Why product development is difficult
Mastering product development is a multi-dimensional problem: being first to market, meeting unreasonable launch date commitments - and with a product that hits the market sweet spot. The goal is robust, low-cost designs, which are easy to produce, sell and support, with processes that are ready for the volume ramp. As if that wasn’t enough, competitors move the target, technical risks lurk, and resources are invariably stretched too thin.
For service businesses, the challenges are similar - and, on top, the end user has to be designed into the solution.
Success at new products and services requires creativity at the front end, and discipline to execute. We believe it is the hardest business process to master, but the rewards are worth it. Get it right and you have sustainable differential advantage and the route to profitable growth.
Caracal solves business problems in new product development
Although a sharp focus, it brings huge challenge and variety. We work with the whole process from end to end. This means tackling any or all of:
- Innovation in new product creation
- Project management and execution (single project)
- Managing the product pipeline (multi-project)
- Product design and development
- Managing technology development
- Introduction of stable production processes
- Implementing lean supply chains
And all this requires a framework:
- Excellently applied new product process
- Leadership of the product development system
- Helping to build innovative and disciplined (both) organisational culture
Furthermore, people are at the centre of all of Caracal's interactions:
- Influencing skills for project leaders
- Building real cross-functional project teams
- Coaching and leading product development from the top
- Leading change - and all it entails
If you are looking for training, here are some of the standard programme which we provide:
- Mastering new product development - 2 days
- Skills for Voice of the Customer - 2 days
- People deliver projects, plans don’t – people skills for project leaders - 2 days
- Managing the fuzzy front end - 1 day
- Becoming ambidextrous - innovation and discipline in new product development – 2 days
- Stage gate processes for new product development - making them work in practice – 1 day
- People deliver projects, plans don’t – people skills for project leaders - 2 days
- Building real project teams – 1 or 2 days
- People improve processes - facilitation skills for change leaders – 2 days
- Becoming an effective trainer – 1 day
And our training simulation games
- The NPI game - for learning end-to-end product development - 1 day
- The tea factory - for learning how to introduce repeatable manufacturing processes - 1 day
- The meganobe game - for learning how to introduce lean supply chains - 1 day