Engineering news
The understanding of risk and uncertainty in the product development process and how they impact on delivery dates is a key strategy for success in manufacturing, new research from PA Consulting has found.
PA found that while manufacturers needed to work quickly to innovate, reliable delivery dates by OEMs and suppliers were valued more than speed alone. PA surveyed a number of firms in the automotive, aerospace, medical device, pharmaceuticals and fast moving consumer goods sectors at a symposium held last week in Cambridge.
PA’s research found that manufacturers in different sectors were facing similar problems, including a drive to outsource more R&D, product development and manufacturing work, along with reducing cost and maintaining quality standards in the wake of the financial crisis.
There was a particular focus on outsourcing to Brazil, India, China and Russia, PA consultant Julian Brandon-Jones said. “All of these global trends impact on the way different sectors do product development. Companies in different industries face similar challenges,” he said.
The symposium brought together manufacturers with experts from the universities of Cambridge, Bath and Durham. According to PA, it found that that sector differences between manufacturers were “much less important” than previously thought, with companies making FMCG goods facing similar challenges in product development to automotive and aerospace firms.
Companies also identified effective leadership as crucial to the product development process. Brandon-Jones said: “It’s very easy to follow a process blindly, but one of the key things you need is good people in positions of leadership to be able to make your process work. And I think that was widely recognised by pretty much everyone.”
The results of the symposium will be published in a paper on product development processes next month.