the production process - Innovation, research and development

Question 1

explain what is meant by research and development

Answer 1

the process that enables the creation of new and improved products to meet customer needs

Question 2

what are the potential problems with R+D

Answer 2

• cost
• risk
• copying
• limited protection of ideas
• changes in technology
• customer wants

Question 3

what factors influence R+D?

Answer 3

• level of competition
• product itself
• external environment
• state of the economy

Question 4

define morphological studies

Answer 4

a method that generates ideas cheaply and quickly. They use a grid method and usually a dice

Question 5

what is value analysis?

Answer 5

an approach to improving the value of a product or process by understanding its constituent components and their associated costs. It then seeks to find improvements to the components by either reducing their cost or increasing the value of the functions

Question 6

what are the 3 main aspects to value analysis?

Answer 6

• function: does it do what the consumer expects it to do
• cost: vary for different products but keeping costs down allow businesses to be competitive (push and pull w function)
• aesthetics: concerned with how the product looks (varies to do with product)

Question 7

what happens at the first two stages of marketing research and product development/testing?

Answer 7

• many products are rejected because the findings of research shows that it will not be successtul, or they cannot make a satisfactory prototype. Product testing might show that customers react badly to the product.
• the new product launch needs all the elements of the mix to be in place to be successful

Question 8

what are the stages of a product launch?

Answer 8

• marketing research
• product development and testing
• distribution of products to outlets
• promotional launch

Question 9

what is the marketing research section of a product launch?

Answer 9

find out what customers want, who they are, and where the gaps are in the marketplace

Question 10

what is the product development and testing section of a product launch?

Answer 10

make prototypes; experiment by allowing a sample of potential customers to trial the product before it is launched

Question 11

what is the distribution of products to outlets section of a product launch?

Answer 11

the product cannot be sold unless it is in a position for customers to buy it - books will need to be in the bookshops and hammers in the hardware stores

Question 12

what is the promotional launch section of a product launch?

Answer 12

to inform customers features of new product - this might be done locally, nationally or internationally - the customers need to know that the product is ready, avallable and that it might be the sort of thing they want to buy