2009 Readers' Choice Survey: New Product Development & Introduction
Given the current state of the economy, it's only natural to expect investments in new technology to slow. But this isn't the case when it comes to supporting innovation initiatives in the consumer goods (CG) industry.
"The tightening economic conditions are increasing the need for CG manufacturersto deliver profitable growth," says Peter Bambridge, research director, Industry Advisory Services - Manufacturing, Gartner Inc. "Effective New Product Development and Introduction (NPDI) and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) processes
are critical enablers of achieving this aim."
New partnership announcements support this claim: The Procter & Gamble Company announced its implementation of Dassault Systemes Enovia solution in October 2008 as its enterprise-wide PLM backbone to support product development. And, Black & Decker partnered with PTC also in October for strategic PLM initiatives in its Industrial Products group.
Kimberly Knickle, program director, Emerging Agenda, Manufacturing Insights, an IDC Company, says investments in this category will also depend on pressure to develop "green" products.
Jeffrey Hojlo, research analyst for AMR Research, agrees: "Green design will begin to take hold across the industry, which presents a great opportunity for CAD and product data management vendors."
Analysts predict a number of major functionality developments in this space: "We expect new functionality to help companies better identify the basic elements that make NPDI more successful," says Knickle. "We are also seeing a growing interest in PLM and consumer-centric applications in consumer packaged goods to help the NPDI process, and would expect to see robust growth over the next few years."
Hojlo adds, "Another growth area will be customer needs management as the need for rapid, efficient and compliant sourcing to support new product development and launch grows in importance. The bottom line is companies still need to innovate to grow, especially in a recession."
BREAKOUT FAVORITES
Customer Experience: IBM
In July 2008, IBM announced it would significantly increase PLM resources by offering clients access to nearly 3,000 PLM practitioners across its software, services, research and development divisions. IBM also deepened its commitment to sell and support Dassault Systemes PLM software offerings with the new V6 platform.
SMB Market: Microsoft
"Since implementing Microsoft software, we've seen a 30 percent increase in efficiency. We're able to spend more time creating new products, bringing in more employees and making better-quality dog treats. Using Microsoft software was critical in our ability to go from producing zero to thousands of packages a month."
-- Tina Garrido, President, Inu Treats
| Top 10 |
| 1. Microsoft Corporation |
| 2. Oracle |
| 3. SAP |
| 4. Dassault Systemes ENOVIA |
| 5. Infor Global Solutions |
| 6. IBM |
| 7. Siemens PLM Software |
| 8. PTC |
| 9. Paxonix |
| 10. Agentrics |
are critical enablers of achieving this aim."
New partnership announcements support this claim: The Procter & Gamble Company announced its implementation of Dassault Systemes Enovia solution in October 2008 as its enterprise-wide PLM backbone to support product development. And, Black & Decker partnered with PTC also in October for strategic PLM initiatives in its Industrial Products group.
Kimberly Knickle, program director, Emerging Agenda, Manufacturing Insights, an IDC Company, says investments in this category will also depend on pressure to develop "green" products.
Jeffrey Hojlo, research analyst for AMR Research, agrees: "Green design will begin to take hold across the industry, which presents a great opportunity for CAD and product data management vendors."
Analysts predict a number of major functionality developments in this space: "We expect new functionality to help companies better identify the basic elements that make NPDI more successful," says Knickle. "We are also seeing a growing interest in PLM and consumer-centric applications in consumer packaged goods to help the NPDI process, and would expect to see robust growth over the next few years."Hojlo adds, "Another growth area will be customer needs management as the need for rapid, efficient and compliant sourcing to support new product development and launch grows in importance. The bottom line is companies still need to innovate to grow, especially in a recession."
BREAKOUT FAVORITES
Customer Experience: IBM
In July 2008, IBM announced it would significantly increase PLM resources by offering clients access to nearly 3,000 PLM practitioners across its software, services, research and development divisions. IBM also deepened its commitment to sell and support Dassault Systemes PLM software offerings with the new V6 platform.
SMB Market: Microsoft
"Since implementing Microsoft software, we've seen a 30 percent increase in efficiency. We're able to spend more time creating new products, bringing in more employees and making better-quality dog treats. Using Microsoft software was critical in our ability to go from producing zero to thousands of packages a month."
-- Tina Garrido, President, Inu Treats