Meeting Critical New Product Launch Dates

Bringing a new product to market is a storied journey with many roadblocks along the path from ideation to product launch. As the launch date approaches, more and more resources are invested. Meeting critical launch dates becomes increasingly important in achieving revenue and return on investment objectives.

There are many important factors to consider when planning for critical launch dates. One of those factors includes lead times. Lead times are especially significant when working within complex distribution channels and supply chains.

Lead times are a confusing and difficult issue because the definition of lead time tends to vary from supplier to supplier. The variation in definition stems from whether or not process times and transit times are included within the definition. Within the context of supply chain management, lead time is measured from the point of order initiation to the receipt of the product. However, some suppliers may only include process time.

When planning to achieve critical launch dates it is important to understand important components within lead times including, process time, transit time, receipt time and set up time.

• Process time is referred to the total time it takes to complete an order.
• Transit time is the amount of time a product spends traveling from supplier to customer.
• Receipt time is the amount of time it takes to inspect and enter the product into inventory.
• Set up time is the amount of time needed to prepare the product for the next process.

Incorporating these elements into the planning process helps us to ask better questions regarding timing, and deepens our understanding of how to enhance planning strategies for product launches.

Lead times play a critical role in meeting launch dates. Understanding the intricacies and interdependencies of each component encompassed within lead times is helpful in bringing products to market in a timely fashion, and meeting ROI objectives.