OREANDA-NEWS. March 22, 2007 as the number of new product launches increases and the marketplace becomes even more competitive, retailers and manufacturers are finding they must engage more collaboratively to find common ground and share success. A new paper released by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is entitled How targeted collaboration between retailers and manufacturers promotes the success of new product launches and addresses the issue of improving the chances of success and profit when bringing a new product to market.

"Both manufacturers and retailers rely on new product launches to drive growth and help them stand out in a crowded market. Yet launches are often hindered by misunderstandings regarding each partner's expectations, abilities and timetables, threatening revenue generation and profitability," says Lisa Feigen Dugal, partner and leader of the North American Retail and Consumer Packaged Goods Advisory practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The four steps identified by the report provide a reliable roadmap of factors, events, inputs and outputs that aid both manufacturers and retailers in their quest to drive growth and market differentiation: 

1. Understand: Eliminate preconceived notions of each trading partner and establish a joint definition of launch success beyond just sales/volume targets.
2. Commit and Collaborate: Establish detailed milestones and success criteria and assign specific responsibility and accountability for each element.
3. Execute: Provide transparency to potential launch issues and develop contingency planning in advance for likely scenarios to avoid overreacting to expected events.
4. Review: Sales performance is not the only measure of success. Devoting time to post-launch analysis establishes a common perception of the launch effectiveness.  As one retailer said, "We need to migrate away from the launch 'em and leave 'em method of today".

"While there is no secret formula for a successful new product launch, diligent focus on adhering to this basic four-step framework can result in greater retailer/manufacturer understanding, better utilization of trading partner resources, and increased likelihood of launch success," says Steven C. Anderson, NACDS president & chief executive officer.

Vic Mazzacone, senior vice president Corporate Relations OTC North America, Novartis Consumer Health and a member of the NACDS Advisory Board, added, "Retailers' and suppliers' collaboration in executing these findings within their organizations will help to improve efficiency and effectiveness of all future new product launches".

"The goal of this framework is to provide specific areas in which trading partners can focus their efforts, ensuring that they are investing their time and resources in the dimensions that will have the greatest impact on launch outcomes," adds Matthew Gunbie, partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers. "Improving understanding between all parties involved in the launch will create a sustainable and agile trading relationship that enables better utilization of both partners' resources and increases the likelihood of launch success".