The Challenge:
A UK food industry leader’s maintenance tracking software had begun to lose its edge after a successful 6-year run. Competitors entered the market with better offerings, and the company learned it could no longer rely on its technology partner to make enhancements to its own product portfolio.

The client made the decision to develop its own software, marking a revolutionary departure from its traditional business model. Despite best intentions, the project struggled early on. Significant resources were consumed, but little tangible progress was made towards commercializing a new product.

The Approach:
Working with senior managers, Market Edge applied high-level organizational change and assessment techniques. Market Edge helped the company’s New Product teams identify "over-innovation" as the roadblock to success. The creative ideas the team generated were innovative, but these ideas were neither acted on nor supported by other departments within the organization.

This discovery was shared across the company. Previously, unbridled creativity and idea generation were key cultural values. The teams now realized that adaptive, structured problem solving was equally important to success. As a result the project planning process was significantly modified:

• Support was provided for structured thinkers,
• Operational feasibility received greater attention
• Defined criteria were established for implementing new ideas.

The Outcome:
Improvements made at each stage of the new product pipeline (ideation, design, prototyping, and delivery) enabled the client to regain its market position. Variations in product design and costly late-in-the-project changes were significantly reduced, and time-to-market rates improved appreciably. With Market Edge’s assistance, the client was able to optimize its innovation processes and culture to regain its market leadership position.