Output details
34 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
Cardiff Metropolitan University (joint submission with University of South Wales and University of Wales Trinity Saint David)
SUPPLIER LED NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IMPROVEMENT IN THE UK FAST MOVING CONSUMER GOODS INDUSTRY
This research investigated the issue of high product failure rates for private-label goods in ASDA, a leading fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) retailer. It was novel in that it brought together six of ASDA’s leading private-label suppliers to form a ‘Supplier Association’, providing case studies for this research; this was the first reported scheme of its type within the UK FMCG industry.
An original ‘8-fields mapping tool’ was developed to understand the new product design (NPD) process followed in each supplier, and how this related to the documented ASDA NPD process. Empirical data were collected which addressed the key determinants of the poor performance and failure rates for product failures. Of particular interest was the finding that the suppliers exhibited two distinct NPD processes: Supplier Technology-Push, or Retailer Need-Pull. Furthermore, the downstream problems associated with continued adjustments to product specifications are highlighted.
Workshops were carried out at ASDA and with two volunteer suppliers from the supplier association (representing polar extremes in terms of performance). Every stage of the ‘current’ product development processes were recorded, using real examples. Secondary data in the form of reports and existing process measurement data were gathered to supplement and validate these findings. Audio-recordings of workshops were reviewed in order to ‘code’ information and relate it back to key points in the visual maps. Analysis followed, and findings were validated through additional focus groups.
The results of the study revealed that a 12-week shelf space survival metric was used as the uni-dimensional measure of success for ASDA. No equivalent measurement of commercial success had been recorded and detailed elsewhere in the NPD literature up to this point. Further, the research concluded with a recommendation that the product design specification is ‘frozen’ once all relevant stakeholders have signed it off.
