Needed: Some evangelizing
Purchasing pros deserve—and should demand—an early and prominent role in product development
Paul Teague, Editor-in-Chief -- Purchasing, 6/2/2005 2:00:00 AM
Here is a telling statistic: In a 2004 survey of engineering, product development, and IT professionals on the impact of technology on the new-product-introduction process, 51 percent of respondents said supplier evaluation/assessment was part of the process. If that sounds good, consider this: It ranked near the bottom—seventh out of eight activities.
Now some might say that the ranking is appropriate, given the obvious importance of such tasks as needs assessment and concept testing. And yet, other findings in the survey indicate that the importance of supplier evaluation/assessment is being short-changed: Respondents said that budget/cost is the key overall metric used to judge success or failure of a new-product launch; and that getting products late to market is the second leading cause of product-launch failure. Supplier evaluation/assessment can be critical in controlling costs and hitting launch dates.
Based on these and other findings, the study, conducted by AMR Research, concluded that the new-product-development process needs a champion, an internal spokesman capable of reconciling competing interests for the common good.
Why not purchasing professionals?
Few could bring a less biased view to the table. And no other department has more knowledge of the supply chain and how it can help lower costs and ensure that products are ready for the market when they are supposed to be. What's needed to push purchasing higher up in the product-development process is some evangelizing.
Several years ago, manufacturing departments started screaming, figuratively, to be brought into product development early. They claimed that relegating them to an afterthought resulted in product designs that often could not be manufactured, and they were right. Slowly, their message caught on.
Purchasing needs to make the same demand today. The role models you'll meet on page 29 have done that in various ways. We all can.
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