Industrial Engineering - PDD

PDD

INTRODUCTION

ALL THE GOODS AND SERVICES THAT ARE AROUND US ARE THE RESULT OF A DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT IS A CONVERSION PROCESS WHERE MARKET REQUIREMENTS ARE CONVERTED INTO SOME CONCRETE PRODUCT IDEAS THAT WE EXPERIENCE.

IT IS THE BASIC NEED OF EVERY MANUFACTURING COMPANY TO DESIGN AND DEVELOP NEW AND INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS TO CATER TO THE NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE CUSTOMERS. DURING PRODUCT DESIGN, DESIGNER HAS TO BEAR IN MIND THE CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS, AVAILABLE RESOURCES, POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS ON COMPANY POLICIES ETC. IT IS THEREFORE OBVIOUS THAT PRODUCT DESIGN IS AT THE CORE OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH OF EVERY MANUFACTURING SYSTEM. BUT ONE SHOULD BEAR IN MIND THAT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF NEW PRODUCT IS EXPENSIVE AND RISKY. THERE ARE FEW REASONS TO IT:

1. MOST OF THE PRODUCT IDEAS WHICH GO TO PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT STAGE NEVER REACH THE MARKET DUE TO NON AVAILABILITY OF MONEY, TECHNOLOGY, MANPOWER OR DUE TO CHANGE IN DEMAND.
2. MANY PRODUCTS THAT DO REACH THE MARKET ARE NOT SUCCESSFUL MAINLY DUE TO INFERIOR QUALITY, HIGH PRODUCT COST, POOR FUNCTIONALITY, POOR MARKETING SKILLS OR CHANGE IN DEMAND.
3. SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTS TEND TO HAVE A SHORTER LIFE DUE TO CHANGE IN DEMAND, STIFF COMPETITION OR RAPID TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES.

THUS MANAGEMENT FINDS ITSELF IN A DILEMMA, IT MUST DEVELOPMENT NEW PRODUCT, YET THE ODDS WEIGHT HEAVILY AGAINST THEIR SUCCESS. MANAGEMENT THUS BE CAREFUL IN IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL PRODUCT IDEAS. THERE ARE SEVERAL INDICATORS THAT CAN BE CONSIDERED TO IDENTIFY THE GOOD PRODUCT IDEAS.

• PRODUCT WITH A GAP BETWEEN DEMAND AND SUPPLY CAN BE CONSIDERED AS A POTENTIAL PRODUCT IDEA.
• IF SOME OF THE IDLE RESOURCES OF THE PLANT CAN BE USED TO MANUFACTURE A PRODUCT, IT CAN BE CONSIDERED A POTENTIAL PRODUCT IDEA.
• IF A PRODUCT CAN REDUCE COMPANY'S DEPENDENCE ON A SELECT CUSTOMER BASE, IT CAN BE SELECTED AS A POTENTIAL PRODUCT IDEA.
• SOME TIME GOOD PRODUCT IDEAS MAY COME FROM OUR ENVIRONMENT (FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS ETC.).

BEFORE SELECTION AND CONVERSION OF A PRODUCT IDEA INTO REALITY, MANAGEMENT SHOULD CARRY OUT PRODUCT ANALYSIS TO CONSIDER VARIOUS FACTORS IN THE DOMAIN OF PRODUCTION AND INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING.

PRODUCT ANALYSIS

SEVERAL IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS IN PRODUCT ANALYSIS ARE:

MARKET POTENTIAL : FIRST OF ALL IT SHOULD BE LOOKED THAT PRODUCT WILL SATISFY A DEMAND IN THE MARKET AND IT IS BOTH DESIRABLE AND ACCEPTABLE. OTHERWISE IF NO CONSUMPTION IS ENVISAGED OR SHORTER PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE IS ENVISAGED, THERE IS NO POINT IN PRODUCING THE PRODUCT. SOME TIMES MARKETING DIVISION HAS TO MAKE SPECIAL EFFORTS TO CREATE DEMAND AND MAKE PRODUCT ACCEPTABLE TO THE CUSTOMERS THROUGH SALES PROMOTION SCHEMES.

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE : PRODUCT DEMAND IN MARKET OVER TIME FOLLOWS AN INVERTED BATH TUB CURVE.

TWO PHASES, ITS DEMAND WILL INCREASE CONTINUOUSLY BEING THE PRODUCT NEW. AFTER SOME TIME ITS DEMAND WILL STABILIZE DUE TO THE SATURATION IN MARKET PLACE (PHASE 3) AND THEN FINALLY WILL DECREASE GRADUALLY DUE TO THE ENTRY OF COMPETITORS OR BETTER PRODUCTS (PHASE 4). THE OVERALL TIME SPAN IS DEFINED AS PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE AND ITS ESTIMATION IS IMPORTANT FROM THE VIEW POINT OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS. IT IS DESIRABLE THAT ALL INVESTMENTS MADE IN PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT, PROCUREMENTS OF NEW RESOURCES ETC. SHOULD BE RECOVERED FROM THE SALE OF THAT PRODUCT ITSELF.

COMPETITION : IF COMPANY IS ENTERING A MATURE MARKET, IT HAS TO FACE STIFF COMPETITION FROM OTHER MANUFACTURERS WHO ARE ALREADY ESTABLISHED AND IN TOUCH WITH THE CUSTOMERS. THUS MANAGEMENT HAS TO ANALYZE ITS CAPABILITIES CAREFULLY BEFORE FORMULATING THEIR OWN MARKETING STRATEGY AND POSITIONING OF ITS PRODUCT. IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO MENTION THAT THE FUNCTIONALITY, QUALITY AND COST OF THE PRODUCTS OFFERED BY THE COMPETITORS SHOULD ALSO BE ANALYZED.

CUSTOMER NEEDS : BASIC AIM OF A PRODUCT IS TO SATISFY CUSTOMER NEEDS. AS DIFFERENT CUSTOMERS HAVE DIFFERENT NEEDS (IN TERMS OF COST, FUNCTIONS, COLORS ETC.), IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO SATISFY ALL THEIR NEEDS IN MANY SITUATIONS. A BALANCING ACT BETWEEN CUSTOMER NEEDS AND PRODUCT COST IS UTMOST IMPORTANT PARTICULARLY IN A MATURE MARKET.

FUNCTIONAL ASPECT : AFTER MARKET RESEARCH, THE FUNCTIONAL SCOPE OF THE PRODUCT HAS TO BE CAREFULLY ANALYZED AND PROPERLY DEFINED. FUNCTIONS CAN BE DIVIDED INTO THREE MAIN CATEGORIES VIZ., PRIMARY FUNCTION, SECONDARY FUNCTIONS, AND TERTIARY FUNCTIONS. FOR A WASHING MACHINE ‘TO WASH CLOTHING' IS THE PRIMARY FUNCTION. SECONDARY AND TERTIARY FUNCTIONS MAY INCLUDE: LEVEL OF AUTOMATION, RINSING OR DRYING OR BOTH, HEATING OF WATER PRIOR TO WASHING ETC. A FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS TO SEE THAT MOST OF THE CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS ARE SATISFIED WITHIN THEIR BUYING CAPACITY IS IMPORTANT DURING PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT AND AFFECTS THE DESIGN OF PRODUCT, ITS COMPLEXITY, ITS APPEARANCE AND ITS PRICE.

OPERATIONAL ASPECT : IT IS RELATED WITH THE EASE OF OPERATION OF THE PRODUCT. IT MUST BE EASY TO HANDLE AND SIMPLE TO OPERATE. ITS OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY SHOULD NOT BE AFFECTED BY THE VARYING OPERATING CONDITIONS AND VARYING OPERATOR SKILLS. IN MANY SITUATIONS, OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY OF A PRODUCT CAN BE IMPROVED BY PROVIDING SUPPORTING LITERATURE IN THE FORM OF OPERATION GUIDELINES OR BY PROVIDING ON HAND TRAINING TO THE FIRST TIME USERS.

DURABILITY AND DEPENDABILITY : THESE TWO FACTORS OFTEN DETERMINE QUALITY OF A PRODUCT. DURABILITY IS DEFINED BY THE LENGTH OF ACTIVE LIFE OF THE PRODUCT UNDER GIVEN WORKING CONDITIONS. DEPENDABILITY IS THE CAPABILITY OF THE PRODUCT TO FUNCTION WHEN CALLED UPON TO DO ITS JOB. BOTH DURABILITY AND DEPENDABILITY ARE RELATED TO THE SELECTION OF MATERIALS AND THE CLASS OF WORKMANSHIP. DURABILITY OF A PRODUCT CAN BE SHOWN BY A BATH TUB CURVE.

IT CAN BE OBSERVED THAT DURING INFANT STAGE, PRODUCT IS NEW AND MAY HAVE SOME DESIGN OR MANUFATURING DEFECTS LEADING TO HIGHER RATE OF FAILURE. DURING ADULT STAGE, PRODUCT IS PUT UNDER USE AFTER ALL NECESSARY TESTING AND THUS THE RATE OF FAILURE IS STABILISED AND IS FAIRLY LOW. SIMILARLY IN WEAR OUT STAGE, PRODUCT HAS COMPLETED ITS USEFUL LIFE AND DUE TO WEAR AND TEAR IN ITS COMPONENTS, FAILURE RATE STARTS INCREASING AGAIN.

REFERENCES :-www. nptel.iitm.ac.in