week 4 Refer to the graphic (13.1) and explanations in Ch. 13 of New Products Management and/or the Ch. 13 presentation. The chapter can be found in this MKT 593 Week's Required Learning Activities fo

Design for Speed to Market

Ingersoll-Rand developed its Cyclone Grinder (an air-grinder power tool) in record time, thanks to an efficient cross-functional team and excellence in design. The team (composed of marketing, manufacturing, and engineering personnel) worked closely with Group Four Design to identify customer needs. Users of traditional grinders often complained that they were difficult to hold, and that their hands would freeze (the unit became cold during use). The new grinder was ergonomically shaped (better shaped for the human body meaning, in this case, easier to hold), lighter, and made of a new composite material that was both more durable and more comfortable to hold (since it conducted less thermal energy and thus did not get cold). Furthermore, the one-piece housing design was a cost improvement over the previous version, which required assembly of seven different components.

Design for Ease of Manufacture

A classic example here concerns IBM’s development of its Proprinter dot-matrix printer in the mid-1980s. At the time, the Japanese owned the worldwide market for low-end printers. It was felt, however, that the competition was vulnerable: Their printers were not well designed, and in particular had hundreds of parts including dozens of rivets and fasteners. IBM set a performance target of 200 near-letter-quality characters per second (not the current standard, but the expected standard four years into the future) and had a motto of “no fasteners”: Everything had to snap together easily. Furthermore, the development time had to be compressed from the standard four years to two-and-a-half years. All of the above was achieved: The original Proprinter had only 61 parts and could be assembled in three minutes. Similarly, Swatch watches are designed for ease of manufacture,

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having about a third of the moving parts of a traditional Swiss watch, a plastic casing without a removable back, a plastic strap incorporated into the casing, and many other design features. Swatch watches retail at a small fraction of the price of traditional Swiss watches.

Design for Differentiation

Haworth Inc., the office furniture designer, employs an Ideation Group, responsible for exploring and assessing customer acceptance of speculative products (high-risk products without a clear-cut market). Haworth believes that “nonstandard” product development is needed for speculative products. Few of the prototypes developed by Ideation may make it to the marketplace, and those that do (like the Crossings furniture line) may end up looking quite different. Good ideas from the Ideation Group can make their way into existing lines or other future products, and more importantly, Haworth has successfully differentiated its product offerings as being more original in design. Incidentally, excellence in design seems to be important in the office furniture industry: Steelcase Inc. is a majority owner of IDEO, the design firm we have met more than once in earlier chapters.8

Design to Meet Customer Needs

Deep understanding of customer needs is required in order for the firm to translate a high-potential technology into a product that provides meaningful benefits to the customer. Collaboration with end users (seen in Chapter 4) and capturing the voice of the customer (Chapter 12) are important ways to get this depth of understanding, now sometimes referred to as user-oriented design.9

The voice of the customer was extensively used in the design of the Infiniti QX4 sport utility vehicle. In fact, marketing director Steve Kight said at the time that “the QX4 was designed expressly for [our customers].” Interviews and surveys of Infiniti drivers in Westchester County, New York, revealed their preferences in an SUV: handles like a car, easy to get into, priced below $40,000. Infiniti drivers and nondrivers within the target market (35–64 years old, over $125,000 household income, willing to purchase a luxury car) were presented with five different designs. The best of these was molded into clay and fiberglass models with the additional input of dealers. Finally, the SUV was supported with a strong promotional campaign, advertising heavily in magazines such as Smart Money. As a result, sales far exceeded expectations.10

Crown Equipment Corporation, a manufacturer of forklift trucks, developed its RC (Rider Counterbalance) lift truck and launched it in 2008. An age-old problem expressed by forklift truck drivers is their inability to see clearly in front, especially

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if they have pallets raised on the forks. In some cases, a second person would be required to guide the driver, whose sight line was obstructed by the load carried at the front of the truck. Using an ingenious counterbalance system, the RC’s forks are located to the side so as to remove the driver’s obstruction. Additionally, the RC had extra design elements that addressed other common user complaints and appealed to the driver: a much larger than average operator compartment, a desktop area allowing the driver to keep papers and tools nearby, a newly designed shock absorption system that smoothed the ride, and a stylish and ergonomic appearance. The RC significantly grew Crown Equipment’s market share and also won several design awards.11

Universal design is the term sometimes used to mean the design of products to be usable by anyone regardless of age or ability. Principles of universal design can be used to develop products for new markets based on unmet customer needs. The designer considers the abilities of real people in real-world settings when applying universal design principles. For example, some people are visually impaired, while others have temporary vision problems due to eye fatigue, recovery from surgery, or even poor lighting. Phones with extra-large buttons address permanent or temporary vision problems and can be used by anyone. Closed-captioned television, automatic garage-door openers, and automatically opening doors to grocery stores also exemplify universal design. Figure 13.2 illustrates the principles of universal design.

Design to Build or Support Corporate Identity

Many firms have established visual equity across the products they sell: a recognizable look or feel that they use consistently. Product design can thus help build or support public perception of the firm and, ultimately, its corporate identity. Apple computers and other devices have always been designed to look user-friendly. Rolex watches all have a classic, high-prestige appearance, and Braun appliances have lines and colors that convey simplicity and quality.12 Nokia phones share common design elements that make them unique, yet at the same time familiar. The company calls these commonalities “Nokia DNA.” Radically designed new BMW models, such as the Z4, still share familiar design attributes with classic BMWs of years ago, such as the distinctive grille.13

Design for the Environment

Design for disassembly is the technique by which products can be taken apart after use for separate recycling of metal, glass, and plastic parts. Among other carmakers, BMW has designed disassembly and recycling into its cars. Used plastic

Crawford, C. M. & Di Benedetto, C. A. (2015). New products management (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Chapter 13, pages 327-329