The Stage-Gate Process

For industrial products, the remaining four steps are elucidated in Fig. 10.4-1. After the Concept Development step (see Fig. 10.3-2), preliminary product design occurs in the Feasibility step of the Stage-Gate process - which is not applicable for epitaxial thin films of silicon, as prototype thin films are normally not needed. 

Figure D9. The Stage-Gate Process from Concept to Product...

Because of the importance of these decisions many companies have elected to have a formalized process to review projects and decide which projects should be supported and which should be discontinued. Without a rigorous method, the wrong projects often get selected. Instead of decisions being based upon facts and objective criteria, they are often based upon company politics and emotion with the end result that too many fail [9]. One of these formalized processes was introduced by Robert Cooper and is called the Stage-Gate process. It is described in his popular book first introduced in 1998 and now in its fourth edition [10]. 

The feedback arrows in Figure 12.3 illustrate internal "check-act" activity throughout the project. We find that the "stage-gate" process discussed in Chapter 27 in relation to new-product development is also of value in supply chain improvement projects. With multiple projects under way, gates in the flow shown in Figure 12.3 assure timely completion of deliverables. A section later in this chapter will focus in how to perform Phase 1. But first, we recommend a project structure for participation. 

The stage gate process fails, of course, if management doesn t demand the preset deliverables before allowing a project to pass on to the next stage. It also fails if lower-priority projects aren t set aside for higher-priority projects or canceled outright. 

Some companies attempt to accelerate the process from idea to product launch by employing a new product scheme or a stage-gate process. The main... 

The recommendations for a "supply chain stage-gate process" call for early consideration of needed supply chain changes. The initial assessment at Gate 1 is whether a supply chain change is needed at all. At Gate 2 developers should know the type of product it is in the case of a new-product situation. At this point, we believe candidate partners should be identified. The business case at Gate 3 should produce a discovery-driven plan that requires documentation of supply chain assumptions. 

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