PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Easing Market Access
for
New Products and Innovations
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There’s a reason you don’t hear executives brag about having “third-mover advantage.” Being first to market can be a great competitive asset. It helps a company expand its customer base or create a new one, especially as consumers become more demanding and discriminating in their product choices. It can also burnish a company’s reputation as an innovator. The companies thriving in today’s marketplace are those that find a way to introduce a new product or technology that delivers on both customer needs and meets the compliance demands of the market.
Tackling compliance issues proactively is key to success. Approaching this in a smart and thoughtful manner during product design can save costs, help companies meet aggressive launch dates and avoid regulatory or market acceptance problems. Perhaps just as important, successful companies know that meeting safety or regulatory requirements when putting new innovations into the marketplace protects brands, reduces the potential for recalls and increases customer goodwill. With proper planning and guidance, companies can enjoy the benefits of being first to market with a new, safety-certified technology that customers can adopt with confidence.
Determining the right approach
The road to market access varies depending on the nature of a new product. Taking safety standards and requirements into account during design means companies can assess whether existing requirements apply to a new product. It may simply be a matter of applying existing requirements, testing a product to those requirements and gaining the proper certification and market credentials. Visionary companies realize that knowing the requirements may not be enough without a keen understanding of whether or how to apply existing standards. Companies must understand how new product features relate to existing standards and ensure that they utilize the appropriate requirements to mitigate potential safety hazards.
Although existing requirements may apply to some new products, companies cannot assume that this will always be true. In some instances, an innovative technology may necessitate development of entirely new requirements that can fundamentally impact a product design, all in an effort to address new risks. Conducting a hazard analysis allows design engineers to anticipate how to mitigate those risks by addressing existing safety requirements in product designs.
Installation codes also pose a hurdle, as products that incorporate new technology may challenge the rationale behind these codes. And, because established codes cannot anticipate new or innovative products, companies need to determine early in the design process whether a new product can be accepted under existing codes. If the answer is “no,” safety research can often demonstrate that a product satisfies code requirements.
Finally, successful companies understand how to navigate issues beyond meeting the minimum safety requirements such as an often dizzying array of import and export requirements for their target markets. In a global economy, companies cannot afford to miss getting their innovations to market. Market access requirements can vary from market to market, so it’s critical to work with a credible, knowledgeable resource.
Identifying the right expert
Navigating these issues is often beyond the core competency of many companies. Companies can enlist a testing and compliance expert to develop a test program that meets the spirit and intent of compliance and use requirements. When selecting a compliance expert, prudent companies should ask some hard questions:
- Does the compliance organization understand the regulatory and market expectations, and possess a thorough knowledge of safety standards and installation codes?
- Can the compliance organization provide a hazard-based safety analysis to uncover potential safety concerns created by a product’s features? Is the organization able to review a product in the design or prototype phase to identify areas of concern?
- Is the compliance organization able to determine whether existing requirements apply to a product or if a new set of testing requirements is needed? Is the organization able to craft a new test program?
- Does the compliance organization have the knowledge to advise on import/export requirements?
Designing new products with market access in mind helps protect a company’s investment. When attempting to be first to market, companies must consider safety well before a product is ready for manufacture. By thinking carefully about how to approach safety during the design phase, companies will have greater confidence that their innovations will enter the market smoothly, satisfy the demands of regulators and retailers and delight their customers.
About the author:
Clyde Kofman joined Underwriters Laboratories as Chief Commercial Officer in 2009. He brought a combination of diverse, yet complimentary skill sets that he now leverages to help position UL’s service offerings for the next hundred years of growth. Kofman spent 18 years at global professional services firm Andersen LLP, where he developed considerable expertise and experience in building businesses in the services sector and differentiating an organization in the marketplace through superior service delivery and relentless focus on helping clients improve their business performance. Following his time at Andersen, Kofman held a variety of executive roles at global telecommunications equipment manufacturer Motorola, driving strong bottom line results within an engineering-led culture where ongoing innovation and speed to market were the daily imperatives. Mr. Kofman specializes in sales and marketing, industry thought leadership and product management within global manufacturing, professional services and engineering services environments. He has deep industry expertise in telecommunications, utilities and financial services.
Copyright©2011 Underwriters Laboratories Inc. All rights reserved.
04/11
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GIL 2011: Europe
London, United Kingdom
May 17-18, 2011
GIL 2011: Japan
Tokyo, Japan
July 12, 2011
GIL 2011: Korea
Seoul, Korea
July 14, 2011
GIL 2011: Africa
Cape Town, Africa
August 25, 2011
GIL 2011: Silicon Valley
San Jose, CA
September 11-14, 2011
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