Product DevelopmentMeaning: Product development is the carried out after research which follows pure research. Development is the work contributing towards improvement in the existing knowledge by way of improved ideas, systems, techniques, etc. Product development is a specialized activity which may result in creation of new product or modification in the production process to produce the same product.
Product development involves design, redesign and fabrication of new or modified product and then testing it to find its usefulness. Needs of Product Development:1. Meet changing needs of the customers. 2.
Adjust with the variation of quantity required. 3. Produce product in that in which consumers are willing to buy. 4. Maintain sales position and net profit also when competition is hard.
Product Development Procedure: 1. Venture New Product Ideas 1) Imitation: Its means marketing another same product similar to one in the market. 2) Adaptations: It involves developing an improved product foe an already existing in the markets. 3) Inventions: New design comes from the invention. 4) Other Sources: Sometimes the new ideas come from the following sources: a) Dealers and customers b) By advertising, asking people to send their ideas.
c) Success stories of friend/relative, experience of other manufacturers. d) Internal sources.2. Idea Screening: The various project ideas are carefully screened and choose best ideas from them. 3.
Concept Development: All ideas selected after preliminary investigation are subjected to detailed investigation and analysis. 4. Product Analysis: It is carried out in occurrence with product design. Many factors are analyzed in connection with development and design such as sales, advertising, market research, durability and dependability, etc.Technical Product Development Process: At this stage after the product is developed it is converted into a prototype development, giving a visual image of the product. The planned programmed may undergo modifications during actual implementation if and when necessary.
1. Test Marketing: Once the product is developed, it has to be tested in the actual market place to learn how consumers react to product’s features, its performance and its marketing programmed including branding, packaging, price and distribution. 2. Commercialization: Once the marketing gives a green signal the company can undertake the full scale manufacture, considering the necessary modifications. 3.
Consumer adoption Process: Consumers typically go through a series of stages in reaching the regular user stage.This process is termed as adoption process:Awareness ?Interest ?Evaluation ?Trial ?Adoption Product Development Techniques /Tools Techniques of product development can be classified into four parts: 1. Standardization 2. Simplification 3. Specialization 4.
Diversification 1. Standardization: Standardization is the process of defining and applying the conditions necessary to ensure that a given range of requirements can normally be met with minimum variety and in reproducible and economic manner on the basis of the best current technique. The concept of standardization is applicable to all factors of production namely men, machines, materials, methods and finished goods. These standards can become the basis to evaluate the performance of various components of production in manufacturing process.Levels of Standardization:1. Company Level: It means certain standard fixed by companies.
2. Association Level: It means some or certain standard fixed by group of companies which are in same product line. 3. National Standards: Its means some standard fixed by national level authorized institution.
In India, Indian Standard Institute (ISI) develops standards for various products, methods and operations. 4. International Standards: Such standards are fixed by the international organizations for standardization in order to facilitate trde in international markets.Application of Standardization:Standardization can be applied to a major extent in the following fields: 1. Finished products, e.
g., cars and electronics goods. 2. Subassemblies and components, e.
g., gearboxes and auto-electric bulbs. 3. Material standardization 4.
Production equipment standardizationAdvantages of Standardization:1. Facilitates large scale Production: It facilitates large scale production because the number of varieties reduced and the efforts and resources are concentrated on those limited verities. It makes the best utilization of capital possible and cost of production is also reduced. 2. Eliminates Wastages: It eliminates wastage in designing, purchasing of raw materials, semi finished and finished materials as well as in manufacturing activities.
It helps in reduction of cost of production. 3. Helps in Introduction Mechanization: For standardization manufacturing process are broken down to various sub-operations. 4.
Assists in Controlling the Production Efforts: It assists in controlling the production by comparing the actual performance with the standards. 5. Provide Incentive to the Management: It gives incentive to the management to manufacture products perpetually new in styling, useful, in performance so that more purchase may be attracted. 6. Loans are easily arranged: Loans on standard commodities or in transit may be arranged easily because uniform lots are easily evaluated.
7. Service and maintenance cost reduced: Because of uniformity of products, the service maintenance cost and marketing expenses are reduced to minimum. 8. Achieve Higher Productivity: It helps in achieving higher productivity.
Disadvantages of standardization: 1. Promote Rigidity: Not suitable in the initial stage of product development when it requires frequent modification. 2. Not Suitable for Small Producers: They cannot standardize or maintain standard nation-wide scale. 3.
Difference in standard: It differs from company to company if they are not developed by the central authority. 4. Deleterious effect: It affects worker capacity and moral, so mass production is defeated.2.
Simplification: Simplifications means reduction of the number and varieties of product in the line. It is decision of the management to reduce the product items or lines which are sick or unprofitable or undesirable to avoid losses or use resource to some other product yielding a high rate of profit.Advantages of Simplification:1. To Producers: Producer gets the following benefits from the simplification: 1) Reduction in Manufacturing Costs: Supervision expenses are reduced.
2) Use of specialized Plants: In order to specialized the production of one or two items, specialized plants and methods are used. 3) Reduction in Inventories: The number of items to be produced are reduced, due to inventories are also reduced. 4) Increase in Efficiency: It increase efficiency due to specialization and division of work. 5) Market Control: By simplification it is easy to market control. Because further we can analyze market, customers and competition.
6) Increase Profits: By concentrating on the manufacture of better selling items in the line ,the sales volume of the product increase considerably. The increased sales volume reduced cost of production and wastages, increased efficiency of labored will help in increasing the profits of the firm to great extent.2. To Consumer:1.
Quality Product at Cheaper Rates: It makes possible the quality products at cheaper rates. Due to large scale production per unit cost of the product is lower. 2. Greater Facilities: By simplification of products consumers get better and greater facilities of repairs, service or maintenance because the firm concentrates on full facilities in respect of a few items.
3. Steady supply of Products: It makes steady supply of products with interchangeable parts.
