To be successful, a business must be able to develop and introduce new products that meet consumers' demands and desires. This is where systematic new product development comes into play. Creating a system that collects, reviews, and evaluates new product ideas will help your company develop innovative and desirable products.

What is Systematic New Product Development?

Systematic new product development (SNPD) is a process that helps ensure that good ideas are not lost and that the company can develop products that meet customer needs and desires. It also allows for the management of new product development from a holistic and systematic perspective. Having this perspective can help increase the chances of success for new products.

The steps involved in systematic new product development

True SNPD requires a company culture conducive to creativity and innovation, where employees feel comfortable sharing new ideas. It also necessitates a process for collecting, reviewing, and evaluating those ideas so that you can choose the best ones for further development. Finally, once you have selected an idea, it needs to undergo several more stages of refinement before it becomes a product ready for market.

Systematic new product development has four levels of maturity, in line with the Innovation Value Pyramid:

The first level is non-existent, i.e. product development is not systematic. This is depicted in the Innovation Value Pyramid as owner-driven innovation with the lowest level of enterprise value creation.

The second level is ad hoc, i.e. product development is done on an as-needed basis with no actual process in place. This is depicted in the Innovation Value Pyramid as people-based innovation, which has a higher level of enterprise value creation than owner-driven innovation but is still not systematic.

The third level is defined, i.e. product development that has a process in place but is not yet institutionalised. This is depicted in the Innovation Value Pyramid as system-based innovation, which has a higher level of enterprise value creation than people-based innovation and has the foundation for systematic innovation in place.

The fourth and highest level is institutionalised; i.e. your team carries out product development systematically and autonomously with an end-to-end process that all employees follow. This is depicted in the Innovation Value Pyramid as culture-based innovation with the highest level of enterprise value creation.

How to use systematic new product development to develop innovative products

There are many different ways to approach systematic new product development. Yet, the most important thing is to have a process that allows for collecting, reviewing, and evaluating new product ideas. Once you have this process in place, you can start thinking about how to develop innovative products that meet customer needs.

A culture that supports creativity and innovation is critical for successful systematic new product development. Employees need to feel comfortable sharing new ideas and know that you will take their ideas and give them proper consideration. It's also essential to have a process in place for reviewing and evaluating new ideas so that you can choose the best ones for further development.

Once you have a good idea of what your customers want and need, you can start working on developing products that meet those needs. The first step is to define the problem you're trying to solve and then identify potential solutions. Once you have a few possible solutions, you can test them to see which ones work best.

After you've developed a product that meets customer needs, it's crucial to test it before launching it; this includes doing market research to see how customers will react to the product and ensuring that the product is ready for production. Once you've done all this, you can launch your product and start selling it to customers.

Benefits of using a systematic approach

There are many benefits to using a systematic approach to new product development. the most crucial advantage is that it allows you to develop products that meet customer needs; this is because you can define the problem you're trying to solve and then identify potential solutions. Then, once you have a few possible solutions, you can test them to see which ones work best.

Another benefit of using a systematic approach is that it helps you avoid making mistakes; this is because you have a process in place for reviewing and evaluating new ideas to choose the best ones for further development.

Yet another benefit of using a systematic approach is that it allows you to develop products faster; this is because you can work on many ideas simultaneously and then move on to the next idea if one isn't working out.

Challenges companies face when implementing systematic new product development.

The biggest challenge companies face when implementing systematic new product development is culture; it can be difficult to change the way employees think about innovation and creativity. Employees need to feel comfortable sharing new ideas and know that their ideas will be taken and given proper consideration. It's also essential to have a process in place for reviewing and evaluating new ideas so that you can choose the best ones for further development.

Another challenge companies face when implementing systematic new product development is resources; it can be expensive to set up a process for collecting, reviewing, and evaluating new ideas. Additionally, finding the time and money to invest in developing new products can be challenging.

Finally, companies may also face challenges when marketing their new products; this is because they need to make sure that their products are ready for production and that they have a plan for marketing their products to customers.

Despite these challenges, systematic new product development is the key to successful innovation. By definition, innovation is the process of creating something new with value. And while there may be some challenges associated with implementing systematic new product development, the benefits far outweigh the challenges.