4/13/2017 ProductDevelopmentintheTextile/ApparelIndustry:ABeginners'Understanding.

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Product Development in the

Chinenye Nwamara Follow

INTRODUCTION

Productdevelopmentinbroadtermsmaybedefinedastheprocessofconceptualizing,
designing,creating,producing,introducinganddeliveringnewproductsandservicesto
consumers(newproductdevelopment),orimprovingontheold(product
improvements).Thisprocessmaybeundertakenwithaviewtoprovidingfreshuser
experience,addressinganeed,providingsolutionstoproblems,increasingcustomer
baseandmarketshareaswellasdrivingincreaseinsalesandprofitforagiven
company.

Thesustenanceandgrowthofthetextileindustryandbyextensionthefashionindustry
dependsgreatlyintheprocessofproductdevelopmentasthisisessentiallyitslife
blood,forreasons,theleastofwhichisthedynamicandeverchangingdemandsand
trendswhicharecharacteristicofthisindustry,becauseconsumerdemandsareina
constantstateofflux.Therefore,withouttheimplementationofthisallimportant
processbyanycompanyintheindustry,intwowords:competitivesustenance,itruns
theriskofitsactivitiesquicklygrindingtoahaltandpossiblydyingoff.

Productdevelopmentstrategiesandprocessesfortextilecompaniesvaryasmuchasthe
numberofcompaniesinthisfield,aswellasthecomplexitiesandsimplicitiesvalues
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4/13/2017 ProductDevelopmentintheTextile/ApparelIndustry:ABeginners'Understanding.|ChinenyeNwamara|Pulse|LinkedIn

andvisionsmarketshareandpenetrationofeachcompany,butforthepurposeofthis
essay,Iwillsummarizetheseprocessesintothebasicstepsthatareessentialforthe
actualizationandsuccessofanyproductdevelopmentendeavourwithintheindustryin
focus.

Thisessayisbynomeansanexhaustiveeffortatdelineatingallthevariedintricate,
specializedandimportantstepsthatgointothecreationofanewproductwithinthe
textile/apparelindustry,itdoesnotseektosetforthrisks,costcontrol,strategyand
implementationcriteriainvolvedinthecreationandproductionoftextileandapparel
goodsandservices,butisasynopticpresentationofthekeystepsinvolvedintakinga
textileandapparelproductfromitsideastagetoitsfinalabodewiththeconsumer.

FROMCONCEPTTOCONSUMPTION:ASTEPBYSTEPAPPROACH

Generatingtheideaforaproduct/service:Theneedforproductdevelopmentwithin
thetextileandapparelindustrymayariseduetomanyandvariedreasons.These
reasonsincludebutarenotrestrictedto:(a)perceptionofaneed/gapinthemarketbya
company(b)demandbyconsumersforneworimprovedproducts(c)product
innovationdrive(d)newproductsintroducedintothemarketbythecompetition(e)
changesintechnology(f)trendsandseasonalrequirementsandchanges.Methodsfor
generatingideasforanewproductoranimprovedproductwillvaryfromcompanyto
companyandmaybeinformalorformalbutingenerality,thesemethodswillinclude:
staffcomingupwithindividualideas,brainstormingsessions,focusgroupdiscussions,
andmarketresearchanalysisdissectionsessions.CompanyAwhichproduces
predominantlycottonbasedfabricsofveryhighqualityanddesignaestheticsthatare
internationallysoughtafterhasbeeninundatedwithconsumerrequeststoalsoproduce
silkbasedfabrics,whichwillallowthem(theconsumers)tobemorecreativewiththeir
stylesandaffordthemthesamequalityandaestheticstheyareusedto.CompanyAhas
finallyseentheneedtohumourtheirloyalconsumersandsotheystartgeneratingideas
forthisnewproduct.

IdeaScreening:Ideasgeneratedintheprocessstepmentionedabovegothrougha
procedureinvolvingthoroughscreeningandscalingbasedonthefollowingcriteria:
feasibilityofidea,designanddevelopmenttime,estimatedcostofproduction,expected
returnoninvestment,benefittoconsumer,competitorsmarketshare,timetomarket
andmanpowerandtechnologicalrequirements.Thisisaverycrucialstepinthe
productdevelopmentprocessandgreatcareistakenherebecauseproductideaswhich
scalethroughthisstagesuccessfullyhaveapotentialtomakeittotheproductionline
andonwardsintothemarketandtotheconsumers.Atthispoint,theideahasnow
graduallyevolvedintoaconcept.CompanyAfromsteponeabovehasgenerated
twentyideasforthenewsilkbasedproductandtheyhavescreenedthemusingthe
statedcriteriaandhavescaledtheideasdowntotwoorthreewhichhavenew/improved
productpotential.

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TestingtheConcept:Atthispoint,itisimperativetofindoutconsumersresponseto
theproduct(s).Thissteptestsconsumersunderstandingoftheproductandcreatesan
avenueforfurtherimprovementontheproduct.Thisstepalsosamplesconsumer
opiniononhowtheproductwillfareincomparisontoalternativeproductsinthe
market.Concepttestingisalsovaluableinfindingouttheparticularmarketa
companysproductwillappealto(ifitdidntalreadyknowthat)aswellasprovide
ideasonpossiblepricingoptions.Inthisstep,attentionisalsogiventodesigndetails,
patentregistrations,designregistrationsandotherintellectualpropertyandlegal
technicalities.Testsdevelopedherealsoinvestigatehowtheconsumerperceivesthatthe
featuresofthisproductwilltranslatetobenefits.CompanyAhascomeupwith
conceptsforthreesilkproducts:oneproductwillservetheneedsofthefemalegarment
industry,thesecondseekstoaddressagapinaccessoriesformenswear,andathird
wantstobringvarietyintotheinteriordcorindustry.Testswillbedevelopedtofind
outiftheseproductsarereallyneeded,howandwheretheyareneeded,areasof
improvementandpossibleusageoptions.IfCompanyAwereafashionanddesign
business,thiswillprobablybethepointforfashionshows,privateshowingtobuyers
andstockistsandtothePress.

BusinessandMarketingAnalytics:Thisstepispossiblythemostcriticalstepinthe
productdevelopmentprocess.Atthispoint,keydepartmentsinthetextilecompanyare
involved,includingdesign,marketing,manufacturingandfinance.Thedesign
departmentistaskedwithdevelopingdesignsinkeepingwiththebrandidentityofthe
companysproductsanditsaestheticsormaybechargedwithdevelopingaunique
identityforthenewproduct(s).Themarketingdepartmentistheconnectionbetweenthe
companyanditsconsumersandistaskedwithmarketresearchtodiscoverconsumer
needsandperceptionsoftheproduct(s),planconsumertestpanels,planpossible
pricing,launchtomarketandpromotionoftheproduct(s).Marketingisalsotasked
withmonitoringthesuccessofthenewproductafterdistribution.Themanufacturing
departmentischargedwiththeactualphysicalproductionofthenewproduct.They
determinewhatisneededforproduction,howandwheretosourcerawmaterials
neededtoproducesaidproduct(s),availabilityofmachineryneededaswellasman
powerresourceneedsoftheproduction.Sometimes,theremaybeaneedtooutsource
themanufacturingofthenewproductespeciallyifthemanufacturingdepartmentdoes
nothavethecapacitytoproduceorthecostofproducinginhouseishigherthanthe
costofoutsourcing.Finally,thefinancedepartmentplaysakeyroleinthecoordination
ofthecostimplicationsofalltheactivitiesthatareinvolvedintheproductdevelopment
process.Thisdepartmentcollatesbudgeting/financingneedsofeachdepartmentand
comesupwithfinancialprojectionsshowingcostofproduction,costofmarketingand
launch,returnoninvestmentaswellastheprofitabilityofthenewproduct(s)venture.
Theyarealsochargedwithmonitoringthebudgetforthedevelopmentofthenew
productinordertoensurethatactivitiesstaywithinbudget.Alltheactivitiesofthe
departmentsmentionedabove,almostalwaysgoonsimultaneously.

ProductDevelopment:Atthisstage,everythingthathasbeenanalysedintheprevious
stepisnowputintoaction.Fundsaremadeavailabletoalldepartmentsinvolvedand

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manufacturingkicksoff.Atthispoint,thereislittleornoroomformodificationssoitis
importantthatthatallthepreviousstepsbeforetheactualproductionprocessiscarried
outwithlittleornomarginsforerror.Marketingofthenewproduct(s)alsokicksoffat
thisstagetocreateawarenessandtohavepeopleanticipateandevenpreorderthese
products,ifpossible.

Commercialization:Launchingofthenewproduct(s)andpostlaunching/monitoring
activitieshappeninthisstep.Productsarebeingdeliveredintothemarketand
consumersarepurchasing.Itisimportantatthisstagethatthesupplychainforthe
companyandnewproduct(s)ismaintainedatitsmostefficientform.Advertisements
andawarenesscampaignsshouldalsobeverystrongatthistime.Monitoringofsuccess
ofproductinthemarketaswellasreactionstopricingwillalsohelpthecompanyto
makeadjustmentsforproperpricingaswellascollatedataforfutureventures.

Inconclusion,thesuccessofaproductinanyindustryandespeciallyinthe
textile/apparelindustryisdeterminedbytheinteractionandintegrationofvalue,time,
costandquality.Creativity,willingnesstoovercomeerrorsandcontingencyplanning
arecorerequirementsforproductdevelopment.Alldepartmentsworkinginproduct
developmentmustworkintandemandwithclearsetgoalstomaximiseproductivity.

Tagged in: textiles,product development,apparel and fashion Report this

Chinenye Nwamara
Assistant Retail Manager| Research and Analysis Enthusiast| African Fashion Business Gr Follow
4 articles

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