Subject category:
Production and Operations Management
Published by:
INSEAD
Length: 11 pages
Data source: Field research
Abstract
This is the first of a two-case series (699-007-1 and 699-008-1). Acer, one of the top five notebook computer manufacturers in the world, operates in an extremely fast moving market with product life cycles of 6 months. The company faced a crisis because of an unfavourable product mix and time-to-market delays costing them significant revenues. The A case describes the problem causes and the B case outlines the multi-dimensional solution that the company took. The case allows the student as R&D manager to: (1) discuss the structure of a fast new product development process; (2) recognise bottlenecks and sources of problems, such as specification stability, development capacity, design and testing quality, and manufacturing rampup; and (3) work through the sources of improvement. In particular, the case makes clear that a solution must attack several dimensions at once, not only one root-cause at a time.
About
Abstract
This is the first of a two-case series (699-007-1 and 699-008-1). Acer, one of the top five notebook computer manufacturers in the world, operates in an extremely fast moving market with product life cycles of 6 months. The company faced a crisis because of an unfavourable product mix and time-to-market delays costing them significant revenues. The A case describes the problem causes and the B case outlines the multi-dimensional solution that the company took. The case allows the student as R&D manager to: (1) discuss the structure of a fast new product development process; (2) recognise bottlenecks and sources of problems, such as specification stability, development capacity, design and testing quality, and manufacturing rampup; and (3) work through the sources of improvement. In particular, the case makes clear that a solution must attack several dimensions at once, not only one root-cause at a time.