Milan - October 23, 2001 -- With increasing pressure to develop new products faster, a majority of European executives say that they are using cutting edge technology and new processes that will support greater collaboration among product designers and other supply chain participants, according to Accenture's third annual Pan-European survey released today.
Integrating the contributions from suppliers, out-sourced partners, joint-ventures and geographically dispersed company units through a set of internet-enabled capabilities is a powerful new competitive capability being applied by leading European companies.
Product design process determines a significant percentage of total delivered cost of the new product. And, most of these costs reside within elements of the supply chain. Through the use of collaborative, Internet-based tools, designers and other critical participants in the supply chain are able to work together more closely, and with much greater speed and efficiency during new product development.
"The capacity to innovate and launch high quality new products is key for any company in today¹s challenging economic environment. New technologies in this area are being used but have yet to be fully leveraged. Companies need to look closely at how these technologies combined with new processes will help them in planning projects and investments to improve their capacity in the product development process," said Global Managing Partner Luis Vassal'lo.
Accenture interviewed senior executives at 100 leading firms from seven European countries in the Automotive, High Tech/Aerospace, Manufacturing and Engineering industries.
Survey data showed that in the short term, the use of online product management capabilities is set to grow faster than other online capabilities for product development. A mere 14 percent of businesses use web-based Collaborative Document Management (CDM), though 67 percent say they intend implementing it within the next 3 years. CDM is a capability that uses innovative processes, emerging technologies and new competencies to enable fast and efficient product development across dispersed locations, systems and organizations.
Communication will be the most widespread capability in the very near future: more than 70 percent of respondents expect application sharing of text documents and graphs/design to be fully implemented in their organizations within the next 3 years.
There will also be an increase in the use of new and improved intra and extra company communication channels over the next three years. According to the survey, application sharing of text and documents and project planning and review will increase by 30 percent. Also, application sharing of graphs/drawings/digital models will increase by 20 percent as well as videoconferencing. Web conferencing should increase by 26 percent by 2004.
Based on the findings, Accenture identified three segments among the companies interviewed. The Innovators (14 percent of total) consider Collaborative Product Design (CPD) a priority for their business. The Fast Followers (53 percent) have launched a CPD initiative along with other Internet initiatives. Finally, the Cautious Companies (33 percent) have not launched a CPD initiative yet.
"Reducing costs, curbing Time-to-Market and integrating suppliers and customer in the process of developing new products are the major business concerns today. CPD capabilities can do a lot to address these issues. But it is not simply a matter of technology; the optimal solution requires real change, impacting organization and competencies and often requires shaping new business relationships", added Vassal'lo.
About the Survey
Accenture surveyed 100 leading European company executives from different industries and in seven European markets. The survey was conducted to better understand the current state of Product Development strategies with leading businesses across Europe.
About Accenture
Accenture is the world's leading provider of management and technology consulting services and solutions, with more than 75,000 people in 46 countries delivering a wide range of specialised capabilities and solutions to clients across all industries. Accenture operates globally with one common brand and business model designed to enable the company to serve its clients on a consistent basis around the world. Under its strategy, Accenture is building a network of businesses to meet the full range of any organisation's needs - consulting, technology, outsourcing, alliances and venture capital.
