Industry / Focus Industry
Manufacturing Industry
Mechanical Engineering
Line Function / Role
Project Manager
Head of Product Development & Management
Mandate Duration
(in months)
4
Revenue
(in million €)
35
Employees
300
Task:
Taking over the responsibility for product development and product management at a medium-sized system provider for print & apply solutions.
Initial Situation:
- Decision backlog in ongoing development projects
- Lack of clear prioritisation and economic evaluation of initiatives
- Unstructured product development process
- Insufficient specification standards
- Weak integration between internal development units and external partners
- Limited transparency regarding the economic viability of development decisions
Goal:
- Restoration of action and decision-making capability in product development
- Establishment of a structured product creation process
- Introduction of economic control logics
- Improvement of collaboration in the development ecosystem
- Creation of a robust foundation for scalable product development
Approach:
1
Resolving the decision-making deadlock
Identification of blocked projects and more open decisions. Establishing clear decision rules instead of further analysis cycles.
2
Introduction of economic control logic
Development of an ROI calculation tool for fact-based investment decisions and prioritisation in the portfolio.
3
Establishment of a clear PEP structure
Introduction of a structured product launch process (PEP), including idea generation, evaluation with prioritisation, development, and market launch.
4
Standardisation of value drivers in product development
Development of an initial practical framework for short specifications in the sense of front-loading.
Further relevant implementation measures/steps:
- Creation of a transparent overview of all historically open development projects.
- Elaboration of a complete product creation process (PEP) with corresponding quality gates, work packages, and stakeholder responsibilities.
- Revitalisation of collaboration in the development ecosystem with other portfolio companies of the group and external service providers for more integrated product development results.
- Governance in product development through the introduction of clear decision-making and escalation logics.
Results (Output):
- Increase in organisational decision-making capability
- Improvement of transparency and cost-effectiveness
- Establishment of structure and process adherence
- Quality of development preparation through standard in product specification
- Efficient collaboration through professional involvement of relevant stakeholders
Impact (Outcome):
- Transformation from stagnation to active product development with an action-capable organisation that prioritises and decides based on facts.
- Introduction of economic rationality in product decisions for better capital allocation and a higher contribution to results from innovative products.
- Establishment of a scalable development model. A standardised product creation process with clear phases and gates is the prerequisite for growth, complexity management, and quality assurance.
- Significant improvement in development quality with fewer misdevelopments and rework.
- Strengthening collaboration in the development ecosystem. Empowering employees to independently manage the PEP with a focus on results.
- Laying the foundation for future product and business model innovation and thus for faster market launches and better utilisation of market opportunities.