OREANDA-NEWS. October 22, 2015. “Whether it is smartphones, smart cities, smart cars or even smart toothbrushes, smart technologies are finding their way into, and around, the everyday things we like to buy and use,” writes Euan Davis. “The opportunities unleashed by smart products are seemingly endless for any company seeking game-changing innovation or new levels of efficiency.” Excerpts:

“Smart product development focuses on two primary objectives: making industrial equipment smarter, through insights gained from embedding smart products into and around a manufacturing process; and making product packaging smart by highlighting the expiration status on commodities such as perishable foods, or reminding patients how and when to consume their medication. The third significant development opportunity focuses on making consumer devices smart, such as a fitness band that tracks personal wellness.

All these initiatives are set to change the dynamics between product creation and product sale dramatically because customer insight and business meaning are flowing through and around a product’s data. The digital data emanating from a smart product or the processes that surround it is where the value—or alchemy—can be found.

Visualize the Smart Product Economy as the opportunity around the connected home, the connected car or the smart city. Each features a stack of products interacting with one another and blending into a unified entity that can be controlled through a single platform or interface by the home owner, driver or city planner. The result is a fully integrated and sometimes a fully automated solution.

It is happening today. Consider the manufacturing, healthcare or retail spaces, where inexpensive sensors and embedded software running across IP networks enable once inanimate products to sense, monitor, optimize and regulate themselves in increasingly autonomous and meaningful ways.

Our research demonstrates that the process of giving a product a virtual identity triggers productivity gains and offers the potential for game-changing innovation. Product companies need to engage quickly to ensure they are not left behind. Already, smart products are emerging across industries and creating profound impacts on product development, manufacturing, marketing, sales, after sales and the customer experience.”