Reducing your time to market - Dynamic Risk Indicator

Reducing your time to market has huge benefits, from improved customer service and loyalty to a rise in revenue. And with the continuing advancement of technology, businesses are increasingly focusing on it. So what are some of the most innovative ways of reducing your time to market?

The faster you can get your products to market, the smaller an opportunity you give your competitors. If you’re delivering innovative creations to your customers first, it cuts their chances of doing the same. After you’ve presented your product, the shine dulls and it’s not such a new idea anymore. Is anyone going to look twice at the second version of a product? You know you need to get there first.

So what are some of the most innovative ways of reducing your time to market?

Have the right systems in place

Relying on outdated communications processes and systems when you’re looking to reduce your time to market won’t help, as you know. You need to ensure everyone is up-to-date with the latest plans and decisions for what you’re creating. Otherwise you might end up with a product based on an out-of-date design, leading to more and longer hold-ups.

Email and shared drives may have been industry standard communication tools for years, but this is changing. Businesses are now adopting newer, more dedicated communication channels to ensure they miss nothing.

Companies are adopting more cloud-based systems to ensure everyone is looking at the same plans. This is seen in the fact Statista have reported that the software as a service market is going to be worth a massive $113.1 billion (£87.6 billion) by 2021. These systems – accessible from anywhere and constantly updated – keep businesses on the same page about which iteration of a product is going ahead. As you know, version control is a vital aspect of product design.

Ensure visibility over suppliers

When you’re planning your lead times, you need to know whether your supplies are going to arrive on time. And you need to know they’re going to be exactly what you ordered. This means you’ll need to be confident that you’ve chosen the right supplier. Whatever you produce, you need the right materials to make it. And if you don’t have them, there’s going to be a problem.

It’s vital to ensure you’re dealing with the right suppliers. Visibility and transparency is one of the most important aspects to maintain over your suppliers. You need to trust them in order to work well with them. As our strategic advisor Sterling Crew, former vice-chair of the Institute of Food Science and Technology, points out, trust in the supply chain “is critical”.

He looks at the advantages of blockchain in supply chain management, deciding that it “could be part of the solution”. He mentions how it can specifically aid food manufacturers, but it’s a pretty useful technology for all manufacturers. That’s because it’s a secure record of online transactions, making it tough to alter existing records. It can boost trust in these purchases, leaving you confident that you’re getting the best supplies.

Eliminate errors and mistakes

Examining the ways you could reduce the level of errors and mistakes taking place is one of the most important things to do. The more of these you experience, the more interruptions you face. And the longer it’ll take you to get your product ready.

It may sound surprising, but health and safety is an area you need to maintain visibility over to reduce your time to market. If you’re frequently suffering from incidents or near misses, you’ll no doubt see your production time slow down. This will have an impact on your bottom line, with your competitors pulling ahead. You know you can’t afford to be left in the dust so there’s really no choice when it comes to keeping an eagle eye over your health and safety situation.

Besides that, your colleagues and employees will feel motivated to achieve more when they feel safe and valued. And this will only help when it comes to getting your products to market as soon as possible. A system like DRI’s Monitoring Module will simplify your operational and compliance checks, allowing you to get on with innovating and creating.

For a free demo of our system, just give us a call on 0161 967 1616 or fill out our form below.