Application Of Kaizen To Npd.docx

APPLICATION OF KAIZEN ON NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

1

Mr. Manoj Kumar Saxena, 2Prof. Rohit Dixit, 3Shahrukh Khan 1

2

Technical Head, Eicher Tractors Ltd., Mandideep

Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Dept.,Jai Narain College of Technology,Bhopal (M.P) 3

UG student, Mechanical Engineering Dept., Jai Narain College of Technology, Bhopal (M.P)

ABSTRACT Today innovation is a synergistic team effort. Challenge is still the same, to envision morphology of customer satisfaction agent and that too, in the context of future. Although innovation is largely intuition, the rationale of team, however is to amplify and stimulate coherent ideas and manage incoherent ideas with sceptic justification, as they too may contain new directions of thought and subsequent better chances of success. In development of new product we neither have a fixed stepwise procedure nor any discrete stages, from idea generation to product launch the steps and stages are overlapping and convulsively iterative in nature. Kaizen is a virtuous loop of continuous improvement when applied to such a team effort as a management tool can promise miraculous results. We in this paper propose, in order to achieve success in developing a new product, an innovative team should in inculcate a culture of kaizen. In this paper, application of kaizen is implemented over the traditional method of product development for better results. Innovative team will be capable of a quantum leap of success in generating an effective new product.

Keywords : kaizen, productivity, performance, profit

A new product is developed by the following 8 steps:

Step 1.IDEA GENERATION The development of a product will start with the concept. Idea generation is continuous, systematic search for new product opportunities. It involves delineating sources of new ideas and methods for generating them. Ideas for new products can be obtained from basic research using a SWOT analysis, which incorporates current market trends. This can be used to analyse your company's position and find a direction that is in line with your business strategy. In addition to this business centred activity, methods that focus on the customer's needs and wants. This could be:

1. Under-taking market research 2. Listening to suggestions from your target customers 3. Encouraging suggestions from employees and partners. 4. Looking at your competitor's successes and failure.

Kaizen implementation:   

What has changed over time during which the innovative team was thinking until the product was launched. Road map and time line should be avoided because team learns along the way as they work on the idea, because Mile stones and time limits would fail the process 360 degree feedback and idea updation continuously.Eg: from purchaser, from user etc

Step 2.IDEA SCREENING The objective is to eliminate unsound concepts. Ideas need to be considered objectively, ideally by a group or community. Specific screening criteria need to be set for this stage, looking at ROI, affordability and market potential. These question need to be considered carefully, to avoid product failure after considerable investment down the line.

Kaizen implementation: The screeners must ask these questions: Will the customer in the target market benefit from the product? What is the size and growth forecasts of the market segment? Will the product be profitable and when manufactured and delivered to the customer at the target price?

Hence we do:  

360 degree feedback from customer, purchaser and end user Know your customer intelligence system subjective judgement and objective data analysis.

Step 3.CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT & TESTING

An idea that has passed the screening stage. Concept testing presents the consumer with a proposed product and measure attitudes and intention at this early stage of development. Concept testing of prototypes can help avoid costly mistakes.

Kaizen implementation:   

Experimentation and hypothesis testing Longer the lists of questions, better the output. Key question list, whose assumptions, if proved wrong will fail the whole development program.

Step 4.BUSINESS ANALYSIS Once the concept has been tasted and finalised, a business case needs to be put together to assess whether the new product/service will be profitable. This should include a detailed marketing strategy, highlighting the target market, product positioning and the market mix that will be used. This analysis needs to include: whether there is a demand for the product, a full appraisal of costs, competition and identification of a break-even point.

Kaizen implementation: Improve communications (non separateness) 

View of whole

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Collaboration- help others idea grow and magnify.

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Co-located in a same room(together really)

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Self sufficient(enough fund to design the product)

Step 5. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT If the product is approved, it will be passed to the technical and marketing development stage. This is when a prototype or a limited production model will be created. This means you can investigate exact design & specification and any manufacturing, methods, but also gives something tangible for consumer testing, for feedback on specifics like look, feel and packaging.

Kaizen implementation:  Cross functional collaboration:  Contribute what team members are good at. (Different people are good at different things)  Management of “fear of failure”  Multiple roles of team members is better for innovation rather than singular roles.  Improve communications (non separateness)

STEP 6.TEST MARKETING Test Marketing (or market testing) is different to concept or consumer testing, in that it introduces the prototype product following the proposed marketing plan as whole rather than individual elements. This process is required to validate the whole concept and is used for further refinement of all elements, from product to marketing message.

Kaizen Implementation:  Experiment and Hypothesis testing.

Step 7. COMMERCIALIZATION. When the concept has been developed and tested, final decisions need to be made to move the product to its launch into the market. Pricing and marketing plans need to be finalised and the sales teams and distribution briefed, so that the product and company is ready for the final stage.

Kaizen implementation: 

Pricing the product on the basis of value placed by the customer on the utility of the product.

Step 8. LAUNCH A detailed launch plan is needed for this stage to run smoothly and to have maximum impacts. It should include decisions surrounding when and where to launch to target your primary consumer group. Finally in order to learn from any mistakes made, a review of the market performance is needed to access the success the project.

Kaizen implementation:  Launch the product where the demand is high.

DIAGRAM: IMPLEMENTATION OF KAIZEN IN 8 STEP PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

CONCLUSION: By implementing kaizen to 8 steps product development process, the results are better. Hence an innovative team should develop product by following this method in order to achieve better output.