PIVOT INTERNATIONAL BLOG

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Thank you for visiting the Pivot International blog. We are a collaborative product development, design, and manufacturing firm serving clients around the world. For more information about our services, please call us at 1-877-206-5001. We look forward to working with you.


 

Four Supply Chain Disruption Myths Your Company Should Question

Posted: December 9, 2020

Pandemic-driven supply chain disruption is a reality that no business can argue. Along with disruption, the pandemic has also spawned myths. If these myths aren't questioned to separate fact from fiction, companies will find it much harder to successfully move forward.

At Pivot International, our reputation for securely leading our clients through disruption continues to grow. Leveraging the power of strategic partnerships, we help clients bring award-winning products to market in exceptionally challenging times.

The Founder’s Trap Has Never Been More Dangerous

Posted: December 2, 2020

Management consultant Ichak Adizes first became famous in leadership circles more than twenty-five years ago for his Corporate Lifecycles Model (CLM). This model looks at businesses through a lens that maps stages of growth and decline. It outlines both opportunities and challenges that characterize and accompany each stage.

Why Less Is More in New Product Design

Posted: November 24, 2020

Product designers — and, let's face it — all of us often make the mistake of thinking that the more features something has, the better it must be. Whether we're shopping for a new lawnmower, sound system, vehicle, or even a backyard playset for our kids, we tend to think the more options it has, the more it will deliver.

As Leonardo da Vinci said, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." But achieving this kind of simplicity in product development requires two critical competencies.

Three Safeguards for Protecting Your Project from the Dangers of High Resource Utilization

Posted: November 11, 2020

At Pivot International, in our collaborative work with clients worldwide, we’ve found that most companies aim to fully utilize their product-development resources. Industry surveys show the average product-development manager attempts to maintain resource utilization above 98%. The logic goes, projects take longer when teams aren’t working 100% of the time, and an organization running on as close to 100% capacity as possible will be faster and more efficient than one that is allocating less of its resources.

Why Getting It Right the First Time May Not Be in the Best Interest of Your Product Development

Posted: November 4, 2020

Everyone wants to get it right the first time, and product developers are no different. While careful planning needs to go into any product development endeavor, product development — especially when the product is intended to be genuinely innovative — is a predictably unpredictable affair.

Four Areas You Need to Assess When Vetting a New Supplier

Posted: October 28, 2020

Finding a proven supply partner in even the best of times can be daunting. But in the current climate, it can feel for many companies like a game of musical chairs. The good news is that there are more “chairs” than might first be apparent, provided you know what to look for. We've prepared a list of four areas you’ll need to assess to help your company find an experienced, cost-effective supplier who can ensure you’re not the one left standing.

Avoiding Pitfalls and Overcoming Roadblocks: How to Move Your New Product Development Forward or Get it Back on Track

Posted: October 21, 2020

At Pivot International, we help companies detour around these obstacles to successfully commence new projects and get existing projects back on track. Regardless of what stage of development your product is currently in — concept, prototyping, design, engineering, manufacture, or distribution — we bring nearly 50 years of experience across over fourteen different industries to move your project forward.

One Tough Customer: Cost-Effective Website Strategies for Supporting Industrial Product and Service Sales

Posted: October 8, 2020

Making a sale for your industrial product or service is almost always challenging. For every sale that might land in your company’s lap, your sales team may have had to aggressively pursue dozens of qualified leads. That said, some customers are tougher than others. There are three in particular that can take longer and cost more for your sales team to successfully move down your sales funnel. To mitigate these challenges, it’s important to invest upfront in strategies that help support and vet potential customers before they ever get as far as actual contact with your sales team.

Think Like an Investor When Pitching a Product

Posted: September 30, 2020

When it comes to launching a new product successfully, businesses need to understand they’re building two products and two cases: one for customers and one for investors. The savviest of businesses never lose sight of which audience they’re talking to and the differences between them.

Three Winning Strategies and Competitive Insights from Star Sales Performers for Developing Successful Products

Posted: September 24, 2020

For all the challenges that supply chain professionals, product developers, manufacturers, and companies of all kinds have faced over the last six months, the world of business can and will go on. Market opportunities must still be identified, products conceived, and product development partnerships formed.