R&D - Product Development Research Shows Advanced Development, IP, & Specific Innovation Techniques Are Trends

NEEDHAM, Mass. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - December 14, 2011 - Few corporations are "pure innovators," just 5% of companies. Pure innovators are those companies whose culture enables risk-taking that could damage the company. 41% are "platform-derivative." This type of product development strategy did not exist before 1981. It is now the most prevalent strategy. 36% have a "balanced" portfolio.; Another 17% are "extenders." Extenders fast-follow the companies that turn out innovations. The research involved 209 product producing companies fairly linearly dispersed from $25M to $5B in sales.

Regardless of strategy, there are some clear trends in corporate practices in the past five years. Small amounts are being shaved off new product budgets and are being reallocated to advanced projects, with little impact on traditional product development. The vast majority of companies reported developing one or more formalized processes to better manage the earlier Advanced Development activities, 75%. Half of companies, 48%, reported formalizing processes for an even earlier Applied Research activity. Extrapolating these findings out a few years, technology-push products on the market will increase from their current ratio with customer-pull products.

The importance of patents and other forms of IP is on the rise. The ability to monetize IP is here now and will soon become as easy as selling a product. Corporate business plans will rapidly evolve to include revenue and profit streams from IP alongside product sales forecasts. The people involved in these traditionally distinct functions will work more concurrently as monetization potential equalizes. The changes to corporate IP organizations will be significant.

These past two decades, an overwhelming amount of corporate focus for R&D and Operations has been bottom-line focused. Most companies are now quite proficient in Six Sigma and Lean practices. Resultant corporate innovation processes overwhelmingly consist of execution-based tools. Leading companies recognize there are insufficient innovation enablers and techniques for improving top-line performance. Emerging innovation tool sets and software are gaining traction in corporations. Over two-hundred tools now exist, and about ten are making inroads.

The 10th R&D-Product Development Innovation Summit, consisting of eight modules, will broaden your thinking and improve the precision of your R&D strategy and tactics.    Notable Companies and Senior Executives are already benefiting from this research.

MEDIA CONTACT INFORMATION:
Goldense Group, Inc. [GGI]
Cheryl A. Walrod, 781-444-5400 x201
Assistant To The President
caw@goldensegroupinc.com