New Product Development And Forecasting Challenges

nEw PRoDUCT DEvELoPmEnT AnD FoRECASTinG CHALLEnGES by Robin Simon ductions are good for companies in many ways. Companies that have more successful new product introductions or more sales coming from new products tend to exhibit the following characteristics: • They have positive shortterm and longterm impact on revenue, profit, and stock market value. • The impact of new products on their stock market value increases over time. • They have less need to focus on promotional incentives, thereby increasing profit margins. ery few, if any, companies can continue to survive without intro ducing new products or services (hereafter referred to as “new products”), as they are the engine of organic sales and profit growth. The alternative way to grow a business is through acquisition, which is not always an option due to company size, philosophy, financial resources, or a combination of factors. Regardless of whether a company is growing organically or through acquisition, increased sales come from some combination of more products and/ or more customers. In this article we will discuss the Product Development strategy, one of four basic ways (product development, market ...