Gillette

Logistics Management
Logistics - 1st semester

With regard to developing and introducing new products, what lessons did Gillette learn from the Wilkinson Sword and Bic experiences?

Gillette learned that they had to think ahead and be creative to be competitive.
They learned that they have to develop their products before their competitors to be the leading company of the market and staying popular to the customers.
Russel B. Adams Jr., says in the Gillette case study text: “This is what happens to you if you're not up there keeping ahead of the market”, which shows that Gillette is aware of the problem and of course will try to fix it.
To keep up with customers demands they had to do as Bic, who made disposable …show more content…
Here manufacturing helps Gillette by experimental development. They have to, all the time, keep up with the market and do it in a way that can create profitability in the end. They have to keep being competitive and the only way to do that, is to develop their products and be the first company releasing a new special product to their customers and to improve at all times, otherwise their competitors will run them over.

If a company implement their operations and supply chain personnel already in the concept development phase of the development process, they can start looking at which suppliers would be good doing business with according to the new product. Maybe they have a new technology that makes this supplier the right one for the given new product.
In the planning phase they can figure out which supplier would be the main key partner and start a partnership.
In the design and development phase they might help figuring out what is available on the market of suppliers and which items/parts used in the new product would give the highest gain in the six dimensions which are:

Repeatability (ability of making the product over and over again in the volumes needed) Testability (Is it possible to test the product during production) Serviceability (Can parts be replaced or serviced easily) Products volumes (Do they company need to expand e.g. the equipment or people needed) Product costs (Cost of the product itself but also hidden costs