Abstract
Customer perceptions of products continuously
change over time. Marketing specialists are generally tasked
with the responsibility of rebranding and product changes.
However this is normally technology driven, with inputs from
engineering designers and manufacturers providing the designs
and feasibilities for either modifying existing designs or
developing new ones. An opportunity arose at a timber
processing company where a variety of products such as
domestic and commercial furniture are manufactured. This
paper reports on the development of a framework for
formulating new products using the wide array of hard and
soft wood that the company processes. A work study was
conducted, focusing on the company’s production capacity,
sales history of their twenty-three products, market trends and
interviews with current customers. The research set out to
develop innovative and new product platforms (product
families) that are unique and represent the company while
satisfying customer needs and requirements. A stage-gate
model of the New Product Development (NPD) framework was
formulated. Coupled with Quality Function Deployment
(QFD) and weighted objectives, the use of the stage-gate model
was demonstrated in the development of a four wheeler coffee
table into a prototype. Implementation of the stage-gate model
and further research into the four-wheeler coffee table were
recommended as well as other areas related to NPD.