Time to market is often defined as the elapsed time between the formulation of a product concept and its introduction into the market. A short time to market is a key factor for product success. It allows being first to the market and thus gives first mover advantages. For example, Japanese automotive suppliers used faster time to market capabilities in the 1980s to update their product lines faster and thus gain market share in the US and Europe.
However, fast time-to-market does not guarantee product success. Even in the automotive industry, a few high end manufacturers continued to thrive with slower product development, but with high product design quality and integrity. Moreover, if short time-to-market is at the expense of design quality, market research, channel buildup, or production ramp up the product is likely to fail. The key is to not force a short time-to-market, but to achieve it with superior process capabilities (Meyer and Utterback, 1995).
In addition, fast...
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Meyer, M.H., and J.M. Utterback (1995). “Product Development Cycle Time and Commercial Success.” IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 42, 297–304.
Terwiesch, C., C.H. Loch, and M Niederkofler (1998). “When Product Development Performance Makes a Difference: A Statistical Analysis in the Electronics Industry,” Journal of Product Innovation Management, 15, 3–15.
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© 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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(2000). TIME-TO-MARKET . In: Swamidass, P.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Production and Manufacturing Management. Springer, Boston, MA . https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-0612-8_981
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-0612-8_981
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