This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
16


Management Services Spring 2012


Phase 2: Growth – Manage rising demand, fulfi ll launch orders, build service, track and manage costs.


This is where the design and development of the product begin to move into rising demand. The onus is on building credibility with customers via consistent on-time delivery, repeatable high levels of customer service and supporting the ramp-up of demand. The supply chain focus expands to capture rising costs and devising strategies to curb excessive freight or inventory excesses, while collaborating fi ercely with the sales team to consolidate the performance of the new product in the market.


Phase 3: Competitive turbulence – Grow, fulfi ll: cost, quality and delivery improvements across ‘make, build, procure, produce, sell and deliver’ process.


Other competitors may emerge, following the market, particularly if the launch has been successful. Customers’ expectations rise in terms of delivery and quality consistency. Customers in aggressive markets demand reductions in price, forcing organisations to be more innovative with removing cost from their products and from their supply chains. Streamlining the fl ow of product through the value chain becomes the focal point: collaborating with customers to refi ne forecasts, aligning lead-times with manufacturing and sales becomes the pivotal point of optimisation and manufacturers drive to lower costs from suppliers.


Phase 4: Maturity – Consolidate, drive cost-reduction, maintain position, prepare for End of Life.


Repeatability, reproducibility and consistency become the core


parts of the recipe for success. Margins come under threat from competition in the market, products may undergo a face-lift (leading to an extension of the product life cycle where some of the phases repeat over again) and organisations prepare for End of Life.


This is the time to most closely monitor the reduction in demand to avoid being saddled with excess inventory or a supply chain that still thinks high demand is the order of the day.


Phase 5: End of Life – Ramp-down, phase-out, cut-off and disposal.


Demand softens at this fi nal stage or even dries up completely. Products have been replaced by superior versions or overtaken by the competition. Inventory will probably exist along the value chain that needs to be tidied up.


Supply chain partners need to be kept fully informed so as


to avoid unnecessary residual waste and avoidable disposal costs. Often, supply chain resources are working on End of Life and development/entry phase of a new initiative – parallel running is crucial to success and short lead-time to market.


Critical success factors To summarise, there are a number of critical success factors for supply chain management regarding new product development:


• Demonstrate a high level of focus for design for manufacture and design for supply – strong supplier audit and nomination process;


• Construct aligned demand management profi les to execute launch effectively and on time;


• Re-engineer and remove waste/cost at maturity and competitive turbulence


Supply chain


phases and VA/VE supplier development tools; • Margin enhancement, protection and improvement while prolonging maturity phase;


• Manage demand profi les, after market and inventory run-out during exit.


References


Essentials of Supply Chain Management, 2nd Edition, Michael H Hugos.


The Impact of Product Life Cycle on Supply Chain Strategy, James Aitkena, Paul Childerhouseb, Denis Towill.


Demand Chain Alignment Competence – Delivering Value through Product Life Cycle Management, Uta Jüttner, Janet Godsell, Martin G Christopher.


Managing Product Life Cycle in a Supply Chain Context: A Prescription Based on Empirical Research, Sameer Kumar and William A Krobb.


Growing Emphasis on Product Lifecycle Management, 2004, Scott Hudson.


PLCM/NPD linkage with supply chain  


      


  





 


<100   Product lifecycle stages


  


    


      





Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48
Produced with Yudu - www.yudu.com