Improved new product development through enhanced design architecture for engineer-to-order companies. Kumar, S. & Wellbrock, J. International Journal of Production Research, 47(15):4235--4254, August, 2009.
Improved new product development through enhanced design architecture for engineer-to-order companies [link]Paper  doi  abstract   bibtex   
There are many challenges that face companies today in the new product introduction process. These can include reduced design times, fast times to market, improved quality and the need for constant price reductions in order to keep up with the competition. Engineer-to-order firms face even more challenges because of the ‘build to order’ way that they must do business. This study presents new ways for these companies to meet the challenges posed by the market using a business case relating to the product introduction process at a mid-size (∼\$75 million annual sales) engineer-to-order manufacturer of flexible printed circuits. The company has developed a new product introduction process that seeks to improve quality and delivery times as well as process development for the project at hand. These suggested outcomes of the improved process are generic and widely applicable to contract manufacturers involved in the new product introduction process enabling them to work closely with customers thereby effectively addressing their design concerns. The updated procedures are examined in-depth and the associated forms and record-keeping methods are presented and analysed. The new product introduction process utilises Deming's plan, do, check and act process improvement cycle. Finally, various contributions emanating from the study that enhance our understanding of any engineer-to-order new product development environment are presented.
@article{kumar_improved_2009,
	title = {Improved new product development through enhanced design architecture for engineer-to-order companies},
	volume = {47},
	issn = {0020-7543},
	url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00207540801939030},
	doi = {10.1080/00207540801939030},
	abstract = {There are many challenges that face companies today in the new product introduction process. These can include reduced design times, fast times to market, improved quality and the need for constant price reductions in order to keep up with the competition. Engineer-to-order firms face even more challenges because of the ‘build to order’ way that they must do business. This study presents new ways for these companies to meet the challenges posed by the market using a business case relating to the product introduction process at a mid-size (∼\$75 million annual sales) engineer-to-order manufacturer of flexible printed circuits. The company has developed a new product introduction process that seeks to improve quality and delivery times as well as process development for the project at hand. These suggested outcomes of the improved process are generic and widely applicable to contract manufacturers involved in the new product introduction process enabling them to work closely with customers thereby effectively addressing their design concerns. The updated procedures are examined in-depth and the associated forms and record-keeping methods are presented and analysed. The new product introduction process utilises Deming's plan, do, check and act process improvement cycle. Finally, various contributions emanating from the study that enhance our understanding of any engineer-to-order new product development environment are presented.},
	number = {15},
	urldate = {2017-11-09TZ},
	journal = {International Journal of Production Research},
	author = {Kumar, Sameer and Wellbrock, James},
	month = aug,
	year = {2009},
	keywords = {collaborative engineering, continuous improvement, engineer-to-order, knowledge reuse, project life-cycle management, quality product development, time to market},
	pages = {4235--4254}
}

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