At Daman Products, we are constantly looking for opportunities to expand our catalog of standard in-stock manifold products so we can better meet our customers' needs. New product ideas are developed by our internal Creative Team, which includes representatives of every part of our business, including functions that are traditionally excluded from R&D, such as maintenance and human resources.
Mark Suster, a successful entrepreneur who made the jump into venture capital after selling his second company to Salesforce.com, notes that in his experience, product development projects run more smoothly when stakeholders from all areas of the business are involved. This has also been true in our experience, and although Suster's focus is on software development, the points he makes are readily applicable to the design and manufacturing of hydraulic manifolds. Operations teams are often able to foresee challenges that may arise, and need to be involved in planning to ensure that timelines are realistic. At the same time, finance and marketing professionals can make it clear to the rest of the team what the consequences of missing a deadline will be, ensuring that both the costs and benefits of any expansion of the project's scope are considered.
The Daman Creative Team embodies our commitment to taking a collaborative approach to product development. We believe that the breadth of our Creative Team makes it an extraordinary asset because having input from all key stakeholders ensures that all relevant points of view are taken into account from the outset when new products are being developed. This helps us identify and focus on the most important goals for the product, so we can effectively manage the scope of the project, complete it in a timely manner and keep the new ideas flowing. Having input from all sides also makes it easier to see when an idea is impractical, allowing us to limit sunk costs by pulling the plug on development at an early stage and moving on to other projects.
Moving new products from concept to commercialization
We apply a rigorous stage-gate process when developing new products. It starts with a wide-ranging analysis of customer needs and an effort to generate creative solutions to the most pressing problems. For every new product idea, we delineate who its primary purchaser will be, how it will be used and what benefits will be provided.
We thoroughly evaluate the project's feasibility from technical and economical perspectives before moving on to prototype development. Pending the successful completion of product‐performance and customer‐acceptance tests, we begin to scale up production and perform additional quality tests to identify any issues that may not have been obvious in the prototype stage.
Once we have confirmed that there is sufficient demand and the product's performance is up to par, we launch it into select test markets and initiate programs aimed at educating target buyers. As we move into the commercialization stage, we reach out to the customer base through awareness building and trial stimulation programs. After the product has been launched, we monitor its performance and evaluate potential improvements to ensure that we are providing the best possible solution for end users.
Do you have fluid power needs that are not currently being met? We'd love the opportunity to learn about your needs and work together to develop innovative new products or services. Contact us today by calling 800-959-7841 or sending an email to info@daman.com to learn more about our Creative Team and new product development process.