better, quicker & cheaper npd “a helicopter view of best practice” nick henson 25 th march...
TRANSCRIPT
Better, Quicker & Cheaper NPD
“A Helicopter View of Best Practice”
Nick Henson25th March 2009
Overview
• International Food Network?
• The NPD Process• Where are the costs?• How to optimise• Balancing internal and external resource• The Practical Bits – where to focus for maximum efficiency
• The Formulation• Cost considerations
• Summary • Use of external resource to optimise the NPD process
International Food Network
• Outsourced product development services from concept to implementation
• Team of experienced food scientists & technologists
• Kitchen, Laboratory, Pilot facilities
• Well networked across the ingredient, processing and co-manufacturing sectors
• Totally independent - We only sell our services
202 Years
34 Companies
What should we focus on?
• The NPD process
• The Product
Where are the costs in the NPD process?
Staff Costs – Wages, Overheads, Personnel infrastructure, Subsistence
Facilities – Kitchen, Lab, Pilot Plant, Equipment
External Support – Consumer Research, Analytical
Materials – Ingredients, Packaging
What most impacts the efficiency of the PD process?
• Clarity of the brief- do we know what we are doing?
• Project Priorities – the more they change, the less progress you make. - where should we be focusing our resource?
• Feasibility assessment – is the project achievable, within your accessible budget and skill set?
• Inter-departmental communication – the critical interfaces between Marketing, Development, Production, Finance….
• The practical bits – consumer research, factory trials, shelf-life testing
• Costings – whoops… it costs too much… lets go round again
Should we do it all ourselves or get help?
• However big you are, there can be cost benefits in looking at the key interfaces and linking with external “partners”
• The bigger you are the more opportunities you are likely to find to improve efficiency via third parties
• Many PD depts have more projects than they can effectively cope with
• However small you are, with clever use of external resource, you can “act big”
The Idea
The Brief
The Plan
The Action Bench
Assess
Pilot
Assess
Control In-house
Get Help
The NPD Process – Making the most of all the resources
Where to make
Factory Trials
Commissioning
Shelf-life TestingAnalysisLabel Data
Review
Models for PD Function
Marketing
Production
QA
Finance
PD Department
PD Project Manager
Ext Supplier
Ext Supplier
Ext Supplier
Ext Supplier
Key external interfaces to enhance the PD process
• Ideas – creative agencies, ingredient suppliers, “open innovation”
• Technical Specialists – University, Research institute
• The product development – outsourced PD
• The flavour, the texture, the colour – ingredient suppliers
• Analytical services – nutrition, microbiology, physical testing
• Sensory Testing Services – profiling
• Consumer Research
• Packaging performance – material or machinery suppliers
• IP – specialist patent support
• Manufacturing – co-manufacturers
Better, Quicker, Cheaper- The practical bits
• Consumer Research • How much do you really need to do? • How sophisticated does it need to be?• What samples are really necessary?• Would a launch into a test market be quicker and more efffective? • Use of web-based research
• Shelf-life Testing• Do it as early as possible• Use of representative model or comparable systems• Use of predictive assessments – composition, Aw, temperature, pack barrier• Use of ASLT
• Where to make/Factory Trials• Make-or-buy assessment early on• Facilities and culture• Time invested in planning will save money/time…….
Shelf-life Testing
ASLT
Arrhenius principle
k = kA exp (- EA/RT)
Needs some preparatory studies
Most appropriate for on-going development of similar product types
Shelf-life Testing
ASLT
• Use 1 or 2 elevated temperature/humidity conditions to predict deterioration at ambient/chill• Use key quality indicators:-
• Sensory – intensity rating/profile• Microbiological• Chemical – PV, Vit C level , pH• Physical – viscosity, separation, colour
• Set critical limits• Identify a factor that relates two storage temperatures eg IFN fortified cereal bar model = 2.5
The Factory Trial
• The Plan • The Process Flow
• are all the required units in place ?• does kit need to be hired? Timing
• Scheduling – allow for clean-down, set-up etc..• Materials
• what is a meaningful batch size, considering all unit opertions?• have you ordered enough (contingency, next trial)?• where are they?• has the right spec and amount arrived?
• What can go wrong - contingency
• The Brief• Brief every-one – managers, line operatives, QA, analytical/micro labs
• The Trial• Measure , Record, Sample
Time consuming, resource intensive, expensive but vital ….
Formulation Costs
Formulation Costs
Ideas Stage• Food form – air and water• Flavour selection – exotic vs mainstream• Range – aim for a standard base• Provenance Generic
Sensory • There are many ways to deliver sweetness – sucrose, fructose, glucose syrups, dark sugars, whey syrups, malts, neutral fjc, high intensity sweeteners......some deliver flavour too• Flavour delivery
• Named ingredient vs flavour system• Do you really need a natural flavour...?
• Neutral bulking agents – fibre (sol), starches, maltodextrin, lactose• Contingency for price hikes – alternatives to milk protein
Formulation Costs
Handling and Processing• Balance raw material costs with handling and processing costs
• Powder vs liquid materials/blends• Compound ingredients - fruits, fats, meats• Intermediates and pre-blends
• Realistic wastage figures• How will you use re-work?• Can you use re-work from other processes?
Summary
Making the most of external resources....
Summary
Making the most of out-sourced NPD
• Increase the output of your PD department on a flexible basis• more projects, same fixed head-count• respond to short-term demand surges – “project panic”• resource “smoothing” for peaks of project loading
• Rapid introduction of new areas of expertise (product or function)
• Make progress on non-core areas and systems development without compromising progress on core projects
• Initiate projects on an anonymous basis - confidentiality
Summary
Top Tips for Better, Cheaper, Quicker...
Agree the brief – Print it big, stick it on your wall
Decide where external resources can help – be a true project manager
Don’t start at the beginning – who is making something similar or in a similar way or is making a component?
Do early thinking on – product costs how to judge shelf-life where to make
