New Product Innovation, Process And Commercialization And The Impact It Has On An Organization Essay Sample

Three in 1 Breakfast Maker

Introduction
The 3 in 1 breakfast maker is a product innovation that allows individuals to make coffee, eggs and bread on a single machine. Product innovation is an essential element and aspect in business because it defines the end of the product and its influence on the involved organization. Product innovation is about developing new products that the customers will love. It involves taking different paths that the customers will want to follow. Product innovation also involves three aspects of intelligence, inspiration and impact. These aspects aid the process of innovation by influencing claim analysis of the product, competitive intelligence, packaging analysis, innovation consulting, concept validation and concept development.

Conceptualization

The process of conceptualization involved two significant perspectives. The availability of technological innovations gave different options for conceptualizing and building the idea. The success depended on the application of the idea of solving a problem in the market environment chosen. The conceptualization of the 3 in 1 breakfast maker was important because it facilitated the relation to the strategic objectives of the organization (Christensen, Jesper Lindgaard. Lundvall, Bengt-A?ke, 1941-, 2004).
The first model was the business strategy view. Before the product came into the market, there was a clear understanding of the objectives of the organization. The idea was aligned with the organization strategies and differentiated with the competitive offerings. The two significant aspects of the view of the business strategy was the competitive positioning for the 3 in 1 breakfast maker idea and how the competencies of the organization facilitated all the operating activities and processes critical to the development of the idea (Christensen, Jesper Lindgaard. Lundvall, Bengt-A?ke, 1941-, 2004).
The business model view was also another significant approach during the conceptualization of the idea of the 3 in 1 breakfast maker. The organization took technology to the market through the idea and venture shaped by the business model of the organization. There were dimensions of the framework for the conceptualization of the idea (Rafinejad, 2007). These dimensions stemmed from the business model of the organization. These dimensions included competitive advantage, business alignment, customers, execution and business value.

Competitive advantage

The unique and selling proposition for the idea of the 3 in 1 breakfast maker was the main differentiating factor. It provided a distinct competitive position for the organization for the innovative idea in the market. The uniqueness of the product is that it would enable the users to make eggs, bread, and coffee by using a single machine. As such, it would save time. The uniqueness of the product would hence make it gain competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Business alignment

It was essential to relate the idea of the product to the future and current business directions of the organization. Therefore, the process of product innovation affects the operational functions of the involved organization, which has to evaluate the product to determine whether it aligns with its business operations (Rafinejad, 2007). The differentiating aspects of the idea were conceptualized around the core strategic focus of the organization and its goals. It was also essential to consider how the idea of the product

Customers

Knowledge of the customers for the idea was significant to conceptualize it based on the needs and wants of the customers. That is; the organization had a clear view of the target customers segment, people with homes (Rafinejad, 2007). The important learning for the organization was to define the consumer segment, develop a clear understanding of what they want and conceptualize the differentiators along aspects perceived as elemental for the specific market segment.

Execution

Execution involved contemplating the capabilities required in the development of the idea into a successful product innovation and taking the product to the market. The organization thought about ways of incubating the idea, the technologies best suited in the development of the idea and the avenues of co-creating the leveraging of the competencies available in the organization (Rainey, 2005). There was the identification of the suppliers, partners, processes, resources, risks and the eco-system of the market for succeeding in the product innovation.

Business value

The business value is the mechanism that brings value to the operations of the business organization or enterprise in pursuing the product idea. The business value covered how the revenues would be generated, the market size, how the revenue would be shared with the involved partners, the cost structure and how the profits would be generated (Rainey, 2005). The dimension addressed the significant benefits for the organization in pursuing the product idea and the realization of the benefits. The value definition was a critical factor in the business model of the product idea. Moreover, it formed the basis for selecting the product idea as it progressed through variant stages in the cycle of product innovation.

Product Development

Productivity is one of the principle elements of having a successful product development. New product development is an essential process for the survival and existence of an organization. As such, the organization took into account the significance of having a successful product development process. The organization understood that the business environment is competitive and dynamic (Rainey, 2005). The product development process is the cycle that the new product had to undergo from the conceptualization stage to the final stage of introduction into the market. The development process involved five distinct phases than that guided the process of the new product development for the organization.

Idea generation

The first stage of the product development was generation of the idea. This phase involved the organization sourcing for ideas regarding the new product. Some of the sources for the product idea that the organization used included business customers, suppliers, employees, journals, competitors, and newspapers. The organization was not limited concerning the technical and research-based techniques of idea generation. This stage was crucial because it lay the foundation for the subsequent phases. The generated ideas guided the entire product development process (Rainey, 2005).

Screening

The ideas generated during the first phase of the product development process went through a screening process that filtered out the viable ones. The organization sought opinions from the customers, workers, and other business enterprises to avoid pursuing costly and unfeasible ideas. The organization kept in mind the external industry factors that affected the business and market such as technological changes, legislation, and competition. Knowledge on these aspects influenced the decision criteria of the organization (Reinertsen, 2009). At the end of that screening process, the firm remained with only feasible ideas from those generated during the first phase. Screening was important because it enabled the organization to come up with various ideas for the product. Additionally, screening provided the organization with the opportunity to analyze the market and come with essential ideas for the same.

Concept development

The organization conducted research to identify the potential costs, profits and revenues arising from the product. The organization then conducted an SWOT analysis to find out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats existent in the external environment and the market. The organization then set out a market strategy to find out the target group of the product. The identification of the target group was significant because it facilitated the segmentation of the market of the product (Reinertsen, 2009). The segmentation of the market was elemental because it enabled the organization to identify its niche. The niche identified influenced most of the organization’s marketing decisions.
The organization considered other aspects during the product development. The management and administration of the organization evaluated the capacity of the business enterprise to complete the idea of the innovated product. In order to do so, there was an identification of three essential elements that would facilitate a successful product development.
Relevant skills were the first element (Reinertsen, 2009). Relevant skills involved all the aspects that regarded the production of the 3 in 1 breakfast maker. The skills were extensive and diverse from the technologies used, the specifications, and the process of mass production, quality control, pricing, customer trials and packaging among others.
The second element was resources. The organization committed itself to sufficient resources during the product development stage. The organization invested money, time and a critical mass of individuals among others during the process. However, the organization committed only sufficient resources because of the realization that committing many resources might affect the operations of the business (Reinertsen, 2009).

Reducing the risks

The organization identified the major risks early so that it would be easy to decide whether the overall risk was worth the anticipated potential reward. First, the organization analyzed all the market risks. In order to do so, the organization established the likely sales volumes and the costs of marketing and sales to achieve each sale. The organization also identified whether the target market was shrinking or growing (Trott, 2008). This identification enabled it to predict the foreseeable changes in the target market that could influence the success of the organization’s product launch. Additionally, the organization identified whether there were competing products already in the target market.
Reducing risks also encompassed analyzing the technical risks. This analysis involved the evaluation of whether to invest in technology or new equipment that would make the product development possible.

Understanding the product

Product development involved a clear understanding of the product in various ways. First, the organization defined the basic specification for the product by listing the features and translating the features into various specific requirements. The organization developed a unique selling proposition that would make the customers switch to the product (Trott, 2008). The unique selling proposition was the product would enable the users to prepare bread, eggs and coffee at the same time. The organization planned the design for the product. Planning for the design involved external and in-house designers who signed confidentiality agreements where necessary. The design of the product is another aspect that would draw the attention of the target customers.

Production

The product in line was built from the core assets of the product line, which included the requirements, design, components, test plans and cases, budgets and schedules. Every core asset had an attached process created by the developer of the core asset. The process described the use of the core asset in the product production.
There was an assessment of the process of production. The organization was responsible for the assessment of the effectiveness of the process of production of the product. There was a trial production run to establish whether the process of mass production was capable of manufacturing the product to the required quality and quantity by the customers (Trott, 2008). In order to furnish the proof of the output planned, various aspects applied. These factors included the equipment for production such as installations, inspection equipment and tools, use of the production materials, the capacity of working, the personnel and the supporting systems.
The production process also involved thorough documentation of the design. That is; there was detailing of the drawings for different applicable parts and the thorough model construction for other parts. There was also a final optimization of the design by the eye to minimize the costs of manufacturing the product (Woodside, 2005).
As such, there was a documentation for the assembling of the product including the painting, labeling and specs among others. The documentation was a combination of several aspects including the drawings of the part details, the component specifications such as textures, colors, materials and processing, assembly drawings and drawings of the assembly process (Woodside, 2005). Other aspects of the documentation were the assembly instructions, the product specifications such as the bill of materials and the packaging, and the manufacturing specifications.
The production process involved various steps including the final quotes of production, the vendor selection, the design of the special tools and features and the inclusion of the final input of the design from the manufacturers. Other steps included the component verification, validation and launch of the production.

Commercialization

Every business enterprise has its processes and views concerning the commercialization of its innovations. The organizations satisfied three essential elements for its commercialization process. The first element was the timing of the launch. The organization identified three factors that would lead to the delaying of the launch. These factors include when there is the danger of cannibalizing the sale of other products of the organization, if there can be a further improvement of the product or when the economy is down (Woodside, 2005).
The location of the launch was another important aspect of commercialization. The organization identified a single region, which was the headquarters, to launch the product. The resources of the organization in terms of operational capacities, managerial confidence, and capital influenced this decision greatly. The third aspect of the commercialization process was the target consumers. The organization identified the target consumers earlier through test marketing and research (Woodside, 2005). The consumer group consisted of heavy users, innovators, and early adopters among others, which ensured the adoption by other consumers in the markets during the period of product growth.

Conclusion

The process of product innovation is an extensive process with several stages including the conceptualization, development, production, and commercialization. These steps define the introduction of a new product and the processes that enable the product to reach the markets. Each of these steps affects the involved organization involved. That is; an organization invests its resources in the process to facilitate it. The effects of new product innovation are positive when the organization realizes profits from the sale of that product.

References

Christensen, Jesper Lindgaard. Lundvall, Bengt-A?ke, 1941-, (2004), Product innovation, interactive learning and economic performance. Amsterdam: Elsevier JAI.
Rafinejad, D, (2007), Innovation, product development and commercialization: Case studies and key practices for market leadership. Ft. Lauderdale, FL: J. Ross Pub.
Rainey, D. L, (2005), Product innovation: Leading change through integrated product development. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Reinertsen, D. G, (2009), The principles of product development flow: Second generation lean product development. Redondo Beach, CA: Celeritas.
Trott, P, (2008), Innovation management and new product development. Harlow, England: Financial Times/Prentice Hall.
Woodside, A. G, (2005), Managing product innovation. Amsterdam: Elsevier JAI.