■ Faster required development time:Companies that cannot develop new products
quickly will be at a disadvantage. Companies must learn how to compress devel-
opment time by using computer-aided design and manufacturing techniques,
strategic partners, early concept tests, and advanced marketing planning. Alert
companies use concurrent new-product development, in which cross-functional
teams collaborate to push new products through development and to market.
Concurrent product development resembles a rubgy match rather than a relay
race, with team members passing the new product back and forth as they head
toward the goal. The Allen-Bradley Corporation (a maker of industrial controls)Developing
Marketing(^330) Strategies
Mr. Failure’s Lessons for Sweet Success:
Robert McMath’s New Product Showcase
and Learning Center