2011 Readers' Choice: New Product Development & Introduction
New Product Development & Introduction (NPDI) traverses ideation through commercialization, launch and retirement. Consequently, the results on this list are a mix of software vendors with broad NPDI capabilities and offerings, and providers who focus on point/differentiated solution offerings. Harin Shetty, senior executive at Accenture, weighs in on the survey’s outcome in this category.CGT: Is interest in this area heating up as the economy improves?
Shetty: Globally, the CG industry has seen a gradual lift in consumer confidence, and the earliest indicator of this rise was seen with growth in the emerging economies. We have seen interest in certain areas within NPDI — specifically portfolio management optimization, collaborative design and analytics.
CGT: What trends should CG companies follow in this area?
Shetty: The larger CG companies will seek to use their international footprint to leverage global/local platforms with NPDI and associated supply chains. As a result, we expect an increase in collaborative and virtual design rendering. Product safety and traceability will take on an increased dimension both from a regulatory and legal context. CG companies are looking to crack the code on commercial intelligence and consumer insight to understand ideation funnels via crowd-sourcing through impacts on social media as a competitive advantage.
CGT: How can vendors help CG firms tap into consumer insights to ensure new product success?
Shetty: The future of garnering consumer insights and incorporating the range from transactional to social media-based information will rely on predictive technologies to help provide a dashboard for CG firms. Insights will have to be more “actionable” to enable organizations to sift through vast amounts of information and provide concrete campaigns for product launches, understanding the impact of each hurdle around the NPDI gates, and perfecting execution on the retail shelf from promotion through assortments.
BREAKOUT FAVORITES
Customer Experience: Oracle
“Oracle’s Agile PLM applications are vital to our ability to achieve our No. 1 goal — consistently delivering the best nutrition and weight management products in the world.” -- Mark Schissel, CIO, Herbalife
SMB Market: Microsoft
“Microsoft Dynamics AX is an excellent product to help us realize the full revenue potential of our brand. We are now in a position to support the growth in the market with the needed information and process refinements.” -- Rose Marcario, CFO & COO, Patagonia