According to Protolabs’ Real Talk podcasts, which feature key people from industry, if manufacturers are to succeed in 2025 there are three key elements for product development that they must improve.
They need to accelerate the process, move towards co-innovation with their customers, supply chain and other partners, and plan for scalability from the beginning.
While companies understand the need for rapid product development, with recent research from Protolabs revealing that 53% of companies are developing products faster than ever before and 82% are striving to speed up this process, on its own this is not enough according to those involved in the podcasts.
In the latest episode from the series, the panel explores how manufacturers can learn from social media and software developers to make their products go viral to capture market share.
According to Jenn Gbur Head of Product Marketing at Road, an EV Scale up business “products go viral when a company delivers the right story to the right audience at the right time.” But he cautions “your product needs to deliver beyond that initial emotional gratification … Otherwise you’re just going to be a passing fad that doesn’t really deliver sustainable results.”
Reinforcing this point Dean Baker, EMEA Sales Director, from Protolabs states that “getting to market first is critical to help create this excitement, but for manufacturers it must also fulfil a real customer need.”
Talking about co-innovation Namrata Sarmah, CEO of Women in Product UK says that “testing an idea early on is very powerful and very sadly, a lot of companies still don’t do it. They assume quite a lot. I think assumption can really kill products in the long run.
“Co-innovation has become very popular. It means that rather than a company innovating themselves internally, they have an idea and they put it out there into the wild with their consumers.”
Rubende De Francisco, CEO of Overa health, a Medtech company, agrees saying: “It’s so important that your innovation cannot be done within four walls and a whiteboard. It’s continuous improvement on how it gets used. … So continuous iteration is key.”
The final part in the jigsaw according to Protolabs is planning for scalability. Says Baker from the company, “You need to go beyond the design team and involve people with production experience. Someone needs to ask the right questions from day one otherwise there is a real danger that you design an excellent product that you cannot produce at the right price.”
Giving his thoughts on the Real Talk series Baker says “our podcasts reveal that manufacturers need to work more closely with everyone involved with their product, not only customers but also those outside of their immediate team such as their supply chain.
“And in the race to be first to market, you must still validate and test your idea with the customer. Fortunately, technology such as AI, digital twinning and rapid prototyping exists to help you speed up each phase of product development. And if you don’t have this technology inhouse, then outsource it. Once the production lines are running you are too late to redesign or tweak your idea.”
You can listen to the Real Talk podcast series on Protolabs’ website here.
