Planning and coordination of a strategic innovation or product development.

Challenge

The development of a new product is a complicated multistep process accompanied with many risks and opportunities. In fact, it involves detailed analytics of State-of-the-Art technologies as well as Regulation and IP area assessment. A business model should subsequently be developed and linked together with development potential of the technology. And finally, a proper Action Plan should be prepared and accurately executed. Being aware of these obstacles, our client hired us to plan and coordinate their actions to bring technology from idea to the final product. 

Before our cooperation the client had access to a basic level of technology and supply chain, and his goal was to establish a new vertical route for his business. The challenge was to identify potential innovation for the basic product paving the way for new and more technological market opportunities.

Solution

The usual way to start is by running a collaborative workshop with the client. The first of these focused on gaining an understanding of the client's needs and ultimate target definition. Following this our team prepared the first round of research including: 

• mapping of state-of-the-art products in the same or adjoint fields and identification of their advantages and drawbacks

• outlining several technological concepts based on a detailed technology search (scientific publications, patents, white papers, etc.) 

• preparing a summary of the market trends for the chosen concepts

• drafting the approximation of an Action Plan for the most relevant concept. 

After that we held a second workshop to present our findings and agree on the next course of action with the client. Following this our team developed and presented the final description of the innovation plan with clearly defined action steps, targets and deadlines. This step usually includes more than one workshop as it is very important to align the execution plan with a general R&D strategy for the client and his research capabilities. For example, in this case, our client didn't have his own laboratories, so Pipette & Chart shortlisted several options for contracted R&D together with an estimated budget. 

Finally, as the Action Plan was set and roles were defined, the Pipette & Chart team took on the role of an interim R&D and innovation management department. During this phase we were responsible for:

• preparation of a design of experiments (in cooperation with the client's technical team)

• coordination of contracting research facilities

• quality control & results assessment

• proof of concept report

Infographics

Output

As a result of our cooperation, the client successfully initiated product development in a precise and structured manner. Thus, the client made his way from idea to a small-scaled production of a relevant product with a clearly identified market opportunity and business model. Our next steps include: 

• assistance in IP protection

• preparation of upscaling manufacturing tests

• coordination of relevant manufacturers and machinery producers

• preparation of upscaled tests, quality tests and other experiments required for the relevant regulation certification

• assistance in business modelling and preparation of product description materials.