Design Driven Innovation in B & O company - Essay Example

Design driven innovation, B & O company 1. What is your assessment of the competitive situation in which B & O finds itself in 2006? What are they good at? What should be worried about? The company was at a better situation. It had sold a range of audio systems, televisions, telephones and loudspeakers and other products in more than sixty countries. B & O had registered a global reputation for products that were idea based and of artistic design and high quality. Many of the company’s products are said to have held a place of honors in the permanent collection of globe’s greatest art museums. The company had delivered the most and largest consistent design portfolio among the world’s industrial companies according to a citation at the museum of modern arts in New York. The level of the accomplishment translated into profit margins and high price points and was realized through an increased numbers of dealers from discerning and devoted customers. The good reputation provided the company with a competitive advantage (Redmond, 2004). The company is said to have evolved development processes and unique designs that enabled them to develop products with functionality and appearances that improved their recognition. The company offered designer a chance to develop new products that would confuse engineers to find news of manufacturing them. Creating a business that is profitable entails offering services and products that consumers will be able to buy at a better price, The Company was good at this. New ideas technologies and materials made their way into the company’s products by utilizing the best designers. The products designed were appealing to the customers. Customers too were willing to pay for the products designed. Despite the company’s product design prowess, what happened in 2006 was getting more complicated after the product was turned on. The apple iPod closely integrated and acclaimed by designers with online iTunes music services had shown that design in the company market space was to encompass more than function and physical forms. The company should be prepared to adapt to the changing environment since the company’s products will be extend more deeply into virtual space, where great design meant network based interaction and great software. Excellence and performance in such areas required ideas and skills that were different for the company’s traditional expertise. 2. B &O radical design driven approach seems at odd with convectional business wisdom at many points. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach? How does it help the company compete? Is it sustainable? Many business people believe that customer centered design is the most effective compared to design driven innovation. B & O Company focused on design driven innovation and registered a lot of performance and profit. The design has however been linked to various benefits and limitations. Traditional view of business is design driven with most products that are produced being small, occasional and of incremental changes. Human centered design may be useful for incremental changes but not for radical and large transformations. Design driven approach entails designing products that offers customers a new meaning. The approach enables the company to drive the market rather than getting adapted to it. Design driven technology enables the company to listen, interpret as well as address the concerns of the customers during the design process (Acklin, 2010). The various advantages of design driven innovation entails increasing profit, long term investment in the network, provides value for all the stakeholders as well as being a brand assets that offer the company a competitive advantage in the market. The approach is based on the fact that the needs of the consumers are not only satisfied by technology but also experience or meaning. One of the limitations of design driven technology is that the company may produce products that are not appealing to the customers. Moreover, the company needs designers who are highly innovative in order to come with products that are well designed for the customer. B & O Company for example has registered increased profits in 2006 by utilizing the design driven approach. Design driven innovation is however, permeable, multidisciplinary and integrative. 3. What is your assessment of the idea lab initiative? Is it a good approach to changing the design process at B & O? will the plan work? Idea lab was developed in 2004 to explore on the extension of the company’s product development process. The aim of the idea lab was to ensure computer technologies are integrated into the product development process. The company’s designers are unaware of the rapidly changing technology in the business market that offering the company competition. The idea lab is necessary, since it will enable the designers to design products with knowledge of the changing world. The idea lab will enable designers to design current products that can offer competition in the market rather than over depending on the old and traditional design approach. The idea lab has a goal of replicating the company’s design knowledge into the world of digital technologies (Austin and Beyersdorfer, 2007). The idea lab will ensure the company’s design is still relevant in the new world. The idea lab focuses on creating a digital concept breakthrough that can be turned over to manufacturers or designers to create new and relevant products. The move will enable the company to continue performing well in the market and be aware of what the competitors are up to. Even though the designers are not paying attention to the move, the idea lab will find effective ways of demonstrating the approach to them and thereby making them understand the real reason that will support the change. Although the approach was slow at the start, persistent interventions resulted to some progress. A new organizational role had been developed with responsibilities across projects and platforms. Most the producers in place were well versed with software technology and were working basing on cross product software concept. A concept that enabled some of the products produced to find their ways into the market. The progress was slow as a result of some of the designers such as Lewis failing to accept change and work with the digital group. The resistance was costly to the company since other major companies in the world were using sophisticated technology to design products that were more appealing to the consumers. If the change is not effected, then the company will end up losing customers as a result of production of better products by other companies such as Samsung. Even though the approach will work out, it will take some times. This is because of designers such as Lewis that will take time to accept change and move towards the digital world. With continued demonstration on the impact of the digital technology, I believe the designers will move to the digital platforms and begin producing products that will be appealing to the customers. 4. Based on what we have learned from our reading and class discussions, what criteria would you use to evaluate their design driven new product development process/ explain why each is appropriate. Development of new products is one of the most effective processes for the firms to increase their competitiveness and profit. Evaluation criteria that are often employed in a company such as B& O are based on various dimensions such as process, market, financial and institutional based measures. The dynamics of technology, markets and competition that have resulted from changes to every market have made innovation and development of new products a powerful business activity. Companies such as B &O have to use digital technology in order to innovate with increased quality, efficiency and speed. Some of the evaluation criteria that can be employed in evaluating the product development process include, idea screening, concept screening, business analysis, product testing, analyzing the market impact, after launch assessment that is done for a short term followed by a long term approach. Idea screening entails contrasting and comparing new products related ideas in order to select those that are effective for the market. The company designers should work closely with other people the digital team to ensure the ideas produced as current and can result to better products for the market. Concept screening entails comparing the products being developed against a benchmark base option. The approach will help determine the effectiveness of the product (Mital & Desai, 2007). Business analysis entails identifying and analyzing business needs and come up with effective solutions through the products that is being developed. Product testing involves measuring the performance or the properties of a product. Product testing aims at informing the consumers about the products that is being manufactured and how it will be of best value to them. Product testing is an evaluation criterion that is aimed at increasing consumer protection on pertaining to the product that is being developed. Analyzing the market impact is important during the product development process. Positive market impact of the new product will enable the manufacturers to produce more of the products. After launch assessment involves finding out consumers reactions towards the product that has been manufactured. Negative reaction will prompt the producers to re-strategize and come up with effective solutions such as education the people about the product. After launch assessment is done a few weeks after the product is released into the market or even years after the launching date. After launch assessment enables the plan to plan effectively for the future. If the company finds out that the products are being bought by the consumers in large amounts they will be able to develop more of the product and vice versa. 5. Based on our readings and class discussions, what specific recommendation do you have for B & O regarding how it can improve its new product development process. Explain why each of your recommendations is appropriate and how it would improve their NPD process. The company should be in a position to implement the utilization of digital technology in the development of new products in the markets. The company should replace old designers who are refusing to change and recruit young and innovative designers who are technologically competent. The company should first utilize external and internal SWOT analyses, as well as the marketing trends to help them produce productive that are competitive in the market. The company should also focus on the needs of the consumers by doing market research rather than just looking at the ways in which consumers interacts with their products. During the new product development, the company should be able keep the system flexible and nimble. The designers should be moved from utilizing analogue tradition and shift basing on the market trends. B & O Company should be able to set up specific assessment criteria that will make easier to screen the ideas of various designers and only accept those that will have a positive impact into the market. With the help of the idea lab, I believe the company will be able to generate better ideas for the same. The new designs generated should focus on the consumers wants and needs. The company should be able to put up a system of metrics aimed at helping them monitor progress. The company should be in agreement with business analytics. Input metrics should be included. The designs that do not turn into products should be kept in the hopper since it may end up turning valuable in future. Marketing tests have to be done. B&O Company should be in a position to launch better versions, arrange private test groups as well as forming test panels following product testing periods. The approach will provide valuable information which allows improvements in the last minute (Yadav & Singh, 2008). The company should be in a position to develop the products after the idea and design is developed. The company should have their technicalities in line as they move toward developing the product. During the commercialization stage, the company should be able to keep activate the distribution pipeline and load it with more products. The company should also increase advertisement and not only focus on reducing the price of the commodity; consumers want quality and may not necessarily focus on the price of the commodity. Lastly, the company should be able to focus on post launch assessment. The entire product development process is ever changing and a platform where errors are made. The company should ensure that all teams are working together especially the designers to ensure products produced are quality and can resist competition. References Acklin, C. (2010). Design-Driven Innovation Process Model. Design Management Journal, 5(1), 50-60. doi:10.1111/j.1948-7177.2010.00013.x AUSTIN, R., & BEYERSDORFER, D. (2007). Bang & Olufsen: Design Driven Innovation. Harvard School Of Business, 1(9), 1-4. Mital, A., & Desai, A. (2007). Enhancing the product development process through a sequential approach. Part I: product design. IJPD, 4(1/2), 146. doi:10.1504/ijpd.2007.011540 Redmond, W. (2004). Interconnectivity in diffusion of innovations and market competition. Journal Of Business Research, 57(11), 1295-1302. doi:10.1016/s0148-2963(02)00453-8 Yadav, O., & Singh, N. (2008). Perspectives and challenges for product reliability assurance in the product development process. IJPD, 5(1/2), 4. doi:10.1504/ijpd.2008.016367 Read More