DRESDING MEDICAL INC

Dresding Medical Inc



Dresding Medical Inc

Introduction

Dresding Medical Inc. (DMI) has enjoyed success designing, manufacturing, and supplying medical equipment to hospital and clinics. Through their core competency of translating different customer needs into customized products, DMI has retained a satisfied customer base. These clients have traditionally valued dependability and flexibility over speed and price. However, part of the customer base has gradually shifted away from clinics and towards direct consumers. In order to address this market, DMI has developed a new generation of “small black box” products, which are smarter and more portable than their standard offerings. However, the direct consumers desire standardized low-cost items that can be delivered more quickly than DMI's current intervals.Problems

Unfortunately, this shift to the consumer market does not correspond with the strengths of DMI's manufacturing operations. Direct consumers desire low-cost products, whereas DMI has traditionally offered products that are high-cost. Expensive emerging medical technologies only compound the cost issue. DMI is also very deliberate in developing their products to the market. For example, it takes DMI over three years to develop a new base model. In order to adapt to evolving consumer demands, they'll need to reduce those intervals to under 12 months. Another variation between the markets involves the “push vs. pull” concept. Although the clinical market tends to “pull” the customized products from DMI, the mass quantities of standardized items will need to be “pushed” to some extent towards the consumer market.The primary dilemma DMI faces is how to satisfy the new direct consumer market without shunning their existing base market. These two markets value opposing performance metrics. The consumers value cost and speed, whereas the clinics value dependability and flexibility.

Solution

Faster new Product Development

In a global marketplace, speed to market is often a defining factor in the success of a new product introduction.  The window of opportunity for a successful product launch is smaller than it has ever been as an increasing number of competitors jostle for position to be the market leaders.  Reducing the amount of time to design and develop a medical product complex process that must be addressed systematically(Cagan 2002 pp 89-209).

In a series of studies Lewis (1992 pp.23-39) have identified 13 stages in the new product process and studied which stages relate to new product success and failure. They concluded that new product success involves having and adhering to a new product process model and found a significant difference between new product successes and failures related to the completeness of the NPD process. For example, 54.8% of new products successes undertook nine or more stages in the NPD compared with 38.2% of new product failures. They found that nearly one quarter (23.6%) of product failures conducted five or fewer of the 13 stages in the NPD compared with 4.8% of new product successes. Few firms actually follow all of the steps in the new product process. Choffray and Lilien (1984 82-98)study found that only three of 203 projects studied (1.5%) reported carrying out all of the stages of the new product process . Product success may be particularly influenced by certain key stages in the new product ...