New Product Development and Research & Development are two concepts that often appear in the manufacturing sector. If we don’t understand clearly, we will be easily confused. In this post, we will clarify these two concepts and point out the differences between them.
In the some previous posts, we introduced obviously about New Product Development so that we only focus on Research & Development in this article.
If you are concert about New Product Development, please access this link: https://meslab.net/new-product-development-and-business-development-what-is-difference/
What is Research Development?
Research and Development is often referred to as R&D. It seems to innovation activities carried out by businesses or governments to develop new products/services or improve products and services available.
Characteristics of Research and Development activities include:
- Novelty: The results of the activity must be new discoveries or maybe unknown
- Creativity: Based on initial unclear concepts and hypotheses.
- Uncertain: The final outcome cannot be ascertained.
- Systematic: Planned and budgeted for implementation.
- Assignable and renewable: The activity can be transferred to another person, group, or business and the results remain the same.
Research and Development is carried out in some main actions:
1. R&D market
A research usually begins with problem needs solving. Similarly, a new product or service will have to address the frustrations customers face with their current product, their future demand, etc. So, the R&D team needs to collect and Analysis of market information, customer needs.
For example: Collecting, learning and analyzing new trends that customers are interested in. Typically, this will be undertaken by marketing or sales personnel, even an outside specialized unit. Sometimes, the R&D department also directly explores the market to better understand customers.
2. R&D technology
The mission of Research & Development is finding new technologies, develop technologies with high applicability. Thereby, we can create new products with differentiated features. This task also includes “technological intelligence”.
For example: In 2007, Apple launched the iPhone with a multi-touch capacitive touch screen and became the most popular smartphone. Before that, Apple’s team has carefully researched this technology.
Multi-touch and touch keyboards have been developed by a Fingerworks company since the 2000s. Apple acquired this company in 2005, keep developing and optimizing technology in order to be suitable for iPhone.
3. R&D product
It aims to make improvements design, materials, uses, features, etc. based on existing technologies. Especially, this includes improving the finishing and packaging methods to save costs as well as convenience for users.
4. R&D Process
It can be improving, developing operating procedures, manufacturing processes, service processes, etc. The improvement of a successful process will contribute to bring productivity – higher efficiency for businesses.
For example: Some companies do in-depth research to develop and improve processes to apply suitably for each enterprise.
The relationship between Research & Development
| Research | Development |
| The goal is new idea, new method, new technology, invention. | The goal is new product |
| It’s is difficult to deploy because Research is based on solid technology foundation | It’s easy to deploy because of having available technology |
| A lot of investment cost | Low investment cost |
| Have to spend long time | Have to spend a short time |
| Bring out big value | Bring out a small value |
| Out put isn’t reliable | Main out put is product, service or relative something. |
The difference between New Product Development and Research & Development?
| New Product Design | Research & Development |
| NPD need speciality | R&D need deep speciality |
| NPD is wider than R&D | R&D is narrower than NPD |
| NPD begins with realizing market opportunities for products, ending with the production, sale and distribution of products to customers. | R&D only carries out technical design, includes: product idea, technology, technique project, concept, test. |
| Although NPD is more simple than R&D but NPD needs high-quality process with many steps. | R&D have to carry out some steps. |
| NPD used R&D’s output (technology, component, etc.) to manufacture worked-out product. | R&D seem to support action for NPD |
| Nowadays, NPD is more and more popular in over the world. Almost company has Product Development department. | Only some big companies operate in R&D sector to make a profit or serve manufacture strategic product. |