Whether you know it or not, your company already uses a product portfolio tool. This tool might be as simple as a collection of spreadsheets, or possibly something more robust. Regardless, if you’re using a method for recording ideas, prioritizing projects, and managing resources – you’re already leveraging a tool(s) to manage the product development lifecycle.
But to what extent does the toolset you currently have in place aid in speeding time to market? If you’re using spreadsheets, I’d guess that it’s not much.
Those spreadsheets might seem sufficient, but how much visibility can they really provide? Can you track resource availability efficiently? Can you easily measure project cycle times? Can you see which of your innovations is eating up more costs than it stands to make back once it goes to market? If not, what’s the impact? How much money is your department leaving on the table in terms of executing the wrong products with the wrong people resulting in missing the market window by leveraging the wrong tools?
The question isn’t “Should I get a product portfolio management solution,” but “What is my current solution costing me?”
In a recent report from Tech-Clarity on Product Portfolio Management (PPM), Jim Brown notes that “Most manufacturers are inefficient and have trouble making informed decision because they use spreadsheets and other office productivity tools that don’t stand up to enterprise class processes.”
Sound familiar?
A true, purpose-built enterprise-class PPM solution provides an organization with the necessary visibility to fill their pipeline with the right ideas, select the right products, apply the right resources, and bring the best products to market on-time and on-budget. Only with global visibility can you effectively monitor the product development process.
The good news is that you’re not alone. Very few organizations have optimized their innovation and portfolio strategy and processes to the point of maturity, and less have implemented a comprehensive solution that tracks products from ideation to end-of-life. For those willing to coalesce their operation around a true solution (one that works for you not against you), there is significant possibility for competitive advantage and return.
In my next post, I’ll discuss some of the biggest signposts highlighted in the Jim’s eBook that it’s time to consider PPM to boost revenue and productivity and lower cost and risk during the commercialization process.
Interested in learning more about the potential of a true PPM solution? Enjoy a free download of Tech-Clarity’s PPM Buyer Guide An Action Plan to Improve Your Product Portfolio.
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