Product Development Strategies for Agility

Recent years have witnessed the long term success of some manufacturing organizations, which has been enhanced by their ability to bring new products onto the market at regular and shorter intervals. The criteria for competitiveness in the market have been changing continuously. The levels of product complexity, market demands, extent of globalization of markets, and degree of consumer awareness have varied over the last few years. This has lead the organizations to become more agile and responsive to the changing needs of customers and consumers. Within this context the role of design as a function within organizations has changed significantly. Intra-organizational as well as inter-organizational levels of involvement of the design function have significantly increased which matches the desired level of integration. The evolving new product development context thus calls for innovation and innovative approaches to design and manufacturing.