New Product Introduction (NPI)

Improving the effectiveness of your New Product Introduction (NPI) function

Smart, efficient and safe full-service project delivery for international organisations

Product lifecycle management and the role of NPI

Product lifecycle management is a key function in any manufacturing company to ensure a sustainable business. With the expected decline and obsolescence of products over a period of time, careful management of the product portfolio becomes an important activity for any manufacturing company. New Product Introduction (NPI) plays a vital role in managing the product portfolio to suit the changing market/ consumer demands and providing new revenue opportunities for the business. NPI can include introducing a new product in the market or launching a variant of the existing product for a sub-segment of the existing market.

The NPI encompasses all the activities carried out to define, develop, produce and launch a new or an improved product. The key to successful NPI is ensuring that the right product is introduced in the market, at the right time and the right price. That’s why you need an effective NPI function to collaboratively work with a cross-functional team of stakeholders to achieve these objectives. Engaging stakeholders early in the process is a key success factor.

Managing your NPI process

In our experience, being engaged by the NPI teams early in the process has meant that they get practical advice based on DFM (Design for Manufacturing) practices. This ensures that the final product is of the required quality standards while being cost effective. Early involvement of stakeholders also helps avoid the costly late design changes, multiple iterations and repeated validation that can delay the process. Hence, the new product can be produced and launched on time to meet the company objectives.

Recently, a pharmaceutical company with a mature, established and specialist consumer product identified new applications for their product. This was as an opportunity for them to leverage the success of the existing product in a new market segment. It required the development of a new form of packaging for the product. The company engaged us very early in the NPI process i.e. at the concept stage. This enabled us to conduct a feasibility study to explore suitable options based on our cross-industry experience. We provided insights into the different systems and processes that would enable the company to achieve the required volume of production, cost effectively. We further collaborated with the NPI team to finalise the design and support the procurement, installation and validation of the entire production line. As a result of an early involvement of all stakeholders in the NPI process, the company avoided costly multiple iterations that could delay the product launch.

 

Early involvement of all stakeholders is a key success factor

With increasing competitiveness and acceleration in the pace of innovation, an effective NPI function is the key to providing new revenue opportunities and meeting customer demands. By involving all stakeholders and independent experts early in the process, you can improve the effectiveness of your NPI function, stay competitive and increase your business revenues. Contact us to discuss your NPI projects and how our engineering team can help you become more successful at NPI.

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