The PDMA Handbook of New Product Development

33.1. Introduction

Because funding for new product innovations comes primarily—if not exclusively—from profits derived from products currently in the marketplace, it is critical that companies do their best to optimize postlaunch life-cycle management (for simplicity, designated as "LCM" throughout the remainder of this chapter). Not focusing on good postlaunch product management creates high degrees of risk for new product innovation and development programs in any company over the long-term. Moreover, lack of attention to product and customer profitability can adversely affect overall corporate performance. Despite these obvious imperatives, many companies have no one assigned to manage the product after the product has been launched into the marketplace. Their business paradigm can best be described as a "throw it over the wall" situation, where there is not hard-and-fast accountability for product profit and loss management. It is highly recommended that companies officially assign someone or some team of people to each individual product that has been launched, in order to ensure that the actual results for the product during its postlaunch life cycle live up to the expectations and goals assigned the product during the original project/product business case development and decision-making.