new R.E.D. (Reliable.Economic.Durable.) line which consists of the T50R.E.D., a streamlined design of their T50 stapler, the HT50i hammer tacker, the ET50R.E.D electric staple gun, and the HT50iR.E.D. brad nail gun.

 

I was most interested in the new design of the T50. Is it possible to improve on an industry standard? I was skeptical. What I found, however, was a much more comfortable, easy-to-use tool. The T50’s shock dampening construction greatly reduces recoil, and its bottom-loading design solves the problem of loose parts that can get lost or damaged. Best of all, it’s 40 percent more power than the original, yet easier to squeeze. 

In fact, all of the products in the R.E.D. line are ergonomically designed and many are significantly lighter weight than their originals.

 

My advice? If it’s not broke (but there is opportunity for improvement), go ahead and fix it. You might create a “legend” for the next generation.

 

 

 

 

 

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On scene at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) show

I came across a few new hand and power tool products on display worth mentioning while attending the National Association of Home Builders’ show in Orlando, Fl..

1. New Grout-Out product makes grout removal easier, safer

Spyder Products new grout removal product, Grout-Out, includes three reciprocating saw attachments, a scrapper, grout cutter and multi-directional plunge blade. While at the show, I had the chance to speak with Russell, one of Spyder’s talented product managers.

According to Russell, the biggest challenge in developing the Grout-Out product was providing a solution to kick-back. A reciprocating saw moves back and forth very quickly. Ordinary saw attachments are designed with pointed corners which catch on building materials and cause the tool to “kickback” at the user. To solve this, the Grout-Out’s product attachments were developed with rounded corners which are less prone to kickback.

www.spyderproducts.com

2. The Bucket Jack proves common sense innovations win

With wheels built to support a 3000 pound weight capacity, the Bucket Jack heavy-duty drywall compound cart solves the problem of continuously lugging 5 gallon pails to the job site. The square cart contains four bucket slots which allow for dispensing from all corners of the craft. Its detachable handle and extra cart storage make it convenient to use.

It might seem like a simple innovation, but according to one product manager, the Bucket Jack took a year to develop. (The original design had to be thrown out due to a safety concern.) The Bucket Jack retails at $499.

www.bucketjack.com

3. The Pro Magnum Shear cuts flooring quickly, quietly and with minimal dust

While at the show, I visited with my old friend, Ben Toews, from Bullet Tools. Ben and his team were demonstrating their new flooring and siding cutter, the Pro Magnum Shear. This efficient product requires no electricity, working like a guillotine to cleanly and quietly cut flooring and fiber cement siding.

Best of all, the Pro Magnum’s high-quality blades are built to outlast traditional circular saw blades and can be easily replaced, adding to the long life of the product.

www.bullettools.com

4. Simple, elegant, efficient— the StringerShield is beyond safe

Safety Maker’s new StringerShield is an easy-to-install, reliable guardrail system designed to protect unprotected stringer or pan stairs. Adjustable and built to fit a variety of stringer sizes, its durable steel components go beyond minimum OSHA requirements to make the job site safer.

www.safetyboot.com

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Innovate to Thrive – No Risk, No Innovation

Part two in a series of articles by Robert Brands discusses the need and importance of taking risks to achieve successful innovations. Since the high failure rate, organizations pursuing the practice of Innovation must have a tolerance for failure. The material is based on 25 years of hands on experience in the innovation space and the recently published book “Robert’s Rules of innovation”.

by Robert Brands

All Star Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins led Major League Baseball in 2009 with a lofty batting average of .365. In second place is the amazing Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners, batting .352. This means that Mauer fails to hit 62.7 percent of the time. Ichiro fails 64 percent of the time. But failure is not what they‘re thinking about when they‘re up at the plate. They have a plan to execute and they work out a quality at-bat.

Similarly, there is a success ratio when it comes to Innovation. One recent example: a study on the grocery business (www.allbusiness.com) pegs the success rate for new product entries at 1:100. One percent. A company‘s appetite for failure during difficult financial times can shrivel with the realization that Innovation means ―outcome uncertainty.

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