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by Beth Stackpole, Contributing Editor   | Abstract: | New collaboration and knowledge-sharing tools can help progressive manufacturers get better at recognizing and nurturing great new product ideas. |
How difficult is it for most manufacturers to master the core disciplines needed to excel at new product innovation? Very difficult if you believe the experts. For every 3,000 raw ideas, only one successful product makes its way to market. Others say nearly two-thirds of new products fail within two years. And a recent survey by the Product Development Management Association (PDMA) reports that 67% of industrial firms are not satisfied with the success of new product launches. Cause for concern? You betcha. After focusing on squeezing efficiencies out the manufacturing operation for the past few years, manufacturers are once again shifting their focus to the elusive art of innovation. Not that recession-wary manufacturers are rushing to pad their R&D budgets; a recent study of 20 manufacturers by Forrester Research Inc. (Cambridge, MA) indicated that more than half expect to keep budgets static over the next three years, with only 5% planning drastic increases. So if budget increases aren't the solution, how can progressive manufacturers nurture the innovation processes that are so critical to their long-term success? Experts say the answer lies in changing longstanding business processes that govern how companies foster innovation internally and collaborate with partners. And a key to supporting those new processes lies in implementing new technologies that can improve collaboration across an extended value chain and increase sharing of ideas amongst a broader population of users -- not just engineers. [Click to continue] |