It is popularly said that we get what we measure. This is because we become interested only in those things which we think that we likely pay attention to. Thus we get what we are likely to pay attention to. This theory is very much prevalent in the corporates in the present scenario. Corporates have started looking beyond the financial bottom line. They are valued upon social and environmental bottom-line as well. Popularly known as Triple Bottom Line (Social, environmental and financial), the governance is shifting towards enrichment of people and planet along with increase of profits. Sustainable development is possible only when all the elements of triple bottom line work together.
New Product Development
New product development is
The series of steps involved in the new product development process are as follows:
• Idea Generation: In this step, the marketing research team, depending on the demand of the customers, looks out for new opportunities in the market. A firm level analysis is done identifying the strong and weak areas of the firm. Competitor Analysis is done to identify what strategy the competitor is implementing. Considering these activities, many ideas are generated about the new product.
• Idea Screening: After a number of ideas are pooled in, screening of ideas takes place. Screening depends on a number of factors such as the market size of the product, its target audience, technical feasibility of the product, cost of production involved etc. The ideas which do not stand convincing are eliminated.
• Testing the concept: In this process the idea which is finalized is tested on a set of customers. Their reactions are examined and feedback is taken .Depending upon that suitable changes in the products are
It has been found that 75 % to 90% of a product’s environmental impact is determined in the product development stage, hence is becomes extremely important for product designers to have access to information about the sustainability of materials.
Many firms are have tried to integrate ideas from personnel of different divisions i.e. from marketing, R & D and manufacturing during a new product development process. Also, the firms are thinking to involve environmental specialists in the new product development process. Research has shown that, the involvement of these experts contribute to the commercialization stage in the most effective manner.
Importance of Sustainable New Product Development
Studies have found out that firms which think of sustainability issues, get benefitted in the long term. This will bring several benefits to the firms such as reducing inefficiencies during the production process, and creating differentiation and cost