Customer integration in the pre-development stage of new products: Management process proposal
Year: 2013
Editor: Udo Lindemann, Srinivasan V, Yong Se Kim, Sang Won Lee, John Clarkson, Gaetano Cascini
Author: González, Mario O. A.; Toledo, José C.
Series: ICED
Institution: 1: Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil; 2: Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil
Page(s): 317-326
ISBN: 978-1-904670-46-9
ISSN: 2220-4334
Abstract
The aim of this paper is present a process management support to customer integration in the pre-development of new products. The proposal was conceived from a literature review and case studies in five Brazilian companies of the capital goods sector. The process consists of three stages: prospecting customers and their needs, selection of customers and customer integration in pre-development. Each phase involves specific activities and tasks. Decisions and operationalization of this management must occur in Managers level, responsible for the functional areas of Marketing, Sales and Engineering. The main focus of the customer integration en the pre-development of new products is to obtain information more accurate on market needs current and future, thus enabling: 1) translating those needs into opportunities to generate new products and / or new businesses with low risk of failure, 2) improve the attributes and its perception in the market of products offered by the company.
Keywords: User centred design, early design phases, collaborative design, customer integration, capital goods