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Updated: August 23, 2021 Ask ACE

Ask ACE: Focus resources and optimize the likelihood of a successful product launch

By Tove Rasmussen, Partners Creating Growth

Q: My company has a lot of product ideas but needs a way to weed them out to make the most of the company’s resources. Can you recommend a weeding process that focuses resources and optimizes the likelihood of a successful launch?

ACE answers: Launches often experience delays, overruns, product defects and market failure. Lacking focus, many companies try to develop too many products simultaneously, with few or no product launches. Here are some alternatives.

Stage Gate process — A Stage Gate process segments development and launch into stages, requiring management to make a go/no-go decision after each stage. The process requires a concerted effort from marketing, sales, research and development, operations, finance and management. Every one of these departments should be part of the development team.

Six stages — I use six stages, but tailor your stages to your company and industry. Each is a chance to prioritize and make go/no-go decisions.

Capture — Develop a simple system for capturing ideas for new products from customers, suppliers, employees, etc. A restricted shared drive is fine.

Criteria development — Develop assessment criteria for the ideas: strategic fit, competitive advantage, market need and attractiveness, expected revenue and profit, time to revenue, technical difficulty.

Feasibility assessment — Generate and refine revenue and profit numbers. Based on your criteria, can the product be made, and made a few times? Is there an objectively good business case?

Development — Assess whether the product can be manufactured cost-effectively to the required standards. Prepare commercialization plan.

Launch — Implement your commercialization plan, bring the product to market and monitor revenue and profit goals.

Review and reflect — Conduct a one-year review, comparing actual versus forecast sales and profits. Note successes, learnings and implement to improve future product launches.

For more on this topic, see “How to Develop and Commercialize New Products” at consultexpertise.com/blog/10920719.

ACE member Tove Rasmussen is a Portland-based consultant with Partners Creating Growth. She can be reached at tove@partnerscreatinggrowth.com.

About ACE

The Association for Consulting Expertise (ACE) is a nonprofit association of independent consultants who value “Success through Collaboration.” The public is welcome to attend its regular meetings to share best practices and engage with industry experts. For more information go to www.consultexpertise.com.

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