Developing A New Product Development & Launch Process Case: Company X

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Developing a new product development & launch process

Case: Company X
Jonis Mahmutllari
Degree programme
in International
Business 2014
Abstract
Date of presentation
Degree programme
Author or authors Group or year of
Jonis Mahmutllari entry
POBBA10
Title of thesis Number of report
Developing a new product development and launch process pages and
Case: Company X attachment pages
54 +3
Thesis advisor(s)
Evariste Habiyakare, Veijo Vänttinen
This study is a product-oriented thesis which is focused in developing a new product

development and launch process for Company X , a company which offers innovative
Roll handling equipment for the paper industry. The objective of the thesis is to find
and develop a framework which would clarify the entire product development and
launch process and increase the success rate on the new product launches.
The reviews of the literature, business cases, journals and data analysis are the founda-
tion of the new product launch model. Even the thesis is product oriented, a qualitative
research, in form of in-depth interviews is conducted. The qualitative research helps,
in connecting the theoretical part with the actual process followed in the business.
The product outcome of this thesis is a concrete structured process, including each
step from the product conceptualisation to the stage of launching the product into the
market.
This thesis proposes elaborated guidelines which Company X could follow in its
product development and launch process. The launch plan was developed based
on the Stage-Gate™ process, which is a reliable and successful method used in
different successful launch cases. The Stage-Gate™ process was adopted according
to the industry and company´s strategy. The author hopes that the final results could
help the company to have a clear understanding of each stage in the product
launching process and implement each of these stages in accordance with the type of
the project or launching strategy.
Keywords
Product launch, B2B launching process, Stage-Gate™ model, Product managment,
Business development, Process design
Table of contents
1 Introduction.............................................................................................................1
1.1 Thesis objectives and research questions..........................................................2
1.2 Scope and Limitation and Relevance of the study............................................3
1.3 Structure of the Study......................................................................................6
2 Stage gate model and product launch process..........................................................7
2.1 Product development and launch Process........................................................7
2.2 The Stage Gate™ Model.................................................................................8
2.2.1 Idea Generation for new Products.......................................................10
2.2.2 Scoping...............................................................................................13
2.2.3 Building Business case..........................................................................14
2.2.4 Development.......................................................................................15
2.2.5 Testing and Validation.........................................................................16
2.3 Launching product onto the market..............................................................17
2.3.1 Defining the Marketing Strategy..........................................................18
2.3.2 Defining the marketing mix.................................................................18
2.3.3 Marketing in B2B product launch........................................................20
2.3.4 Media channels....................................................................................20
2.3.5 Sales promotion...................................................................................21
2.3.6 Post launch review..............................................................................22
3 Research Approach and Methods...........................................................................23
3.1 Data collection process..................................................................................24
3.2 Data analysis.................................................................................................24
4 Findings, discussions and recommendations...........................................................25
4.1 Idea generation process..................................................................................25
4.2 Scoping and Building business case................................................................28
4.3 Testing and Development...............................................................................29
4.4 Launch...........................................................................................................30
4.4.1 Marketing Strategy and Marketing Mix................................................30
4.4.2 Media channels for product launch......................................................33
4.4.3 Sales material for product launch.........................................................36
5 Main contributions and the learning outcomes.......................................................38
5.1 The product development and launch process...............................................38
5.2 Reliability and validity of the report................................................................47
5.3 Further discussions........................................................................................48
5.4 Own professional development and learning..................................................49
Bibliography..............................................................................................................51
Attachments...............................................................................................................55
Attachment 1. Questionnaire for Management and R&D team............................55
Attachment 2. Content of the interview with Sales and Assembly partners............56
Attachment 3. Content of a marketing plan..........................................................57
List of abbreviations
NPD New product development
R&D Research and development
NPL New product launch
ROI Return on investment
VOC Voice of customer
B2B Business to business
B2C Business to consumer

1 Introduction
In today’s market careful planning and a good product strategy are essential to help
you succeeding in the market. Companies everywhere are competing more than ever
to develop new and unique products or services and gain a higher position in the
market. Companies develop a high number of new products every year. Most of
these products fail to secure competitive advantages and end up being just another
high cost for the company. (G.Cooper 2001, 1-10)
The aim of this thesis is to develop a product development and launch process for
Company X , Finnish supplier of roll handling equipment for the paper industry.
The need for this thesis came during the author´s working experience with the
company. Company X is a young company that creates innovative products for the
industry. De- veloping new unique products that offer several benefits to the
customers is the company mission and at the same time one of the main strengths.
As the new product development is a continuous process and Company X is

growing its product portfolio continuously, the commissioner felt the need in
structuring the product development and launch process in a well-defined step-by-
step process that is easy to follow and communicate internally. (Rantanen, 2013). The
author’s knowledge and experience gained during the studies in international
business and working within the paper industry can be utilized to help Company X
in building this process.
New products are very essential for the corporate success. Innovation is a must if
you want to continue competing in the market. However the new product
development is one of the riskiest processes that require focus and high investments.
(G.Cooper 2001, 4-5). Several studies have been done in the sucessful product
launch cases, and success drivers have been discovered. Corporations are using a
structured idea-to- launch process which help them manage implementing these
success drivers and reduce the risk of product launch fail. (Cooper & Edgett 2012).
At Company X it would be very beneficial to take the sucessful factors and organize
in a stuctured product development and launch process which would reduce
1
significantly
2
the risk of a product launch fail. The new developed product launch process should
include each step that should be taken when developing new products.
1.1 Thesis objectives and research questions
The objective of the thesis is to find a model and develop it to a process which
would clarify the entire product development and launch process. The finalized
product aims to increase the success rate on Company X ´s new product launches.
At the moment the company is not following officially any existing product
development and launch process. All new product development and launch process
goes through the management experience and the ideas are mainly focused in
problem-solving cases. In other cases product development is based on existing
products.
A reliable existing product development and launch process is presented, analysed and
then modified according to the Company X ´s case. The final suggested process in-
cludes the main steps which should be undertaken in the product development and
launch process. The necessary studies and documentations are displayed in the final
developed process. Moreover, a review of the existing process or the path which
existing products have followed from the idea to the launch has been conducted.
The review helped the author to find the missing gaps and to complete a
documented product development and launch process.
From the review of the process the author discovered that the introduction of the
product into the market was the most problematic stage in the product development
and launch process. This discovery shifted slightly the planned final outcome of
this thesis. The author decided to develop the product and development process but
give the main focus and emphasis to the last stage of product development and
launch process which is the launch of the product onto the market. Such focus
aims to increase the benefits the company receives from the outcome of this product
oriented thesis.
The research questions are built to support the objective of this thesis and lead to an
end product which is practical to understand and use. The three research Questions
3
are;
4
a- What is the product launch process and what are the main steps taken
when developing a new product?
b- How to increase the probability of successful product launches for
Company X?
c- How an existing product development and launch process can be modified
and adopted to Company X business case?
By answering the above questions the author is able to better understand the product
development and launch process and utilize the gained information to create a
custom- ized process for the commissioner. The first question gives a better
understanding of product launch development and launch process. The literature
review including business cases, journals and data analysis are the foundation of
the new product launch process. Also web published interview videos; by
professionals discussing topics related to product launch process are included in the
theoretical framework.
After getting a better understanding of the product development and launch process,
the second question helps the author to relate the theory to the company profile and
the current process. The answer for the current situation comes from the authors
working experience in the company and the interviews conducted internally with
the CEO and R&D team. The company strategy and the target customers are taken
into consideration when comparing the suggested process with the current method
used in the company. After analysing the entire process the third question leads to a
tangible product that is a product launch process designed for Company X .
1.2 Scope and Limitation and Relevance of the study
This research is focused in the product development and launch process. which
adopts and develops a product launch method with clear steps. These steps can be
used as checklist which company can edit or modify at any time according to the
product type or the company´s strategic decision. There are several reasons why a
structured product development and launch process is necessary within the
company.
5
Karl T.Ulrich and Steven P.Eppinger (2012, 7) define three reasons why a
structured product launch is necessary; firstly, a structured method makes the
decision process fully defined, giving the possibility for everyone in the team to
understand the basis of the decision and reducing the chance that unsupported
decisions move forward.
Secondly, all the important issues will be included in the product development as
the steps will be displayed in the checklist which will also act as reminder. And
thirdly, a structured method is normally self-documenting, as during the execution
of the process the responsible team documents the decision for future reference.
They would also be beneficial for the company when training new employees, as
the practical documentation could be used for educational purpose.
Company X is a new company developing new innovative products, which are

unknown for the customers or the end user.(Company X , 2013) The author believes
that to create trust with the customers and gain market share more rapidly, product
launch fails should be avoided. This can be contolled by analyzing more carefully
each stage of the product development and launch process and to sucessfully
acomplish this, a structured constant process is necessary. As long as there is lack of
information about the product launch process and the important steps that must be
considered, it will be difficult for the company to include all success factors in the
new product launches. The structured process which is the outcome of this thesis
aims to help the company to reduce the above mentioned risk and lead to sucessful
product launches.
Taking into consideration the nature of Company X products, the study is

concentrated only in the B2B context . A very important contribution on building a
NPL process is the Stage-Gate™ process (see figure 2) developed by Robert G
Cooper, which is a reliable and successful method used in different successful launch-
es. Other reliable books which have been studying the product development, product
launch and product planning such as; Product planning essentials (Kahn, 2011),
Product Design and Development (Ulrich & Eppinger, 2012) and Winning at new
products (Cooper, 2001) are very important supporting sources for developing a NPL
process for Company X .
6
As the company is a small size and the internal resources are limited, the process is
developed as a simple process, avoiding all unnecessary complexities that are applied
in corporations. However it is very important to take into consideration the
importance and relevance of the information presented. It is also important to
mention that the outcome of this study is a ready to modify and use product, as
modifications and changes need to be done depending on the project requirements
and product types developed. This limitation comes due the need of the company
for a general product development and launch process that can be used in a long
term prospective. The author has to study the process from a wider prospective use
and not study only a given typical product case.
7
1.3 Structure of the Study
Introduction
Background information, objectives, scope and limitations, relevance of the study,
research questions and thesis structure.
Company Presentation (Due sensitive information is not displayed in online version)

Introduction, operations, company strategy and competitors
Theoretical Framework
Product launch process, Stage-Gate model, Idea generation, scoping and building business case,
development, testing and validation, launch and launching strategy
Approach and Methods

Approach method, data collection and data analysis
Findings and discussions

Interview analyse and review of company current launch process, compering the theoretical re-
view and current activity.
Product Launch Process

Presentation of Launch stage as a separate process (sales and marketing), presentation of
finalized product launch process for Company X (from idea to launch), reliability and validity
of the study, own professional development and learning.
References and Appendix
8
2 Stage gate model and product launch process
This chapter is an introduction of the product launch process starting with a general
description of the product launch process and the importance of product launch in a
company success. Furthermore, in this chapter the author presents the product devel-
opment and product launch process by following as guide the Stage-Gate model, a
worldwide commonly used product launch model.
2.1 Product development and launch Process
To enable constant growth companies should master the process of a product launch
through introducing new competitive products into the market. Product launches
help increasing sales revenue and expanding the customer base. By introducing new
products a company can also target new groups of customers. The launch of new
products can also influence the company expansion and new internal investments.
Continuous research and planning are necessary if a company wants to achieve a
successful product launch. During this process all the employees of the company are
involved, from the R&D to the Sales and Marketing team. (Gluck, 2012)
To be successful and attract the customer attention, the new product must fulfil their
needs and maintain the brand promise. In today’s market quality of the product is
not the only aspect which customers are looking for. The price, function and status
of the product are also very important. An adequate research and strategic planning
are necessary before presenting the new products to the customer (Gluck, 2012). In
a product launch strategy Gluck (2012) defines several important stages of product
launch process. Such important stages are; development, internal testing, external
testing, objective and goal setting, positioning, excitement building and event
timing.
Based on the theoretical review but also in own working experience the author
believes that the product development & launch process is different from one
company to another. For instance in business to business (B2B) the decision
process is different from business to consumer (B2C). The market size in B2B is
generally smaller comparing to B2C. In B2B the sales are based in value and not
quantity as commonly happens in B2C. The mass marketing in B2C can generate
9
many prospects, which will not neces-
10
sarily turn into sales; however in B2B mass marketing is not effective. The Sales
process and purchasing process is also different in these two markets. In B2B
the decision-making can go through many gatekeepers, which is unlikely to
happen in B2C. (D'Souza, 2012).
The author strongly believes that the size of the company can also influence the
product launch process. A small size company with a small budget has more
limited resources in people and finance when planning the product launch process
comparing to a big size company.
2.2 The Stage Gate™ Model
The Stage Gate model is an organized, structured product development and launch
process which is used to decrease the product failures and increase the success of
the companies in launching new products. The Stage gate model is a proven
successful method and many international companies have been using it when
launching new products. International Paper, which is world´s largest player in pulp
and paper industry, is using use Stage Gate process in managing the development
and launch of new prooducts. This reference makes the Stage Gate model more
relevant to this case study. (Cooper 2001)
The stage Gate model is a series of stages and gates. As shown in the figure 2 there
are five stages and after each stage is followed a gate. The stages represent the
activities that are taken during the NPD process. Gates are checkpoints that are
determined by certain criteria from which companies decide either to continue with
the project or not.
11
Figure 1. The typical Stage Gate model – from discovery to launch (Cooper 2001, 130)
As shown in the figure two the Stage Gate Model starts with the discovery of the
new products and finishes with the launch of the product in the market. A post
launch review is recommended after the product has been launched in the
market.
However in the latest study Robert Cooper explains that the Stage-Gate model is a
process that can be modified depending on the complexity and size of the project.
For instance in a low risk project the stage one and two can be assessed together,
continu- ing with stages three and four and concluding with the fifth stage. This
system would have three gates instead of five. (Cooper, 2013). The author fully
supports the idea of companies modifying the Stage-Gate model in accordance with
their needs. In a short- er process the company would save time, money and would be
accessible for all different types of projects. One product development or launch
process would not be reliable if it is always requiring the same steps. Different
products have different character- istics and naturally they differ in the requirements.
Such claim has been also studied by different authors who have come up with the
same conclusion; one strategy does not fit to all products. (MacCormack, et al.,
2012)
To have a better understanding of the Stage Gate model for the major project, in
the chapters below the author will present separately each of the stages which
should be followed in a product development and launch process.
12
2.2.1 Idea Generation for new Products
The ideation activity that a company undertakes to generate a set of product concept
represents the concept generation. As a stage in product development process the
concept generation serves to bring to the company as many concepts as possible,
review the concepts and determine the best options which should be considered for
further product development. (Kahn 2011, 68). A good or bad product idea can
determine the sucess of a project, as the ideas generation will lead to the new
products which can be offered to the customers. There are many ideas that a
company can work on, but the quality of the ideas is usually low quality or low-
value. For this fact it is important that a company structures a process for generating
new ideas which would help in creating new sucessful products (Cooper 2001, 154).
According to Cooper, it is very important to have a product strategy which defines
the areas of the strategic focus decideding which areas you want to search for new
developments. These clear specifications, will help to generate more clear and
effective ideas which are difficult to get from a scattered search.
There are two routes which are used to generate new ideas in a company; “bottom
up and discovered ocasionally” or “top down and planned”. An example of “bottom
up” is a sales person visiting a customer facility and during the visit notices a
problem.
When the sales person defines a solution, he reports the new product idea to the
company. On the other hand “top-down” is more direct and structured. A particular
market segment and focus area are defined. A market research finds the customer
problems which the company should resolve, and the project team work in these
problems, developing new products over few years (Cooper 2001, 155-156). The idea
generation management process is a very important part when it comes to the impact
on the sales of new products. In a study conduced by Arthur D. Little (2005, 20)
the idea management has the highes impact in sales of new products, giving a high
important to this stage. Below the author presents several methods which are
commonly used to help in generating ideas which lead to launch of new sucessful
products.
13
Idea generation methods
A detailed ideation study was conducted by Cooper & Edgett in 2008, and eighteen
ideation methods which are divided in three approach groups were listed; Voice of
customer methods (VOC), Open Innovation methods and other approaches. Other
authors have been studying the new product development process, and identified new
methods which companies are using when generating new ideas for the NPD process.
Anthropological research has been used by many companies to identify new

product opportunities. This is a VOC method and it is an expensive method but very
effective. In this method it is important to visit the customers and gain insights in
customer needs. In order to understand the customer needs and wants the company
needs to be closer with the customer. In B2B markets it is important to focus in
customers’ work- flow, observing how the customer uses the products and what the
problems they face are. The new products should not be just an upgrade of the old
ones but new solutions which increase efficiency and effectiveness. (Cooper 2001,
163-164)
Lead user analysis is another VOC method which has been applied in many
companies. The method was developed by Eric von Hippel in 80´s. The base of
this theory is working with innovative customers, will lead in developing innovative
products. Col- laborating with innovative customers and discussing new solutions
which would help them is very effective source in generating new innovative
products. (Ulrich & Epping- er 2012, 124; Edgett & Cooper, 2008, 4-5)
Product Value Analyzis and Identifying market trends are two other methods
that use VOC to develop new products. The first method is an experimental method
that was pioneered by Ron Sears. In this method customers interact with aspects of
company´s product, and then express his concerns, views and difficulties. This
method helps the companies to be in interaction with the customer and solve
problems which concern them. The second method is identifying the market trends
and needs by con- ducting customer surveys or focus groups. After defining the
trends and needs, the company forma a group of experts to discusses the problems
or possible solutions (Edgett & Cooper 2008, 4-5; Cooper 2001, 162-164; Kahn
2011, 70-72).
14
Internal search is another method which ueses team knowladge and creativity to
generate new ideas. This method is often called brainstorming. In this method the
aim is to generate as many ideas as possible and normally two general guidelines are
defined; the first one is that all judgements must be deffered and all ideas are
welcome. Criticism is not good and should be inapropriate. This helps to generate
high quantity of ideas. The second one is that quantity brids quality, the more ideas,
the better it is (Kahn 2011, 73; Ulrich & Eppinger 2012, 127-128). Another valuable
source to generate new ideas are competitors. The idea is not to copy the products
of your competitor, but to analyze their products for gathering ideas for new
improved products. When using this method it is very important to analyse each
part of the competitors’ product and define what is wrong with it. It is also
important to analyse how well the product is doing and what are the materials
which have been used for the positioning of the product.
Another Souce of generating new ideas are technical universities, where you can
gather information regarding the latest development. Establishing contact with keye
research centres in different universities of your field may be very beneficial to
generate new ideas for the new products (Cooper 2001, 176).
Searching patents can also help the company to be informed for the latest
development and technologies available. Patents offer a rich content material which
can be used to generate new ideas . Many of this patents are protected for 20 years
and if considering using them, a ralty fee can be applied. However , patents are also
useful to see what products are protected and must be licenced or avoided (Ulrich &
Eppinger 2012, 125).
Not all the products proposed from the idea generation will go to the development
stage. For various reasons such as strategically fit, resource availability, insufficiently of
idea development, etc. the ideas are dropped down. For this reason Robert Cooper
proposes the idea of an idea bank where companies can put all unused ideas which
could be utilised for further reference or development. One product screeming
framework which is proposed by marketing experts is R-W-W (real, win, worth
doing). The base concept of R-W-W are three questions; firstly Is it real? Is there a
real need for a particular product from the customer? It is important to analyze if the
product
15
concept is clear and that will satisfy the customer need. Secondly, Can we win? It is
important to define if the product offer sustainable competitive advantage and that
the company has resources for the product success. And thirdly, is it worth doing? In
this question the managers should define if the idea for the new product fits to the
company growth strategy. The other question that should be answered is: Does the
new product offer sufficient profit potential? Before going to the development of
the new product the company should answer to the above questions (Kotler, et al.,
2013).
The picture below is an own concept developed by the author which summarizes
the literature review on the idea generation process before starting the NPD. The
sources in which the company should concentrate should be generated from four
main sources; The choice-of-customer, internal resources of the company, a deep
market research for the future trend and needs and analysis of the competitor´s
product.
VOC IDEA GATE
idea
Internal Sources idea
idea idea idea NPD
Market Research
idea
idea
Competitors
Figure 2. Idea genration process, own concept devloped based on theories from
(Edgett & Cooper, 2008); (Ulrich & Eppinger, 2012); (Kahn, 2011) and (Cooper,
2001).
2.2.2 Scoping
Scoping is the first stage of the new product development and launch process.. In this
stage firstly a preliminary market assessment is done. During the preliminary assessment a
quick scoping of the market prospects for the product is essential. Such assessment
includes; the potential of the product, market acceptance and the requirements for the
product. This process is not a detailed market research but a desk research which is
based only in the existing recourses. Secondly a preliminary technical assessment is con-
16
ducted The technical assessment is focused on the conceptual assessment and the
17
technical feasibility, manufacturing process assessment, intellectual properties and
technical solutions. A preliminary financial and business assessment is the final check
before the recommendations are given. In this phase only a surficial check of
business ra- tionale and financial prospects is done (Cooper 2001, 178-184). The
information gathered from the assesments above will provide the ground to justify
the elemination of some projects and acceptance of some others. As After
reviewing the results the gatekeepers, should give their decision on the the project.
When a project has been aproved the project team together with the gate keepers
should propose an action plan for the continuation of the product development. At
the same time the critereas for the next gate are decided by the project team and the
gatekeepers ( U.S Department of energy 2007; Cooper 2001, 184).
2.2.3 Building Business case
After the preliminary assessments the second stage is the last predevelopment
stage. In this stage the studies are more detailed. Firstly a study of user needs and wants
is conduced. Defining the customer value and benefit can determine a successful
product (Cooper 2001, 184-188). To support this idea even further in a video
webinar John Hogan, a value management advisor states that in order for a company
to success with a product the company need to bring in the customer value. The
customer value will
enable the company to understand the profit implications of the development
decision. The research is important but a product cannot success without the
customer value (Hogan 2013).
Competitive analysis is another important part of this stage. In order to be successful a

company should provide greater customer value and satisfaction than its
competitors do (Kotler et al. 2013, 76). A detailed look of the competition should be
conducted to determine who are the competitors, what are their strengths and
weakness, pricing and business model. Furthermore, market analysis determining the
market size, trends, segmentation and buyers behaviour, is combined with the two
studies mentioned above. This analysis in is a continuation of the preliminary
analysis which was done in the first stage, however this is a more in depth analysis
(Cooper 2001, 197).
18
Cooper also defines the detailed technical assessment as very important in this stage. Dur-
ing the assessment the company maps out the technical solutions and defines the
possible risks which the product may face. Manufacturability, suppliers and
intellectual properties are also analysed in this phase. After technical detailed
assessment a concept testing is very important before going to development. The
concept testing helps the company to prove the interest of the customer or end-user
and to add the final components to the concept. As conclusion, financial business
analysis and a plan of actions are the final reports which should be prepared before
going to the stage 4, which is development (Cooper 2001, 184-191).
2.2.4 Development
A product can exist as a concept passing all the business tests mentioned above.
How- ever the product concept needs to go to the next stage that is the development.
In this phase, the R&D team start developing the concept into a physical product
(Kotler et al. 2013). An important part of the development is to build a prototype
and start the testing with the customers as soon as possible. During this stage is vital
to seek customer feedback and input continuously. The customer feedback will
help to maintain the product development in the right direction, meeting all
customer requirements (Cooper 2001, 253). Cooper underlines that rapid
development is also very important during this stage. The product should reach the
market as fast as possible in order to gain competitive advantage and receive faster
revenue.
Moreover, Stefan Thomke and Donald Reinertsen (2012) from Harvard business re-
view have analysed several interesting myths on product development. Such myths
can influence the product development and launch process. Firstly, from the
economics point of view the authors are arguing that when purchasing components
for a project it should be done in small amounts and tested in each process without
creating batches. This process will help in improving cycle time, efficiency and
quality. Secondly, for organizing the resources the authors are recommending the
managers to not concentrate all resources in one project as this would not fasten
the product development process but create queue in other projects At the same
time it is also recommended to avoid starting the development too early as such
19
action will not increase the develop-
20
ment speed if the company is practically not ready for starting it (Thomke & Donald,
2012).
Once the product's first prototype has been developed and tested with the
customers, continuous improvement is necessary. The development team should
always give pri- ority to customer feedback and features that bring value to the
customer and not the product itself (Hogan, 2013). Moreover, Robert Cooper (2001)
states that a post launch plan is very important to be developed in parallel with the
product development. At this stage the company will need to define what will
occur after the product launch; what should be measured and how it will be done?
2.2.5 Testing and Validation
The purpose of this stage is to completely validate the product and prepare it for the
final launch. Testing is very important to validate the functionality and
documentation of the product. Avoiding this stage can very often result in a failed
product launch (Soni & Cohen 2000). There are several test methods that can be
implemented starting with the preference test, which measures the market acceptance.
During this test the finalized product is presented to the customer, facing its
preferences. The concept and development tests, which are done in previous stages
are applied only in description models, and cannot be fully reliable for the final
product launch. According to Cooper (2001), this type of testing would help in
minor improvement in the design of the product. The message received by the
customer preference test is a valuable source of information that can determine how
the product should be communicated to the customer. However it is
recommendable to not oversell the product but let the customer evaluate it.
Measuring how much customers like the product is more important than measuring
how good the salespeople are performing.
A Beta Test is another testing methodology, which is carried out for a longer period
of time and includes the customers and partners. Commonly, beta testing is the
second phase of the testing after the internal testing. The product is given or
loaned to the customer who will use it in its working environment. During this
test, the product is displayed in the real working environment. The display will
21
help in defining the
22
strengths and weakness of the product. Some deficiencies that the product may
have, sometimes are not properly shown in the lab testing (Cooper, 2001). All
features of the product, benefits and functionality are tested during the beta test. The
feedback received is very important and should be analysed carefully. The customer
responses will provide very valuable marketing material that can be used when
launching the new products. The underlined benefits and features received from the
customer feedback can be used in designing promotional and sales material (Vellandi,
2008). According to Soni & Cohen (2000) beta test is a very important part of the
Testing and Validation phase. Other aspects such as creation of legal document,
building up manufacturing plan, and training of sales services are undertaken during
this stage. (Soni & Cohen, 2000)
Market Testing is the final testing methodology that can be done before the product
is launched. The benefits and the cost will depend on the product strategy,
distribution channel and the uniqueness of the product. According to Vellandi
(2008), this testing is completely optional and can be utilized to test the launch
strategy and the marketing plan, in a limited market or group of customers. The
segment chosen to apply the testing is exposed to the complete launch plan and the
finalized product. The main goal of this type of testing is to verify the expected
sales and market acceptance before going to the gate five which gives the green/red
light for the launch of the finalized products. The second outcome of this type of
testing is that company can evaluate different launch plans by introducing them into
small segments in two different groups. In the industrial products such type of
testing is also called trial selling where each detail is in accuracy with the final
launch plan (Cooper 2001, 273-274; Vellandi 2008).
2.3 Launching product onto the market
The final stage of the product development and launch process is the introduction of
the product into the market. On this stage the role of marketing and sales is crucial.
For instance developing a marketing plan is very essential activity in this stage
(Cooper 2001, 278-279). For better understanding of the content of a marketing
plan, the appendix three present the content of marketing plan defined by Kotler et
al.(2013, 56)
23
A common definition of marketing is, putting the right product, in the right place, at
the right price, at the right time (Manktelow & Carlson, 2012). According to Mankte-
low & Carlson, if one of the previous stages is underestimated or not considered the
launch of the new product can be a failure.
2.3.1 Defining the Marketing Strategy
In a product launch process, the company's mission and objectives are defined by
the company since the beginning of product planning. The goal of Marketing is to
create value for the customers and ensure a profitable relationship with the
customers. To accomplish this, a marketing strategy is necessary. The marketing strategy
defines which is the group of the customers company will serve and how will it be
served to this customer group. The group of customers is defined through
segmentation and targeting and the answer on how the company will serve to its
customers comes via differentiation and positioning. (Kotler, et al. 2013, 51-53).
A market segment consists of a group of customers which have similar needs and
re- spond very similarly to the marketing activities. The marketing target involves the
analysing of each market and selecting one or more segments as potential
customers.
Furthermore, Kotler et al (2013) defines positioning as a place which companies occu-

py in the customers mind to distinguish their products from the competitors. In the
positioning of a company, the customer value differentiations and the advantages of
the products towards the customers are very important. If a company promises
better value than the competitor, it is a must to deliver those values. This process is
reached through the differentiation of the market offering to create greater customer
value (Kotler, et al. 2013, 52).
2.3.2 Defining the marketing mix
After defining the marketing strategy, the company should prepare the marketing mix.
The marketing mix is the most important set of marketing tools which companies can
use to influence the demand of the customers for its products. This set of tools is
collected into a group called the four P´s of marketing (Kotler, et al. 2013, 53).
The four P´s stand for product, place, price and promotion (Kotler & Keller 2009,
24
92).
25
Product
MARKETING Place
Promotion MIX
Price
Figure 3. The marketing mix (Kotler & Keller 2009, 92).
Product is the article which has been developed by a company or manufacturer

which desires to sell it to the customer. Product is the main competing item of the
company and it is considered to be the heart of marketing mix. If a product does not
fulfil the customer needs, or satisfaction, the price, promotion and place will not be
able to achieve the marketing target (Akrani, 2010).
Price of the product defines the value of the product to the customer. It is the
most important factor which influences the marketing. Price can be determined by
several factors such as; product manufacturing cost, market share, target
customers, type of the product etc. (van Vliet, 2013).
Promotion is all about defining the way how the company will communicate with
the customers. The core message is delivered to the customers via defined promotion
tools used in sales and marketing. Promotional activities help to differentiate the
product from competitors, and create a good relationship with the customers (van
Vliet 2013, Akrani, 2010).
Place is considered as distribution channel which is used to deliver the products to

customers. However the type of product, which a company offers, influence the
way how it should be distributed (Ehmke et al. 2013).
26
2.3.3 Marketing in B2B product launch
According to Dan Adams (2012) in 80% of B2B transactions today, the customer
finds the supplier. Adams divides marketing into two stages: early stage marketing
which starts with the discovery stage and late stage marketing which is implemented
when the company is promoting the product to the market.
Figure 4. Marketing stages in product launch process (Adams 2012, 3)
The idea of the early marketing stage is also mentioned by Robert G. Cooper, which
sees marketing planning as an activity that starts just after the idea generation and
continues through all new product process (Cooper, 2001). Furthermore Adams
proposes that the 4 Ps coming from customer should be developed into a B2B
model.
“Deliver the Right Product to the Right Market using the Right Message through the
Right Media” (Adams, 2012).
With the right product the company should satisfy the market needs. The right
product is delivered by fulfilling the previous stages. Understanding customer needs
and building the customer value into the product.
2.3.4 Media channels
Before launching a new product it is important to understand which media

preferences the target customers have. By using the right media, a company can use
more efficient-
27
ly the investment in promoting the new products into the market (Gray, 2012). On
the picture below, nine traditional media and nine online media are listed.
Figure 5 Eighteen different media used in B2B product launch (Adams, 2012)
The factors that influence the company’s decision should firstly be decided in a re-
search where customer's media preferences are listed. Then, company should
consider the available resources to implement each listed media. The industry in
which the company is operating and the position of the company in the industry, are
two other important factors which influence the decision on which media channel
should be used (Adams, 2012).
2.3.5 Sales promotion
Sales promotion is one of the most important success factors that affect the success
of a product launch. Sales promotion is made through motivation activities, which
en- courage the customers to purchase a product or a service. For better, effective
results, sales promotion activities are combined with personal selling which is
another important promotion tool is used in in a successful product launch.
(Kotler et al. 2013, 472)
28
According to Philip Kotler, Gary Armstrong, Lld. C Harris and Nigel Piercy
(2013), personal selling is made through the sales force which interacts with the
customers and prospects to build relationships and make sales. Sales professionals
on today's market are not the one that tries to push or take advantage of the
customer but the one that listen to their needs and help to finding the solutions
(Kotler et al. 2013, 472).
Moreover, the sales team need to be very prepared before confronting the customers
and presenting the new products. The confidence on the product can influence in the
reliability and image of the product in the eyes of the customer (Adams, 2012). The
table below lists some of the popular sales tools used by companies in supporting
their sales team.
Table 1. The most popular sales tools used in B2B product launch (Adams, 2012)
Company Presentation Company Profile

Product Background Sheet Product Data-Sheet
Product Specification Product Safety Data-Sheet
Product Brochure Presentation for Distributors
Product Presentation Technical Report/Study
Leave Behind Presentation Competitive Comparison
White Paper Customer Test
News Release Reprint Customer Testimonials
Case Study Frequently Asked Questions
Product Video Customer Evaluation Guide
Web-Based Education Selling Guide
Qualifier Form Proposal template
2.3.6 Post launch review
To measure the success or the failure of the product launch it is necessary to

conduct a post launch review. In a post launch review it is important to discuss
what went well during the launch of the product and what can be improved in the
next product launch. A typical post launch review should be held within two
29
months as the team
30
members have all the information still fresh in mind. The launch process is recom-
mended to take place in a friendly environment, with continuous constructive
feedback without blaming team members for things that have gone wrong (Edgett,
2013). How- ever, according to the company case study conducted by Scott Edgett
(2013) a product post launch review is held between three to six months after the
launch. In authors opinion the example shows that the time of post launch review
can be applied differently by companies according to their business type or
industry. The author supports the idea that the industry and the type of the product
which company is offering influences the timing in which a company can receive
reliable results from its product launch.
3 Research Approach and Methods
The approach method that is followed on this product-oriented thesis is Qualitative

research. Qualitative research is used when the expectations are unknown and the
researcher needs to define the problem or to develop an approach to the problem.
Com- paring to the quantitative research, the qualitative research goes deeper into
the issue and the researcher can gather more detailed information (Mora 2010;
Silverman 2005, 152).
The study is mainly focused on literature review and in-depth interviews. The
author has used different reliable sources such as books, magazines, online articles
and other internet sources to create a product launch model. Because the final
outcome of this thesis is a tangible product and not a research, the theoretical
review plays the most important role in this thesis. After reviewing the theory and
understanding the main stages of the product launch process, the author analyses the
product launch process that Company X has been applying during the last five
years. From the theoretical review only the relevant information that applies to
Company X’s business case is analysed and then compared with the existing
approach that Company X has been following so far.
31
3.1 Data collection process
As mentioned in the chapter above the main and most important data comes from
the theoretical review and internal analysis of the company’s existing material.
Firstly an interview with the management and R&D team is conduced. The
interview aim is to gather detailed information about the current product
development process in the company and the future vision on the product
development process. All the internal existing materials and researches which, are
related to product development and product launch, are reviewed. Secondly, the
literature review has been presented. The literature studies are focused in the entire
product launch process with a stage-gate model, which matches the company’s
product strategy and the current developing model. This process starts from the idea
generation and end up with the launch of the product in the market. By creating a
visual concept on the product launch process, it is easier to understand the best
practices which companies should use for maximizing their product launch
success.
Another important source is the authors working experience in the company. During
the last year from many customer and sales meetings, paper mill visits, and
exhibitions the author has collected valuable feedback relating the launch of
Company X’s new products. The feedback also includes two open interviews
prepared for Company X’s Sales Partner and Assembly Partner. The opinion of both
partners is very valuable as they both have a different relationship with Company X,
and approach the paper mills in a different way.
3.2 Data analysis
After reviewing the literature from different sources, the author analyses the current
situation at Company X . The existing materials such as; product development plan,
marketing plan, sales materials and other related document are analysed and compared
with the literature suggestions. The qualitative research conducted with the R&D and
Management team are used to better understand how the company is managing the
product launch process, and what is expected to being developed in the near future.
The interviews with the Sales Partners and Assembly Partners (customers) are
analysed in the final stage, which is the launch of the product into the market. The
32
launch as a
33
separate stage is very important and in addition includes external opinions. The
experience and constant interaction with the end-users makes the opinion of the
partners very valuable for the outcome of this report.
Other important data, which are essential for the results of this thesis, comes from
the authors working experience in the company. The feedback received during the
meetings with the customers, end-users and sales partners regarding Company X
product launches has been collected and used as “the voice of the customer” in
building Com- pany X’s product launch model. All collected data is firstly analysed
and then paired with the literature suggestions. As result, the final suggestions are
not based only on the literature review, but are also supported by the Partners and
end-users opinion, making the results valid and reliable.
The role of the commissioner is very important in this thesis. The writer shares
and evaluates the process together with the commissioner in order to get the best
result when building a strategy for new product launch.
4 Findings, discussions and recommendations
In this chapter the author presents and discusses the results which were found
during the analysis of the company’s current situation and the theory on the product
launch process, studied from different sources. The chapter is divided in two main
parts; Firstly analysing Company X ´s product launch process according the Stage-
Gate Pro- cess. Secondly analysing the launch process separately as an important
topic of this thesis.
4.1 Idea generation process
After analysing the results of the interview with the R&D and management team it
was discovered that 80% of ideas come from customers’ requests and 20 % by
analysing customer problems. From there, the company develops new products. For
instance, for two recently launched products; Zero energy receiver and SCS
Module” the product development was triggered by end-users' request. That is the
starting point when many other products are being developed. However, recently,
34
Company X has started
35
to create product groups that are based only on customer and market research. Ac-
cording to the interviews, the main method used at Company X is customer visit.
The management team believes that during the customers visit, the sales team can
define easier the customer needs. Company X’s management team sees customer
visit as the main inspiration source for the new products ideas.
On theoretical review of the new idea generation process, Robert Cooper (2001)
presented two routes of generating new ideas; “bottom up” and “top down”. At
Company X the first route is used continuously and is well implemented. The
second route is only partly applied. The literature strongly recommends that using
both of the routes will help companies to have more high quality ideas coming from
all possible sources. Company X has an idea generation system is mainly focused
on anthropological research. This VOC method is considered as very effective and
expensive. However, taking into consideration the industry in which the company is
involved, and how successful this method has been for Company X it would be
recommendable to continue using the same method even in the future. From the
interviews, it was also found that other VOC methods recommended from the
theoretical review such as lead user analysis and Product value analyses are
implemented at Company X when gathering ideas for new products. For instance,
Company X work closely with leading companies in the pulp and paper industry
which at the same time are the end-users of Company X products. The cooperation
brings new innovative products that fulfil the end-user need and make them easily
accepted by the customers.
Internal search was one of the important methods suggested from the theory. At
Company X this method has not been used very often. The brainstorming normally
comes after the customer visits, however using the general knowledge and ideas
which employees may have could be implemented regularly in the near future. During
the last few years, the company has been involved in projects of universities which
are mainly focused in sales and marketing area. Company X has not been
cooperating yet with technical universities, which would be a valuable contribution
for the idea generation and product development process.
36
From the interview was found that competitive products are analysed during the
process but only from the physical description. Company X ´s philosophy is that
all solutions offered should be initialized from customer’s needs.
“We start always from the table how to find a solution which will make the customer experience easi-
er.” says the CEO of Company X.
The company strategy is to find solutions for customer problems and not to improve
existing products. However, as mentioned above, existing products are reviewed
naturally when analysing customer needs. The company needs to know the
solutions that customers are using and in most of cases these solutions are
competitive products. The company studies the existing solutions and add benefits
and customer values. From the theoretical point of view, Company X is correctly
fulfilling competitor study, and there is no need for further improvements. The study
has been adopted to fit to the company strategy, but the concept is integrated and
works fine. Patent search is another method, which Company X has not been
implementing yet. However considering the company size and resources required in
implementing this method would be advisable to keep in hold and implement this
method in the future. This topic was mentioned and discussed in the meeting with
the management of Company X.
From the interviews it was also found out that evaluation of generated ideas at Com-
pany X, is done by answering the following question:
1- Is there a market for it?

2- Does it fit to the current scope and business strategy?
3- How easy is to do and what the risks are?
4- Is it competing with our customers?
Philip Kotler et al. (2013) presented R-W-W (is it real?, can we win?, is it worth
doing?) screening framework as a tool to evaluate the ideas. The approach that
Company X is following has very similar approach comparing to the suggested
method. However, the four questions are not officially documented into a
standardized evaluation process from where everyone involved in the company could
follow when evaluating the ideas.
37
4.2 Scoping and Building business case
From the theoretical review, it was found that there are three assessments which
should be done before preparing for the development phase; preliminary market
assessment, preliminary technical assessment and preliminary financial assessment. From the
interview answers and study of the current product development plan it was
discovered that the three initial assessments are partially made when evaluating the
ideas. From the market prospective, Company X’s R&D and management team have
the necessary knowledge to make the first preliminary assessment. However,
considering the size of the company and the limited group of customers, it would
be more time and cost effective that the preliminary studies are made at the same
time with the full analysis conducted before the development phase.
It is also important to mention that the technical preliminary assessment is not

necessary for all products which Company X will launch. The technical assessment
will depend on the product strategy. For instance, if Company X decides to
purchase and resell other companies products as a tactical decision, the technical
feasibility, manufacturing process and intellectual properties are not studied. For
products which Compa- ny X is designing and developing, technical assessment
shall be conducted.
Building the business case is the last pre-development stage and, according to
Robert Cooper (2001), it is a very important stage on the product launch process.
From the interviews, it was confirmed that at the idea generation stage, Company X
conducts a user needs and wants study. However such study is not documented and
analysed in depth on the further stages. The documentation of the studies should be
taken into consideration as it may help to give more effective evaluation on the
needs of the customer. The studies can also be re-used in development of similar
products, saving time and removing unnecessary costs that do not increase the
product value for which the customer is paying.
Company X 's management team emphasizes the importance of knowing the

competitor’s products in order to develop new products. First, the company
analyses the existing products that do not fulfil the customers need. The company
38
then assures that new
39
solutions add value for the customers and fulfil their need at 100%. Considering the
industry, company size and the type of products the company is offering, it is clear
that Company X is completing the competitor analysis in this stage according to the
practice advised by the theory. In the theoretical review also it is strongly advised
that an
in-depth market analysis should be conducted before the product goes to
development. Once again the author found out that such analysis are made
during the first preliminary stages but are not documented or studied in the
further stages.
As a conclusion the author suggests that the preliminary studies and deeper analysis
should be conducted at the same time. The stage gate model allows companies to
modify the stages according to their needs. Considering Company X 's limited
resources and the relatively small number of products launched each year, it is
recommended that stage two and three should be completed at the same time. There
will be no need for Company X to firstly make a preliminary research and later on
in depth analysis.
The entire study may be done at once, bringing all the necessary information needed
to proceed in the development stage.
4.3 Testing and Development
From the interview with the management the author found out that Company X has
already built an efficient product-testing network. There are several products testing
methods that the company is applying at the moment; Preference testing and Alpha
testing are the commonly used and changes on this two testing types are not recom-
mended. As presented in the theoretical chapter continuous testing with the
customers is very important. The network which Company X has built and the
technique of testing the products with paper mills (the end-users of the product), is
the best approach the company could take.
The issue on the testing practice in the company, discovered during the interview
was related to the market testing. Market testing is a new practice, which the
company has not applied directly when launching a new product. The new product
has been launched globally, using one strategy for all markets. From the theoretical
review it was strongly recommended that the product launch should be firstly tested
40
in a smaller scale before going global. A market test will help to test the marketing
strategy and how attractive is the product to the customers or end-users. By
evaluating the theory
41
suggestions and company’s long term ambition the author strongly recommends a
structured market testing for future product launches. This suggestion is more valid
when Company X will expand its focus in other markets such as India, China, Russia
and Japan. As different markets may have different requirements the launch strategy
may vary from one country to another. For such reason, small scale testing may be
essential for reducing the risk of a product launch fail.
The development phase already exists in the company and it is well structured and
presented in the official report (see “kehitysohje” for reference). Company X’s
project managers have developed such documented strategy, and surprisingly it is
built based on the Stage-Gate model. As the development process has been
structured according to company’s need by following the stage-gate model
guidelines, the author does not recommend changes in this phase. The existing
strategy is describing all the necessary actions required during the development of
the new product, including feasibility study, prototype design, in-house testing,
technical assessment etc.
However, the management team should consider the current finding, from the
theoretical review of the development phase. For instance, it was found, that it is
very important to pay attention to the economics of scale, importance of time and
resource management (See Chapter 3.2.4).
4.4 Launch
The launch of the new products is the final stage, which introduces the finalized
products to the market. According to Company X’s management, this is the stage
in which the company has more difficulties and needs to be further developed.
4.4.1 Marketing Strategy and Marketing Mix
As stated in the theoretical review the commercialization or Launch stage is

impacted directly by the marketing and sales activities. Dan Adams (2012) described
that in the B2B Marketing process the marketing activities do not start on the last
stage of the product launch process. Marketing is a process that starts from the
discovery stage and continues through the entire product launch process. To create
42
the marketing plan, the
43
marketing team should gather the customer data continuously. The data should be
collected from the idea generation to testing, development and different analysis
done during the process. For instance, when visiting paper mills to find new
solutions for the end-users, Company X employees can gather the customer insights
for the new products, which marketing team can utilize in developing the marketing
strategy and creating the customer value.
With the current applied strategy and niche market in which Company X is
operating, the customer segmentation in general is defined from the beginning of
the projects (when searching for new solutions). However the marketing strategy
can be different for different markets even for the same product. For instance,
paper mills in USA can be concerned mostly about the safety issues which products
can resolve, while paper mills in China are more interested in the price of the
product itself. Moreover, if company decides in the near future to add a new
product group for other customers, the customer targeting may change and will
depend on the product groups that the company is going to sell. As an example
the system suppliers, which are one of Company X’s target customers may not be
target customers if a new product group is sold to the paper mills directly or via the
Sales Partners. In this case the end-user is the same but the target customer is
different.
In positioning of the new products Company X has both advantages and disad-
vantages. From the interview with the Sales and Assembly partners, two
disadvantages were distinguished; the first disadvantage compared to the
competitive products or solutions, is the company short history into the market. Lack
of references may lead to the customer hesitation before making decision related to
new investments. However, this is only a short-term disadvantage, as Company X is
building its reliability on the market with a customer reference list which is
increasing every day. The second disadvantage is that in some markets the paper
mills are conservative when it comes to new investments. Once again the author
believes that in the near future, increasing customer testimonials will decrease Mill
Managers' uncertainty.
However, being a new and innovative company at the same time brings several ad-
vantages which will help the company in the positioning of the new products into the
44
market. For instance, all the products Company X has been offering so far have had
45
several benefits which are superior to other products. These benefits have helped
Company X’s products to build their position as an innovative solution on the roll
handling equipment market.
Furthermore, from the interview, for the development and launch of the new prod-
ucts, Company X’s partners have defined some of the most important features
which they and their customers (paper mills) consider as the most important. The
main listed benefits are;
 Simplicity of the products
 The savings which product can bring
 Price
 The design and quality
 Ease of use
 Safety
Moreover, from the interview with Company X’s partners, it is confirmed that com-
bined with product attributes, the company's high quality service and continuous after
sales services have the same importance on creating trust with the customers. Taking
into consideration the theory and interview recommendations, with superiority in the
attributes listed above and dedicated customer service, Company X can differentiate
itself from its competitors and have advantages in positioning its products. However,
based on the knowledge gained during the study of the theory on product development
and product launch, the author recommends further market analysis separately for each
new product.
The marketing mix, together with the marketing strategy should be further analysed
separately for each product in the process of creating the marketing plan. The
appendix three gives a general description of marketing plan main sections and
their content. Taking into consideration Company X’s business strategy and the
industry in which the company is operating, each section of marketing mix will vary
depending on the product and target customers. For instance the distribution
channels for existing products are both System Suppliers and Sales Partners. For
other completing products which are normally not supplied by System Suppliers
(OEM) the only possible distribution channels would be direct sales and via sales
46
Partners or Agents. In each case the decision
47
will depend on the company’s strategy. The same rule applies to pricing and promo-
tion. As supported on from several authors (MacCormack, A., Crandall, W., Hender-
son, P. & Toft (2012, 34-43), different products need different strategy.
4.4.2 Media channels for product launch
After reviewing the theory on common marketing activities that are recommended
for a successful B2B product launch, below the author analyses how each media
channel has been applied at Company X’s marketing activities. To conduct this
analysis, the existing marketing plan and marketing material were carefully
evaluated. The table below presents all media activities recommended by the
theoretical review and the open interviews with the Assembly and Sales Partner.
Some of the results of a study conducted by Haaga-Helia students in 2012 were
also taken into consideration when evaluating the current activities.
Table 2. Recommended media channels for Company X 's product launch
Media Channel Status Need to Importance

Trade Show Applied To maintain Very High
Sales Visit Applied To Intensify Very High
Print Articles Applied To maintain Very High
Press Kit Partly Applied To Improve Very High
Print Advertising Applied To maintain High
Road Show Not Applied To consider High
Direct Mail Applied To improve High
Customer Seminar Not Applied To consider Low
Trade Speech Partly Applied More activities Low
Press Release Applied To Intensify Very High

White Paper Not Applied To consider Very High
Online Presentation Not Applied To consider Very High
Search Marketing Partly Applied To improve Very High
48
Social Media Applied To maintain High
E-mail Marketing Applied To Improve High
Online Advertising Applied To maintain High
Webinar Not Applied To consider Low
From the analysis was found out that trade shows and sales visits are the most com-
mon used marking channels used by Company X. These two channels have also
been very successful in attracting customers, partners and end-user attention. Firstly
from the interviews with the existing partners and customers it is confirmed that
displaying Company X 's products in an exhibitions is the most effective way to
attract the end users attention. From both interviews was stated that exhibition is
the best place to display such innovative products. However the exhibition type and
location should be considered and analysed carefully before planning the marketing
budget. Furthermore, from another research conducted by Haaga-Helia in 2012
regarding the launch of the new products, trade fairs have ben raked as the most
preferred place where customers receive information about new products. From the
same questionnaire it was also found that Sales visits were preferred as follow up,
after the first visit in the exhibition.
With the different business strategy in which Company X does not sell the products
directly to the paper mills, but only via its international partners, direct sales visits are
limited. When launching new products face-to-face presentation is very important to
the customers and relying mostly in partner’s ability and resources can influence the
results of marketing. The author believes that direct sales visits should be intensified
and included more on the agenda of the company.
The research result from the existing marketing plan found out that print media has
been continuously active source of marketing. Both, Print Articles and Print advertis-
ing have been present on Company X’s marketing plan. From the feedback
collected for this study during the last year, print advertisement has played a very
important role on branding of Company X. Several prospect customers and end-
users have immedi- ately recognized the logo with the advertisement which has been
advertised on magazines. Such advertisements are not only important for creating
product awareness but also for strengthening Company X ´s brand internationally.
49
From the interview with
50
the existing partners it was also recommended that Company X should consider
finding pulp and paper magazines which will publish written articles free of
charge. Press kit was another traditional media that was recommended by the
theory. Many customers have recently requested to have information which they
can send to their supervi- sors. A brochure and data sheets are the main material
given so far. Better improvement such as DVD or memory stick, official
presentation, technical information, etc. should be considered by the company.
This conclusion comes out from the open interview with both customer and
partners but also from the feedback collected by potential customers and meeting
minutes. A white paper introducing the technical benefits, presenting customers
problems and solutions with concrete examples is also rated as highly important by
potential customers. The existing partners also agree that in meeting with potential
customers such document would always help. Such document can be distributed
with the press kit or online. By analysing the existing marketing material it is
confirmed that such document is not available yet. Considering the demand from
the potential customers and Sales Partners, the author would recommend the
creation of a white paper in each new product launch.
Direct mail has been already experimented last year in two markets. However it has
been difficult to measure how effective this technique has been. From the interview
answers this method is consider important in presenting the new products to the
customers. The author believes that a measurement system such as follow up calls
should be established for improving the evaluation system. On the other hand e-
mail marketing has been ranked as number one choice of end-users as a channel to
receive product details. This result has been retrieved from Haaga-Helia's 2012
report combined with feedback received directly by customers.
Another important part of Company X’s media channels is social media. The
analysis of the existing marketing plan shows that the company is paying attention
to continuously send the messages to the customers by using the social media such
as LinkedIn, Facebook or Google+. Social media has been considered as very
important online media in today’s business when launching the new products. The
potential customers also see social media as an important source of information.
51
4.4.3 Sales material for product launch
From the theoretical review was found out that Sales promotion combined with per-
sonal selling is one of the most important factors which influence the success of
product launch. Company X offers solutions that are completely new for the
market. Sever- al media activities were recommended in the chapter above, however
constant interaction with the customers is required. From the interviews with both
Sales Partners and Customers resulted that sales visits are very necessary for
introducing Company X’s products. This recommendation was justified with the
uniqueness and the purchasing behaviour in pulp and paper industry.
“Paper mills are very conservative when it comes on making new investments. The decision makers are
used to the traditional technology and are very difficult to approach via phone or e-mail. I personally
think that mill managers should be approached directly in sales visits to introduce Company X .
Showing the conveyor in exhibition is also a genius idea” Says Daniel X, one of the Assembly
Partners and at the same time customer of Company X.
Moreover, from the product launch study conducted by Haaga Helia in 2014, sales
visit were ranked as the second most preferred approach from paper mills after
seeing the new products on the exhibitions. In the theoretical review it was stated
that for a successful sales promotion, the sales steam needs to be well prepared
and confident about the product that will be introducing to the customer. To fully
prepare the sales team for a successful product launch, a set of the most important
sales tools for a B2B product launch were suggested. Referring the theory and
taking into consideration the industry in which Company X is operating, the author
created a list of the most relevant sales tools which Company X should prepare in
order to help its sales team for a successful product launch. A review of each tool by
checking the current status was conducted. The table below presents the results
found from this review.
52
Table 3. Recommended sales tools for Company X’s product launch
Sales Material Status Need improvement

Company Presentation Applied Yes
Product Brochure Applied No
Product Presentation Applied Yes
Leave Behind Presentation Not Applied N/A
Case Study Not Applied N/A
Product Video Applied No
Product Data-Sheet Applied Yes
Presentation for Assembly Partners Not Applied N/A
Presentation for Sales Partners Not Applied N/A
Technical Report/Study Not applied N/A
Competitive product comparison In process Yes
Customer Stories In process Yes
Frequently Asked Questions Not applied N/A
Selling Guide Not applied N/A
From the analysis of the current sales materials the author discovered that the
majority of the sales material recommended by the theory is not available for the
existing products. The only materials that are fully completed are the company
presentation that includes the technology and products and the videos of each
existing products. The other materials are either in creating process or not applied
at all. The author strongly believes that an immediate focus in creating such
materials for each existing product is necessary. For the new products which
Company X is planning for the future, the sales team must have available some of
the most basic documents such as product presentation, data-sheets, frequently
asked questions, technical report etc. As mentioned in the theoretical review, a
well-prepared sales team is essential for the success of a product launch.
From the feedback collected by the author during this study, the majority of
customers and end-users asked continuously for documents that prove the
superiority of Compa- ny X’s products towards the existing ones. Customer
reference and technical details
53
were also among top most requested documents. Moreover, from the interviews
with the assembly and sales partners the author confirms that customer reference
and clear details are very important for the customers. The partners’ opinion is very
important, as they are the connecting bridge between Company X and the end
users.
5 Main contributions and the learning outcomes
In this chapter the author describes me main contributions and learning outcomes of
the report. Firstly the author presents the finalized recommended product develop-
ment and launch process. Next, reliability and validity of the report is presented. The
chapter is finalized with authors discussion on the process and his own learning and
professional development.
5.1 The product development and launch process
In this report the author presented and discussed the product launch as an entire pro-
cess from the idea to the launch of the product into the market. During the study of
company’s current situation in the product launch process it was found that the
company's main difficulty when launching new products is the introduction of the
product into the market. The result of the analysis also shows that using a structured
method organized in phases practically has been made the previous product
developments.
However, as such method has not been documented or used constantly in all
projects the author created a general map, which at the same time is the suggested
product development and launch process for Company X . The final created
process is based on the Stage-Gate model, theoretical review of product
development and launch process and analysis of the company's business and
strategy.
It is important to note that in the recommended product development and launch

process has been adapted as closely as possible to the existing development
process that Company X has been following during the last five years. This has
been done for two reasons; Firstly, the activities which Company X has been
54
executing on the previous product launches are in the same line with the theoretical
suggestions for a successful product launch. Secondly, the product development
process which the company has been following so far has already been very
successful in delivering innovative prod-
55
ucts. Moreover, improvements and new suggestions which suit Company X’s strategy
by considering its resources are included in the new suggested process.
Figure seven, presented below, represents the recommended product launch process
for Company X . The recommended model is based on the Stage-Gate model and it
is an accumulation of the most important findings from the theoretical review,
company analysis, interviews with the partners and feedback received from the
customers. As mentioned previously Company X is a small company with limited
resources. Taking into consideration the needs and resources of the company but
also the theoretical recommendations from Robert Cooper (one of the founders of
Stage-Gate model) a shortened version of Stage-Gate model is used as base for
Company X’s product launch process. Cooper states that depending on the project
type or size, the stage gate model can be modified and adapted according to the
company's needs. In such shorten version where stages one and two are combined as
one stage (stage two) and stage there and four are combined in another stage (stage
three). This shorten version is differently called Stage-Gate Express (Cooper 2009,
47-57). The picture below may serve as a map which may guide Company X in
generating successful products and lower the risk of product failure.
As seen in the figure seven, the recommended products development and launch
process begins with the idea generation as the first phase. According the
theoretical suggestions, during this phase the company initializes the project by
creating a product strategy and identifying the current market trends. What is the
future of paper industry and what are the technological trends in the roll-handling
industry could be two topics which Company X may analyse during this phase. As
Robert Cooper suggests in the theoretical review, it is very important to have a
product strategy which defines the areas of the strategic focus. For Company X is
clear that the main focus is to innovate the roll handling process and the product
strategy at this point will just need to be shaped into concrete ideas. To define the
customer needs the author strongly supports the theory suggestions in using different
channels to brainstorm for possible solutions. Moreover on chapter 5.1 the author
analyses Company X 's current used methods in finding new solutions and suggests
other methods that the company should consider in the future.
56
The second stage of Company X 's product development and launch process
continues with scoping and building the business case. As supported by many
authors in the theoretical review, during this stage market, competitor, technical
and financial analysis should be conducted. On the original format of the Stage-Gate
model before the analysis, a “pre-assessment” was conducted during the scoping
phase and main analysis when building the business case. Once again, taking into
consideration Company X 's resources but also the project sizes of the company the
author sees it more effective to conduct only one assessment for each analysis.
More details of this stage at Company X’s product launch process have been
discussed in Chapter 5.2.
Testing and development are the two phases in which the author found least space
for suggestions and recommendations. On this who stages as the process has been
built efficiently and has been working very well in previous product launches.
Moreover, most the theoretical suggestion matches perfectly with the activities that
Company X has been using so far. There are three main testing methods suggested
by the theory. Company X is using efficiently two of these testing methods and one
partially. The R&D team has already structured the development process. Chapter
5.3 describes more in details Testing and Development situation at Company X.
However, taking into consideration the theory short description of development
main activities have been added.
The final stage of the product launch process is the commercialization or the launch
of the product into the market. As mentioned above, the commissioner underlined
the necessity of more clear suggestions for the introduction of the product into the
market, which in the model presented above is the “Launch” phase. In opposite to
the other stages which need only to be structured and improved, this is the stage in
which the company is uncertain and need further development. Moreover,
according the theory, the introduction of the finalized new products into the market
is a critical phase that can influence directly the success or the failure of the new
products. For this reason the author focused his attention to the launch as a separate
phase. The two most important findings in the launch process has been the media
channels and sales materials which Company X needs to take into consideration or
57
develop for helping the com-
58
pany in future successful product launches. Further more detailed description of
this “promotion tools” is presented in the chapters above, respectively chapter
5.4.1 and 5.4.2.
The marketing plan is an entire process which needs to be studied in a separate study.
Taking into consideration the author resources on this report such study was impossi-
ble to be done at the same time with the product launch process. However the
author presents in the appendix three, the general content which is necessary in a
marketing plan.
The suggested marketing plan content has been taken from the last edition of
“Princi- ples of Marketing” which has been written by the “guru of marketing”
Philip Kotler and other well-known authors such Gary Armstrong, Lld Harris and
Nigel Piercy. The presented content could be utilized as a general guideline which
would help Company X 's marketing team and management in creating the
marketing plan. However, some important aspects of marketing plan such as
Marketing strategy, Marketing mix and including promotion tools have been briefly
presented and discussed on the results of this thesis
59
Recommended Product Development & Launch Process for Company X
Idea Scoping &

Generation Building Developement
& Testing Launch
Business
Case
Crete product strategy Development of the products Finalize marketing plan

Market Analysis
Trends
Identify market trends Size
Segmentation Preleminary testing Define media channels
Customer Behavior (Paper mills & OEM´s)
Analyze existing products 1
Alpha Testing (Paper Mills) Prepare Sales material

Search for solutions Competitive Analysis 2
Names Market Testing Launch & Control
Strengths (Selected Market)
Business model
Visit paper mills pricing strategy
Search solutions internally
Collaborate with universities Technical Assesment
Search competitor products Technical development work
Search Patents* Possible Solutions Build first prototypes
Manufacturability Receive Initial customer feedback
Suppliers Develop the prototypes
Test the product In-house
Intellectual Properties
Develop the operations process
Assets the product technically
Financial Analysis Prepare for the launch plan
Investment Analysis Risk Analysis 0
Return on Investment
POST LAUNCH REVIEW
Figure 6. The recommended product development and launch process for Company X
5.2 Reliability and validity of the report
The number of the interviews was decided based on the resources and the allocated
time for writing this thesis. Furthermore, in all meetings with the potential partners
and end-users the author collected the feedback in order to achieve more accurate
results.
The answers and the feedback from the interviews in the majority of the cases
matched with the suggestions of the theory. This helped the author to be more
confident in the choice of the information presented in the final recommended
product development and launch process. Even the number of the people interview
during this research is relatively small; the gathered data was considerable. The
results of the internal research come via two sources; the management and R&D
team interview and the research of all existing material related to product launch
and development process. The Manage- ment and R&D team has all the necessary
knowledge to give accurate answers on the actual product development and launch
process. The existing materials are facts which are easy to analyse and evaluate if
they are applied according to the literature suggestions and customer expectations.
The results of external research came from two resources; sales and assembly
partners and the continuous feedback collected from the author during on a period
of one year. The feedback collected from the author is focused mainly in potential
customers, partners and end-users. In both cases the final analysis and suggestions
presented by the author contains reliable information which comes directly from the
“voice of the customer” and not only from the literature review.
The author is certain that the same result can be duplicated and used from other
small and medium companies as well. As mentioned in the research methods, the
base of the final result was the theoretical review and interview answers. Other small-
medium size companies which have a B2B focus may apply the theoretical part and
conduct an internal and external analysis. The conclusion will be more or less a
similar product development and launch process. Furthermore, the answers and all
the information gathered from both internal analysis and external research were
analysis with high objectiv- ism. To assure valid results the author did chose different
research tools such as; literature, open and semi-structured interviews, video
47
lectures, data collection from custom-
48
er feedback etc. The utilization of these methods helped me to provide valid
answers to my research questions. The results are valid as they answer all the three
research questions; Firstly the author presented the introduction of the development
and launch process. At the same time the author defined the main steps of product
development and launch process. Secondly, the author suggested the Stage-Gate
process as solution which can increase the probability of successful product
launches. Thirdly, the author developed a process which would help the
commissioner to structure its product development and launch process. In
addition, the author defined the need of heavy improvement in launching of the
product onto the market and took further actions by defining the missing gaps and
offer concrete solutions to fill these gaps.
5.3 Further discussions
The framework presented on this thesis is based on an internationally recognized

model which is applied in both business-to-business and business to consumer
markets.
This model was chosen for the fact that it is a process which has been proven to be
successful in many different industries, including pulp and paper industry.
The finalized recommended process is unique for the fact that it can be modified
and changed according to the product, customers or strategy of the company.
Another uniqueness of this framework is that the empirical research is not done by
only focus- ing on the research of the stage gate model. The author studied
separately each stage of the processes, and combined different approaches, methods
and suggestions related to the topic. The stage gate model has served only as a
guide to help the author to study the important stages in a product development and
launch process, from the idea generation to commercialization of the product into
the market.
It is important to note that the delivered process is only a general framework

created from the author based on the theoretical suggestions combined with
external and internal research. One of the main founders of the Stage-Gate
model, Robert Cooper (2001) states clearly that designing and implementing this
49
process by only one person in the company can lead to failure of the project.
Everyone in the company should be involved in designing and implementing the
process in order to ensure the success of
50
the projects. The process recommended by the author is a base structure for the final
product development and launch process and not a ready to implement process. As
mentioned above it is suggested that everyone in the company works together to re-
view and further develop each stage of the process before implementing it. The infor-
mation and data analysis provided in this report has been analysed and studied in
accordance with the company's current strategy and is supported by data gathered
from important and reliable sources.
The commercialization or differently called the launch of the product into the
market, had a very important focus in this thesis. By the commissioner request the
author studied how to increase the customer attention when launching the new
products. During the empirical research the author found very valuable information
for a successful business-to-business product launch. A qualitative research was
conducted to understand what customers want and if the current product launches
of Company X have fulfilled the customers’ expectation. As the company does not
sell its products directly to the paper mills but operates via its partners (at the same
time customers), two interviews with the existing partners were conducted. The
long experience of the partners in the industry and the continuous contact with the
end users makes their opinion very important for Company X.
From the empirical studies there are many theories and suggestions aiming to
describe a successful product launch process. However the author believes that there
is not a good or a bad process or method which will fit to all companies. The
suggested framework is a combination of different theories and suggestions
combined with customer research, company business case and the authors own
conception of the product launch process. The author hopes that the recommended
process and suggestion will help the company to have a clear understanding of
product launch process in a B2B market and based on the recommended model,
finalize a successful product launch.
5.4 Own professional development and learning
Writing this thesis has been a challenging but at the same time, a great learning
process. The topic, which was chosen by the commissioner, was a very wide topic
which created difficulties when studying the theoretical part and trying to include
51
all the important
52
aspects in one report. However, from the learning prospective this was the best chal-
lenge, as the author has learnt much more about product development and product
launching process. Moreover, the author had the opportunity to study deeper the
company's strategy, operations and activity. In addition to the valuable learnings, this
thesis helped the author to improve himself professionally.
The results of this thesis are not important only for the commissioner but also for
the author being part of company's marketing team. With the knowledge gained
during this study the author will be able to help the team implementing the new
strategy, especially the commercialization of the new products into the market.
Another valuable learning was gained from the data collected from customers and
partners. Collecting all the information about the customer vision and needs will
help the author further with the professional career in Sales and Marketing. After
writing this report, the author has a better understanding on how important the voice
of the customer is when developing, launching and selling new products. The
author learned a very important lesson; when visiting the potential customers the
focus of his work is not only in making sales of product but also in trying to
understand the customer needs and wants, and help the R&D team to develop new
successful products.
Time management has been the biggest challenge of this thesis writing process.
Work- ing each day made it very difficult to find a lot time for studying the empirical
part and writing it to a report. However, writing the thesis for a long time has helped
the author to give better results to the company since during this time the author has
had the opportunity to collect more data and feedback from existing and potential
customers.
This helped in archiving more valid and reliable results. The author is happy with all
what he has been learning during this process and is motivated to continue studying
more in depth each separate phase of the product launch process, and help the com-
pany to successfully implement the recommended product development and launch
process.
53
Bibliography
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http://kalyan- city.blogspot.com/2010/05/marketing-marketing-mix-4-ps-
of.html Accessed 11 Nov 2013.
Arthur D.Little 2005. Innovation Excellence- How companies use innovation to

improve profitability and grouth., Boston: (corporate study).
Cooper, R. April 2009. How Companies are reinventing their idea-to-launch method-
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Cooper, R. 2013. The Stage-Gate Idea-to-Launch Process - Update, Whats new

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Cooper, R. G. 2001. Wining at new products. Persus Publishing. Cambridge,

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58
Attachments
Attachment 1. Questionnaire for Management and R&D team (interview in
form of an open conversation)
Idea Generation for new product launch:
1- Where do the new product ideas come from?

2- Where should they be coming from?
3- How do you evaluate and implement the new ideas which you received?
4- Do you have an Idea generation system which you use regularly?
Studies
1- Does Company X makes user needs and wants study?

2- Do you study your competitors and their products in details?
3- Do you go to customer through face to face meetings or do you create
concept solutions internally, and then make market research to test the
product concept?
4- Are you willing to try a user need and want study in the next new
product project?
Testing
1- Could you briefly describe the testing process at Company X ?

2- What are the types of testing you are currently applying before and during
the launch of the new products?
3- Are you using concept testing effectively when developing new products?
4- Do you take the necessary time for concept testing before going to
development?
Development
1- Do you follow any development model?

2- Do you involve the customers during the development phase? ( model )
3- How testing is done during the product development?
Launch process
What are the obstacles you are facing during the launch process?
Note: the launch process will be mainly analysed by reviewing the existing materials, customer
feedback and Partners interviews,
59
Attachment 2. Content of the interview with Sales and Assembly partners
(interview in form of an open conversation)
1. How effective do you see the promotion of Company X existing

products? What could be done differently?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Company X

products compared to the existing products?
3. What are the difficulties you are facing when introducing Company X
to your customers?
4. Is Company X offering all the necessary supporting material, necessary

to promote the products to your customers? What is good and what
could be improved in this aspect?
5. In your opinion, keeping in mind Company X products, what is the

best way to attract the customer attention when launching new
products?
6. From your experience in pulp and paper industry, especially in roll

handling process could you list some of the most important aspects
which mills appreciate when investing in new products?
7. How would you evaluate Company X s current distribution

channels? How about the pricing?
Note: This has been a last minute open conversation interview during an exhibition and questions are
not arranged logically. However the open conversation gave me the opportunity to receive very important
feedback and valuable information on Company X Product Launch.
60
Attachment 3. Content of a marketing plan (Kotler, et al. 2013, 56)
61

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Developing a new product development & launch process

This study is a product-oriented thesis which is focused in developing a new product

NPD New product development

R&D Research and development

NPL New product launch

ROI Return on investment

VOC Voice of customer

B2B Business to business

B2C Business to consumer

As the new product development is a continuous process and Company X is

1.1 Thesis objectives and research questions

1.2 Scope and Limitation and Relevance of the study

Company X is a new company developing new innovative products, which are

Taking into consideration the nature of Company X products, the study is

Company Presentation (Due sensitive information is not displayed in online version)

Approach and Methods

Findings and discussions

Product Launch Process

References and Appendix

2.1 Product development and launch Process

2.2 The Stage Gate™ Model

Anthropological research has been used by many companies to identify new

VOC IDEA GATE

2.2.3 Building Business case

Competitive analysis is another important part of this stage. In order to be successful a

2.2.5 Testing and Validation

2.3 Launching product onto the market

2.3.1 Defining the Marketing Strategy

Furthermore, Kotler et al (2013) defines positioning as a place which companies occu-

2.3.2 Defining the marketing mix

Figure 3. The marketing mix (Kotler & Keller 2009, 92).

Product is the article which has been developed by a company or manufacturer

Place is considered as distribution channel which is used to deliver the products to

Figure 4. Marketing stages in product launch process (Adams 2012, 3)

2.3.4 Media channels

Before launching a new product it is important to understand which media

2.3.5 Sales promotion

Company Presentation Company Profile

2.3.6 Post launch review

To measure the success or the failure of the product launch it is necessary to

3 Research Approach and Methods

The approach method that is followed on this product-oriented thesis is Qualitative

3.2 Data analysis

4 Findings, discussions and recommendations

4.1 Idea generation process

1- Is there a market for it?

It is also important to mention that the technical preliminary assessment is not

Company X 's management team emphasizes the importance of knowing the

4.3 Testing and Development

4.4.1 Marketing Strategy and Marketing Mix

As stated in the theoretical review the commercialization or Launch stage is

4.4.2 Media channels for product launch

Table 2. Recommended media channels for Company X 's product launch

Media Channel Status Need to Importance

Press Release Applied To Intensify Very High

Sales Material Status Need improvement

5 Main contributions and the learning outcomes

5.1 The product development and launch process