Driving Innovation through Digital Prototyping - Consumer Products Manufacturers Need Innovative Design Solutions to Succeed
07/03/2011 Autodesk
by Kevin Ison, manufacturing marketing director, EMEA, AutodeskConsumer products manufacturing is showing steady growth following one of the worst recessions in living memory. Statistics from the Financial Times show that while it is still not up to the level it was at its height in 2007, the total value of the consumer goods industry shot up 17% in the last year.
There are a raft of opportunities for manufacturers in this sector as it is globally estimated to be worth around US$5.9 trillion. To take full advantage, they need to innovate; tackle key challenges head-on and ultimately achieve their business goals.
This is highlighted by a new survey undertaken by Redshift Research on behalf of Autodesk, which polled the opinions of 300 decision-makers and influencers working in the UK, Germany and Italy.
Although there was some variance in priorities across countries, consistently the top business objectives cited were, perhaps unsurprisingly customer satisfaction, profitability and sales.
In Germany, making sure that consumers are pleased with their products is seen as vital to ensuring business success as 94% of Germans surveyed saw improving customer satisfaction as a key business goal - this was the highest rating in the survey for any objective in any country - although at a lesser level, this result was echoed by 86% of Italian respondents, its joint top rated priority. In the UK the corresponding figure was 74%, making it the third ranked objective in that country behind increased profitability (86%) and increased sales (81%).
A rise in sales was highlighted as a priority by 80% of German respondents and 86% of Italian respondents while increased profitability was a priority for 82% of those surveyed in Germany and 85% in Italy.
Innovation is Key
The underlying key to achieving goals is innovation. More than half of respondents see the need for more cutting edge designs.
Many companies in the survey acknowledge that one potential solution is the use of 3D computer aided design (CAD). Leveraging digital prototyping techniques gives companies a competitive advantage in marketing products. This is evident from high sales of Autodesk software to the consumer products manufacturing sector and the fact it has been the most resilient area of the manufacturing industry to the economic downturn.
Today the prevalence of digital prototyping technology across customers business is increasing. Well known in design and engineering, (approximately half of German companies use 3D CAD for modelling, for example), digital prototyping is also now being used in other areas of the business. 3D CAD models are now used by almost one third of companies as technical source for marketing, for example.
Indeed, by allowing manufacturers to accurately design and test products before the assembly process, 3D CAD allows them to improve customer satisfaction through managing quality effectively - a top challenge for all surveyed. In Germany, 97% of respondents said this was a key test, while in the UK this was 91% and in Italy 83% (joint top challenge with reducing inefficiencies). Managing quality within given budgets is typically more of a priority to engineers and designers within a company, as this is generally their responsibility and their key goal.
Although managing quality is seen as a challenge, improving it while cutting costs is highlighted as an important objective in the European survey. To achieve this, organisations need to streamline their design and manufacturing processes. The digital prototyping solutions offered by Autodesk are key here, delivering ease of use while at the same time enabling manufacturers to improve their business processes and get the most from their designs.
Manufacturers also face the challenge of improving customer communications. Nearly three quarters of respondents cited this as a key challenge in Germany (73%) and Italy (74%), while 64% said so in the UK. Utilising visualisation and collaboration technologies, digital prototyping allows companies to more effectively engage and collaborate with stakeholders, customers and prospects during the sales, marketing and design process.
Equally, the need for innovation to attract and keep customers to drive sales does not disappear in tougher economic times. Cutting costs in the wrong place can severely damage an organisation both financially and in terms of its customer relations. As such, an approach is needed that can reduce costs while at the same time allow companies to innovate and maintain or improve customer satisfaction. Digital prototyping helps companies create more innovative, quality designs at a fraction of the costs associated with more traditional design methodologies.
*This is an ongoing study in which Autodesk is actively encouraging participation through its campaign landing page: http://www.autodeskadvantage.com
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