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by Beth Stackpole, Contributing Editor   | Abstract: | By automating the Stage-Gate methodology, Sopheon plc provides real-time visibility into the new product pipeline and delivers assessments of the financial viability of each project. |
With global giants like Ford Motor Co., General Electric, and Procter & Gamble upping the emphasis on innovation, Sopheon plc, a little-known European company, is pioneering an emerging class of enterprise software designed to automate key product development processes and help manufacturers manage and mitigate risk. Sopheon's Accolade system automates the Stage-Gate methodology, a widely used but highly manual series of business processes governing new product introductions and all related development activities. The Accolade system performs two very important roles: It promises to improve program management around new product initiatives by injecting real-time visibility into projects in the pipeline, and it serves up decision-support tools and dashboards to help reduce the risk of failed product introductions by letting manufacturers zero in on the right mix of new products prior to kicking off the actual development process. It's with the latter capability that Sopheon has struck a chord. Although companies have escalated innovation efforts in recent years, the success rates of new product introductions (NPIs) haven't exactly followed suit. In fact, 46% of product development resources are spent on products that fail commercially or never make it to market, notes Robert G. Cooper, creator of the Staged Gate process, in his book, Product Leadership: Creating and Launching Superior New Products. [Click to continue] |