Pilot Runs and Timing: Two Essential Components in Your New Product’s Development
Are you looking to achieve “perfection”? If you’re developing a new product, it may not be in your best interest. Although speed to market is critical in new product development, so is ensuring high quality and customer satisfaction. Introducing a new product into the market is a huge deal; however, it’s just as crucial for that new product to be 100% functional as it is to ensure it’s launched at the most suitable time for your customer. How do companies ensure their products are ready for customers? How many production builds before mass production? How many product adjustments and tweaks should you do before it becomes a hindrance to your new product?
May 28, 2021
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
-Thomas Edison
The Importance of Pilot Runs
Developing new products will always entail many uncertainties.
Teams need to consider pilot runs, which are small quantity productions. During these pilot runs, production conditions and materials are identical to those used during the product’s mass production. Pilot runs are an opportunity for limited production of the new product to ensure any issues or complications within the process or product are identified and addressed before the scheduled mass production of the product.
The worst-case scenario? You dispose of the pilot-run products and try again.
Pilot runs are essential in pre-production processes because they allow teams to validate the new product’s design. While pilot runs can lower the risk in assembly, it also ensures better quality products because it enables teams to ensure products are inspected to meet their specifications and all parts’ quality are good. Having the opportunity to confirm a product’s production processes and procedures before mass production is of such vital importance because it identifies and absorbs any risks that may come from the first production run.
Pilot run not perfectly produced? That’s to be expected in the discovery process!
It’s unlikely for a pilot run to manufacture to perfection the first time. Embrace the opportunity for innovation in this development process and the emergence of new insights. It’s hard for anyone to predict how the product development process will go and all that it will entail, but pilot runs are encouraged to allow you to see a snapshot of how production will go once it’s time. While pilot runs do cost money, the expense on the front end is much more valuable than the expense you’d have run into a complication following mass production. These types of product complications need to be identified much earlier in the product development process to steer clear of expensive product issues later.
The Importance of Timing
Timing is everything when it comes to launching a new product into the market.
When launching a new product, ultimately, it can be your most tremendous success or series of unfortunate events; it all stems from the quality of your product’s development process. Time-to-market is paramount in the production world, and being able to identify the most valuable launch opportunity isn’t the easiest for a new product.
Too Many Tweaks Could Turn Away Your Target Audience
You want the best of both worlds: A product that develops within its expected launch date Customers want quality. Within your product’s life cycle, it’s crucial to allow ample time for vigorous testing of product tolerances and development within each stage of product production. Sending a product to market because your schedule ‘says it’s time’ may be ultimately setting your product up for failure. Teams that rush production to ensure they meet a particular launch date may eliminate opportunities for tweaks and adjustments in the development stages that could add to your product’s quality. However, there is a fine line between ensuring your product is ‘launch ready’ and making too many adjustments that you miss your window of opportunity to attract the right customer. Effective launching creates a ‘win-win’ situation for both sides; essentially, your product attracts customers when the market can truly utilize the maximum benefits from your product’s functions, while simultaneously, you reap the benefits of sales and generate the most revenue.
How Can HB International Assist Your Next Project?
Our customers choose to work with us because they want a company that understands the product development process, the importance of timing in product launching, and the value of high-quality products. Our collaborative approach with customers and suppliers enables us to provide unique transparency within our processes. Our team understands the value of speed to market while also understanding that being flexible in one’s processes is just as essential to ensure quality is achieved.
