Title: Coordinating new product development and supply chain management

Authors: Per Hilletofth, Dag Ericsson, Kenth Lumsden

Addresses: Virtual Systems Research Centre, University of Skovde, P.O. Box 408, Skovde, SE-541 28, Sweden. ' School of Engineering, University of Boras, Boras, SE-501 90, Sweden. ' Department of Logistics and Transportation, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, SE-412 96, Sweden

Abstract: Effective implementation of the new product development (NPD) process not only enables management to coordinate the efficient flow of new products, but will also assist to support ramp-up of various supply chain activities and other related activities supporting the commercialisation of the product. Thus, companies need to address all these issues in parallel to be successful and this requires some kind of integrative product development approach. The purpose of this research is to increase the understanding of how NPD is connected to supply chain management (SCM) by investigating how the NPD process is structured and executed in two international manufacturing companies seeking to realise an innovative, predictable and efficient product development. Several essential linkages between NPD and SCM have been derived from case study findings concerning important issues for successful product development.

Keywords: new product development; NPD; supply chain management; SCM; Sweden; management coordination; ramp-up; product commercialisation; integrative approaches; integration; international business; manufacturing companies; technology adoption; value chain management; ICT; information technology; communications technology; culture; socio-technical aspects.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVCM.2010.031808

International Journal of Value Chain Management, 2010 Vol.4 No.1/2, pp.170 - 192

Published online: 24 Feb 2010 *

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