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Why Less Is More in New Product Design
Posted: November 24, 2020Product 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, 2020At 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, 2020Everyone 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, 2020Finding 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, 2020At 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, 2020Making 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, 2020When 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, 2020For 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.
5 Mindset Shifts for Becoming a More Innovative Leader
Posted: September 10, 2020Innovation has been a key term and area of interest in management science for well over two decades. The names of many of the world’s most noteworthy, profitable, and respected companies, including Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, and Tesla, are synonymous with this term. As it pertains to the leadership demands of successfully navigating the disruption of the global pandemic, the role of innovation is perhaps more relevant than ever.
Key Challenges to Building a Resilient Business and How to Overcome Them
Posted: September 3, 2020Entrepreneurs and enterprise-level executives alike have always attempted to build businesses that are robust enough to withstand unexpected storms. For example, contingency planning is hardly a novel concept, and many leadership teams of companies large and small engage in this critical activity. But the unprecedented nature and speed, scope, and scale of COVID-19 has brought new urgency to the quest for resilience.
