Supplier involvement in new product development projects: dimensionality and contingency effects

In contrast to previous literature, we hypothesize supplier involvement in new product development (NPD) projects to be multidimensional in nature and test this assumption using data from a large sample of NPD projects. We also test the contingent influence of supplier involvement on NPD project performance. The results supported the claim of multidimensionality of supplier involvement. Three distinct factors–communication and information sharing, design involvement and infrastructure–comprising supplier involvement were found. These factors were significantly related to one or more measures of NPD project performance. The study also found support for the contingent influence of market stability on the supplier involvement–NPD project performance relationships. The results suggest that managers ought to consider adopting different bundles of supplier involvement practices that depend on the level of stability in markets and also on the type of NPD performance objective that is being considered.     

Examining the State of Risk Management Research in New Product Development Process

New products are major sources of competitive advantage and success for a manufacturing enterprise. However, not all new product development (NPD) initiatives result in a successful product and are therefore a major cause of wasted resources. Furthermore, NPD processes are becoming increasingly complex and risky due to today’s globalized market and customers’ desire for technologically advanced products. While there has been a significant interest in academia about NPD risks, the existing literature is spread across multiple outlets, making it difficult for any practitioner or researcher to synthesize the current work. This article aims to minimize that gap by providing a comprehensive overview of current research activities in the field of risk management in NPD process in one place. The research design is based on mapping and classification of the existing body of knowledge into the domains of NPD risk analysis and management. The article analyzes the contemporary NPD risk analysis methods on three fronts: risk identification, risk assessment, and risk mitigation. Based on the review, the article then identifies and discusses several key areas for future research significant to engineering management practices. Finally, an integrated framework is presented to provide a holistic approach toward risk management in the NPD process, followed by the practical implications for engineering managers and practitioners.     

Modelling engineering change management in a new product development supply chain

The changes within a new product development (NPD) process are handled differently depending on the stage of the project. The changes during the initial stages of the project are addressed by design iterations, while the changes after the product design is complete are addressed using a formal engineering change management (ECM) process. The ECM process is a complex process, especially under a collaborative environment, where various independent entities work together for a common cause of product development. The interactions between the NPD and ECM processes have rarely been investigated in the research community. In this paper, we attempt to study the interactions between the various NPD and ECM process parameters by modelling the processes and simulated the model to understand the parameter interactions. The organisations in a supply chain have been characterised based on their interactions with the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) during the NPD process. The organisation process templates representing the NPD and ECM processes of each type of organisation in the supply chain have been modelled. The templates have been used to develop a simulation model representing the NPD and ECM processes for a supply chain. The process variables, such as processing rates, resources, resource composition, resource allocation priority, processing quality and phase overlap, have been included in the model. The results indicate that most of the variables and interactions among the variables have a significant influence on the NPD lead time. By identifying the status of?the NPD process, the decision-makers can use these results to develop appropriate management policies to govern their product development projects.     

基于DSM的项目成组管理模式的研究

为克服传统的项目进度计划方法在基于多种约束条件的多项目管理环境下表现出的不足,引入设计结构矩阵(DSM)建立了基于DSM的项目成组管理模式,该模式能够将多项目自身信息、资源使用信息、各个作业之间的信息约束关系和资源约束关系等充分反映在一个矩阵中,从而便于进行多项目管理.用1个实例说明了该模型的实用性.     

A heuristic for designing manufacturing focus units with resource considerations

This paper presents a model of the plant-within-a-plant (PWP) design problem and demonstrates a heuristic for analysing the problem. Although the benefits of a manufacturing focus have been articulated in the literature, methods for implementation with consideration for resource requirements have not been developed previously. In this study, we discuss the importance of including resource considerations and propose a methodology that can help managers arrive at a facility design with a high degree of focus and minimum resource needs. A heuristic is developed that incorporates the concept of order-winning criteria and volume into the focus design. The heuristic not only recognises the effects of conflicting manufacturing tasks, but also considers resource costs and material flows between PWP units. Experimental results show that the proposed methodology offers managers the opportunity to generate and assess alternative PWP designs, which are otherwise unavailable. Overall, this research provides an analytical framework for further research in focused manufacturing.     

Information deduction approach through quality function deployment for the quantification of the dependency between design tasks

The design structure matrix (DSM) has been widely known as an effective approach for the modelling and analysis of a design process for the manufacture of a product from the perspective of information flow. It provides a formal method to capture and manage the interactions and interdependences among design tasks. Nonetheless, the difficulties in constructing a reliable numerical DSM prevent wider applications of DSM and its derived techniques. In this work, an approach to quantify systematically the dependency between design tasks in a DSM is proposed. The proposed approach aims at estimating the coupling strength of tasks in a DSM by making full use of the information contained in quality function deployment matrices. To realize this, a house of quality matrix is first constructed, followed by transferring the information in the house of quality to an extended design deployment matrix, and then the dependence strength of each task–attribute pair in the extended design deployment matrix is analysed. The details of the proposed approach are presented. The performance of the proposed prototype is illustrated by using a case study on a burn-in system. The results obtained from the case study are discussed.     

The effect of integrated product development on efficiency and innovation

This study tested the effect of integrated product development (IPD) on the efficiency and innovation displayed in new product development (NPD) projects. IPD refers to the overlap, parallel execution, and concurrent workflow of activities. More than 600 employees from 62 R&D projects in one large hi-tech electronics organisation participated in the study. The degree to which the projects had actual IPD, innovated and worked efficiently were measured using the organisation's data collection system and questionnaires. Analysis was conducted at the project level. Seven regression models, as well as multiple comparison tests, were applied. The findings suggest that IPD is positively associated with efficiency and negatively with innovation. However, the trade-off between efficiency and innovation in NPD projects can be balanced, if the IPD level of implementation is tailored to the NPD project stages. Specifically, to successfully complete an NPD project, the emphasis in early stages must be on innovation so that it can assist teams seeking new ideas. Hence, management should implement a low level of IPD at this point. In later stages efficiency must be emphasised so it assists control, and co-ordination, and consequently, IPD should be implemented intensively.     

A multi-objective model for multi-project scheduling and multi-skilled staff assignment for IT product development considering competency evolution

We address a multi-skill project scheduling problem for IT product development in this article. The goal is for product development managers to be able to generate an initial schedule at an early stage of development activities. Due to the complexity of the product structure and functionality, an IT product development effort is divided into multiple projects. Each project includes several tasks, and each task must be completed by an employee who has mastered a certain skill to complete it. A pool of multi-skilled employees is available, and the employees’ skill efficiencies are influenced by both learning and forgetting phenomena. Based on the real-world demands of product development managers, three objectives are simultaneously considered: skill efficiency gain, product development cycle time and costs. To solve this problem, we propose a multi-objective non-linear mixed integer programming model. The Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II)is designed to generate an approximation to the optimal Pareto front of this NP-hard multi-objective optimisation problem. The algorithm produces feasible schedules for all the development projects using the serial schedule generation scheme. We adopt penalty values and individual employee adjustments to address resource conflicts and constraint violations. A weighted ideal point method is used to select the final solution from the approximate Pareto solution set. An application case of a new electrical energy saving product implementation in a leading electrical device company in China is used to illustrate the proposed model and algorithm.     

Quantity discount decisions under conditions of multiple items,multiple suppliers and resource limitations

This research considers quantity discount procedures under conditions of multiple items, resource limitations and multiple suppliers. This is a very complex problem that has not yet been addressed in the literature. In this paper we offer an efficient heuristic programming procedure for evaluating alternative discount schedules. Moreover we use an example problem to test the suggested procedure. The results offer several encouraging findings for managers facing this impressive problem.     

Investments for New Product Development: A Break-Even Time Analysis

Abstract

Combining the product-process matrix and cost-volume-profit analysis, we identify a pattern of annual cash flows for new product development (NPD) and name it the New Product Investment Curve (NPIC). A sample of 411 firms provides confirming evidence for the NPIC. On average, firms needed 12 years to recover their initial and subsequent investments for NPD. The break-even time, however, exhibits significant differences across industries depending on the speed of innovation and the cost structure of each industry. Engineering managers in an industry with high R&D and high fixed costs need to prepare for longer break-even times than those in other industries. This article provides implications for the value of cooperation between engineering managers and financial managers in NPD.     

A heuristic for formulating within-plant manufacturing focus

The concept of manufacturing focus suggests that each plant is assigned a unique set of manufacturing tasks derived from the firm's competitive strategy. Many empirical studies have verified the importance and benefits of manufacturing focus in enhancing a firm's competence in the market. Nonetheless there is no methodology offered for designing such a manufacturing system with considerations of resource requirements although the need has been recognized. In this study, we propose a methodology that can help managers arrive at a manufacturing focus design within a plant. Because of the large size and nonlinear nature of the problem, a heuristic solution is proposed. The heuristic translates the strategic concept of competitive priorities into management parameters, thereby allowing incorporation of market factors into manufacturing process design. Experimental results show that the proposed methodology offers managers the opportunity to generate and assess alternative focus designs which are otherwise unavailable. The use of the heuristic is straightforward in practical situations and should greatly facilitate the achievement of manufacturing focus with minimal resource requirements. Overall, this research provides an analytical framework for further research in focused manufacturing.     

Multi-generation pricing and timing decisions in new product development

When planning for the introduction of a stream of new products into the marketplace, managers must consider both the timing and dynamic pricing decisions to determine an appropriate entry strategy into the marketplace. Literature in new product development (NPD) typically addresses optimal timing and pricing decisions independently. We develop an analytical model of coordinated product timing and pricing decisions when there are two generations of a new product under consideration. Factors driving the timing and pricing decisions include the unit sales and cost relationships for each generation as well as NPD costs for introducing the next generation of products. We derive analytic results that characterise the optimal timing and pricing strategies for a single product rollover scenario. We analyse several numerical examples to illustrate the interplay between optimal pricing and time-to-market strategies under more general settings.     

ASALBP: the alternative subgraphs assembly line balancing problem

Assembly line balancing problems basically consist of assigning a set of tasks to a group of workstations while maintaining the tasks’ precedence relations, which are represented by a predetermined precedence graph. However, one or more parts of a product's assembly process may admit alternative precedence subgraphs, which represent possible assembly variants. In general, because of the great difficulty of the problem and the impossibility of representing alternative subgraphs in a precedence graph, the system designer will decide to select, a priori, one of such alternative subgraphs. This paper presents, characterizes and formulates a new general assembly line balancing problem with practical relevance: the alternative subgraphs assembly line balancing problem (ASALBP). Its novel characteristic is that it considers the possibility of having alternative assembly subgraphs, with the processing times and/or the precedence relations of certain tasks dependent on the assembly subgraph selected. Therefore, solving this problem implies simultaneously selecting an assembly subgraph for each part of the assembly that allows alternatives and balancing the line. The potentially positive effects of this on the solution of the problem are shown in a numerical example. Finally, a simple mathematical programming model is described and the results of a brief computational experiment are presented.     

An effective methodology for the stochastic project compression problem

In this paper, we consider the problem of planning a complex project when task durations are random. Specifically, we consider the problem of deciding how much to compress tasks in order to minimize the expected total cost that is defined by the sum of direct, indirect, and incentive costs. We initially consider this problem under the assumption that task durations can be modeled by a negative exponential distribution although we later relax this assumption and show that our methodology can be applied to any general distribution. To solve this problem, we develop an effective heuristic algorithm that we call the Stochastic COmpression Project (SCOP) algorithm; the SCOP algorithm is straightforward to implement and our numerical tests indicate that the algorithm performs significantly better than previously reported heuristics. In addition, we compare our approach to solutions found using expected values embedded in a deterministic approach (an approach that is frequently used to solve this problem in practice). Using our results, we show that the deterministic approximation approach, such as the classic PERT model, provides biased results and should be avoided.     

Influence of market orientation on performance: the moderating roles of customer participation breadth and depth in new product development

ABSTRACT

With a greater number of B2B firms integrating customers into the new product development (NPD) process, how to utilize customer involvement in NPD is an important decision because it may be a double-edged sword carrying both bright and dark sides. Utilizing a sample of 193 B2B firms across various industries, we validate previous research that suggests market orientation positively influences NPD performance and subsequently examine how this relationship may either be enhanced or diminished contingent upon how customers are utilized in the NPD process. The results show that the market orientation–NPD performance relationship is enhanced by having customers participate in a greater number of activities throughout NPD (customer participation breadth) and diminished when customers are involved at deeper levels (customer participation depth). This research suggests that the exact involvement of customers is a critical decision and has clear implications for the dialogues about customer involvement and management of customer relationships.     

New product development in new ventures: the quest for resources

Innovation and new product development (NPD) are becoming more important as strategic initiatives. Yet, innovation creates challenges for most existing organisations, thus leading to the emergence of new ventures (NVs) as vehicles to deliver innovation. NVs present owners and management with unique opportunities and challenges. On one hand, the NV can focus its attention on specific innovation(s) without having to compete with other goals and departments for resource access. Resources are critical to the successful development and launch of new products and can come from financial lenders and/or suppliers. However, because they are new and because their only asset of worth is the highly risky innovation, NVs are at a strong disadvantage in securing access to these resources. This study explores the effectiveness of using personal equity investments as a strategy for securing access and for enhancing NPD success. Using signalling theory as the theoretical framework and data from 745 NPD projects representing manufacturing innovations, this study finds that equity investment is particularly successful in its NPD impact although not impactful with suppliers. As a signal, it can be argued that equity is a strong, high-quality signal. Reasons for these findings and directions for future research are provided.     

Simulation of groundwater flow in unconfined aquifer using meshfree point collocation method

For appropriate management of available groundwater, the flow behavior in the porous media has to be analyzed. The complex problem of groundwater flow can be studied by solving the governing equations analytically or by using numerical methods. As the analytical solutions are available only for simple idealized cases, numerical methods such as finite difference method (FDM) and finite element method (FEM) are generally used for field problems. Meshfree (MFree) method is an alternative numerical approach to solve complex groundwater problems in simple manner. MFree method eliminates the drawback of meshing and remeshing as in FDM and FEM which can translate to substantial cost and time savings in modeling. In this paper, a model using MFree point collocation method (PCM) with multi-quadric radial basis function (MQ-RBF) is proposed for 2D groundwater flow simulation. The accuracy of the developed model is verified with available analytical solution in literature. The developed model is applied initially for a hypothetical problem and further for a field problem to compute head distribution. The PCM model results for the hypothetical problem are compared with FEM simulations while that of field problem are compared with boundary element based model results. The PCM model results are found to be satisfactory showing the applicability of the present approach.     

Evaluating management of large,complex projects: A framework for analysis

Increasingly owners and managers of large, complex projects are challenged in law suits and regulatory proceedings to justify their decisions. These challenges often question the prudence or reasonableness of management actions on a project costing substantially more than its original estimate. Frequently these attacks criticize decisions made years earlier by project owners or managers. This article describes a framework for evaluating management prudence based on the author's 20 years of research and personal experience with large, complex projects. The framework distinguishes between evaluations to determine prudent/imprudent management, and conventional “lessons learned” management audits. The author concludes that, while hindsight knowledge is a useful ingredient in “lessons learned” audits, it usually provides misleading signals for a management audit to determine prudence or imprudence. He concludes that any finding of management imprudence must meet the eight criteria described in the framework.     

Developing new products in a network with efficiency and innovation

When managing a new product development (NPD) problem, a firm needs to consider the cooperation with its strategic partners in a network because surviving independently in the industry is almost impossible. However, due to the large variances among partners in terms of leadership, management, IT infrastructure and organizational cultures, it may lead to poor communication and cooperation and slow responses. A severe impact on the process and outcome of NPD may result. To facilitate buyer–supplier cooperation, suitable knowledge management and product development process management need to be adopted to match the characteristics of the selected NPD mix. In this paper, a supermatrix analytic network process (ANP) model with sensitivity analysis is first developed to select the most appropriate NPD mix. A balanced scorecard (BSC) using ANP with sensitivity analysis is used next to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model in the execution of NPD process.     

An Optimization Based Heuristic for Scheduling Parallel Project Networks with Constrained Renewable Resources

In this paper we address the scheduling problem for the simultaneous management of multiple resource constrained project networks in parallel. This situation is common in the construction of a housing development where the building contractor is concerned with the simultaneous completion of a number of individual, identical construction projects. If only one project were managed, a resource constrained critical path method could be utilized. In this paper we present a model for the simultaneous planning of many individual project networks. We formulate the problem as an integer program that is similar to models found in the inventory/production scheduling literature. A Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition is used to obtain solutions to the linear programming relaxation of the problem. The algorithm selects a subset of these solutions to form a final schedule. Computational results are presented. Extensions of the algorithm, including non-identical projects, alternative objective functions and implementation on a rolling horizon are also discussed.