Refinement of the Product Concept into a New Product and Business

This chapter discusses the process of taking a concept from the identification of an opportunity right through to positioning it as a revenue and profit-generating opportunity for the company. The discussion focuses on new product idea generation and testing followed by competitive analysis and structuring the advantage and route to market. This is followed by strategies and tactics in operational planning and the background of the company and the format. There should be an agreement of principles in order to see a product through from concept to production. Companies should reduce the risk of new product failure by analyzing what the market direction is and what the firm's role will be in it by way of the new product. Design to cost is a new product development philosophy that makes the factory cost a marketing requirement— one of the most critical and often-overlooked functional areas is the manufacturing element. The world is becoming more homogeneous, and products developed for the world markets are becoming more prevalent. The requirement's specification is a vehicle to organize and document a list of various customers' wants and needs into a specification defining the new product to be designed and built. During the course of development of a product line, there are several specifications that the development team needs to concern itself with. Each basically traces and documents the pathway of the product through the development and manufacturing process.