Rock Ledge Resources > John Hunter > Representative Project - Strategic Product Development – Concept to Production Design

Strategic Product Development – Concept to Production Design

Business Challenge

The beverage solutions business unit of an international engineering company identified the need to develop a new frozen beverage dispense solution, in order to deliver a solution to the market place that had improved reliability, at a competitive cost over other dispensers in the market.

Solution

A market analysis was carried out to determine the frozen beverage dispensers offered in the market. A Pareto analysis was carried out to determine the performance of current beverage dispensers offered by the business. From these analyses it was determined which characteristics should be included in a new frozen beverage dispenser, in order to deliver improved reliability, lower cost and enhanced performance compared to competitive machines. A Rock Ledge Resources Principal led the team developing a novel frozen beverage solution, designed for reliability and simplicity, improving the company’s competitive position in the market. The targeted development time from concept to production design was nine months.

Results

The project delivered a novel frozen beverage dispenser, using patented technology, ready for customer trials in nine months. Key elements of the design focused on improving reliability and avoiding non-robust technologies. The solution was designed to deliver a 30% reduction in the manufacturing cost, with a production design that could be manufactured on or off shore. The novel dispenser technology delivered the additional benefit of being able to use lite/diet syrups, a capability not offered by other solutions in the market.

Relationships: John Hunter | Product Development | Manufacturing