Case studies

Case 1 – Re-vamping a product range

Problem Statement
A major branded goods company with a successful line of household products needed to substantially rejuvenate the product range. The existing products had not been updated for many years and were now becoming unfashionable because consumers and regulators considered these products as environmentally unfriendly. This was a huge challenge because the company was not sure how the market and the technology for these products would evolve over time.

Objective
The objective was to create a product funnel that would enable a steady stream of innovative products to reach the market when they would be economically viable. This required an in-depth understanding of the forces that would shape the market and the speed of adoption of emerging technology combined with in-depth consumer insight into the way in which these products were being used in household tasks.

Results
The product design activities resulted in twelve product concepts that were taken forward for market exploration. Deep consumer insight was obtained on five of the products. Four products were launched into the market. In addition, senior management could now envisage the future direction of the market and possessed a set of product options combined with a monitoring dashboard that would allow them to trigger the release of economically viable products.

Case 2 – Exploiting a new technology acquisition

Problem Statement
A global consumer goods company was developing new generation products with more attractive consumer features. Following a review of existing technology they purchased a patent from a university inventor. Developing commercially viable products from this patent required the R&D department to develop a series of new product concepts.

Objective
The challenge was two-fold; firstly, to determine how to produce new products that optimally exploited this new technology and secondly, to inspire the internal scientists to accept and integrate this new technology into the product development roadmap.

Results
Working together with e3 associates, more than 300 concepts were generated. Several concepts were combined to create five product families that went forward into laboratory activities for potential commercialization. The company scientists clearly saw the potential of new technology and were excited to start the development process.

Case 3 – Enhancing a product platform

Problem Statement
A high-tech company selling digital cameras had developed a remote lens but needed to develop methods to attach this lens outdoors to make it commercially viable i.e. to fences, windows etc.

Objective
The objective was to design a product attachment concept that could successfully suspend the periphery from a variety of outdoor locations. The attachment needed to be inexpensive, functional, and attractive.

Results
Thirty product concepts were developed and three of these were built into functioning prototype. The resulting designs met the product specifications and were accepted enthusiastically into the research and development roadmap.