TY - THES

T1 - Product Launch Analysis – CH860

AU - Hedvall, Pär

N1 - embargoed until null

PY - 2009

Y1 - 2009

N2 - A new mining crusher is under development, the CH860 crusher. This crusher was developed to fill a gap in the mining crusher range with reduced capacity and higher reduction ratio. The main advantages of such a crusher is that it easily can be installed when replacing older machines without having to change the entire crushing process which is often the case when newer machines with very high capacity are installed. The main objective of the new product launch is to increase the market share for replacement machines. Other objectives are to keep the pay-back time as short as possible and of course to increase the overall profitability. A theoretical study on the most important features of successful product launches was conducted. A number of success factors where identified and analyzed in order to fit them into the launch of CH860 crusher. The most important success factors where: •High quality sales activities combined with advertising, service and technical support •Launch timing •Product testing at customer sites •Studies of customer feedback before, under and after the launch •Outsourcing market research to professional companies A few other important factors have been excluded here but can be read in the theory chapter of this report A theoretical study was also made on agility and leanness and under what circumstances each approach is most suitable. An agile approach is most suitable for low volume and high variety cases and a lean approach is most suitable for a high volume low variety case. The organization for launching the CH860 is a cross-functional team with people from many parts of the Sandvik organization. When comparing the Sandvik launch team with how the most successful launch teams are organized according to theory mainly one difference is noticed, the lack of the logistics function. One would expect that the aftermarket would also be present in the development team which however is not the case. It is reasonable to assume that not all important aspects will be considered if not after market and more people are involved in determining the launch strategies. The experience from this function can contribute to a more profitable product once the product has been launched. The results indicate that a diversified product launch on different markets is the most suitable. This puts the responsibility more on each specific market organization and hence, an agile approach is conducted. Also, by choosing the market with the biggest potential as the initial market, the pay-back time can be reduced. To measure that the launch is performed according to the objectives the market share and pay back time should be measured. The estimated pay back time must be updated according to each new situation.

AB - A new mining crusher is under development, the CH860 crusher. This crusher was developed to fill a gap in the mining crusher range with reduced capacity and higher reduction ratio. The main advantages of such a crusher is that it easily can be installed when replacing older machines without having to change the entire crushing process which is often the case when newer machines with very high capacity are installed. The main objective of the new product launch is to increase the market share for replacement machines. Other objectives are to keep the pay-back time as short as possible and of course to increase the overall profitability. A theoretical study on the most important features of successful product launches was conducted. A number of success factors where identified and analyzed in order to fit them into the launch of CH860 crusher. The most important success factors where: •High quality sales activities combined with advertising, service and technical support •Launch timing •Product testing at customer sites •Studies of customer feedback before, under and after the launch •Outsourcing market research to professional companies A few other important factors have been excluded here but can be read in the theory chapter of this report A theoretical study was also made on agility and leanness and under what circumstances each approach is most suitable. An agile approach is most suitable for low volume and high variety cases and a lean approach is most suitable for a high volume low variety case. The organization for launching the CH860 is a cross-functional team with people from many parts of the Sandvik organization. When comparing the Sandvik launch team with how the most successful launch teams are organized according to theory mainly one difference is noticed, the lack of the logistics function. One would expect that the aftermarket would also be present in the development team which however is not the case. It is reasonable to assume that not all important aspects will be considered if not after market and more people are involved in determining the launch strategies. The experience from this function can contribute to a more profitable product once the product has been launched. The results indicate that a diversified product launch on different markets is the most suitable. This puts the responsibility more on each specific market organization and hence, an agile approach is conducted. Also, by choosing the market with the biggest potential as the initial market, the pay-back time can be reduced. To measure that the launch is performed according to the objectives the market share and pay back time should be measured. The estimated pay back time must be updated according to each new situation.

M3 - Master's Thesis (University Course)

ER -