The SCM Opportunity in Design

There is much awareness regarding the impact of product design on the subsequent costs of the product once released for production. After introduction to the market, control over cost may be, to a large extent. 

The consequence is that the product is launched and soon runs into trouble. Some of these consequences could have been avoided with better planning. The advent of competition on the supply chain level, added to rapid change in product design and shortened product life cycles, will make planning in the design phase even more important. Examples of such planning include  

Early documentation of financial assumptions. Companies such as Hewlett-Packard measure how long it takes for new products to break even. The focus on a financial return increases the visibility and focuses developers attention on the importance of meeting cost and revenue targets.  

These approaches have great value for both individual company and supply chain application. They are also covered well in other books on product development. We have selected two approaches for further discussion. We believe they will find particular value in improving SCM practice. 

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