Product Leadership Case Study: Consumer Products Manufacturing

by Kalypso on July 16th, 2009

Objective
A significant competitor in the RTA (ready-to-assemble) furniture market, has seen its revenue stagnate as the growth of its major channels has subsided and lower cost competition has entered their market space. The company decided to pursue Product Leadership as a way to achieve separation from the competition, increase channel opportunities and drive revenue growth. As such, the company is interested in transforming their product development and design focus from the current state to a revamped product design, development and management approach driven by the consumer.

Solution
Kalypso completed a Diagnostic Assessment to understand Bush's current product development operating model and capabilities, determine the gap between future and desired state, and develop a preliminary plan for transformation to a Product Leadership value proposition. Kalypso was engaged to implement the initial phase of the company's transformation with a focus on building a Product Leadership infrastructure, including:

• Designing and implementing a cross-functional and product development focused organization structure based on successful models from the consumer products industry
• Building Product Leadership Development Frameworks that contain information about all elements required to attain Product Leadership
• Defining a structured Consumer/Sensory Insights process that can be institutionalized to support strategy generation and feed the New Product Development Process
• Employing Customer Strategic Alliances to generate advanced consumer knowledge and develop a partnership approach to launching innovative new products with lead customers
• Incorporating Formal Requirements Definition to drive sharp and early product and project definition
• Finalizing and deploying a Phase-Gate New Product Development Process
• Defining Base Metrics to measure the organization's success in achieving Product Leadership

Results
As a result of this project, the company has made significant strides in developing the infrastructure required to achieve Product Leadership in the RTA Furniture market. A new brand management-oriented organizational structure focused on delivering leading products has been implemented. Additionally, the organization now has a documented Stage-Gate New Product Development Process that is being employed successfully to manage and prioritize development projects. Finally, a Consumer Insights process utilizing leading practices has been defined and integrated into the New Product Development Process.

Topics: Case Study, CPG, Product Leadership