Why the next innovation is probably already in your current product

When companies talk about innovation, the conversation quickly shifts to new product concepts, new technologies, or completely new markets. That’s understandable. New products attract attention and symbolize progress. Yet a large part of innovation doesn’t emerge at the beginning of the product lifecycle, but rather in the middle of it.

When products have been successfully on the market for years, they are often developed based on the knowledge, materials, and production techniques that were available at the time. Since then, materials have improved, production processes have become more efficient, and requirements around sustainability, circularity, and cost efficiency have changed. The question is therefore not only which new product you develop. The more interesting question is: if you were to redesign this product today, would you make the same choices?

Most of the costs are already locked in before production even begins.

Many organizations only start optimizing when production becomes more expensive, quality problems arise, or margins come under pressure. That is striking, because research has shown for years that the greatest influence on the final product costs is exerted much earlier.

An estimated 70 to 80% of the total product costs are determined during the design phase. Once a design is released and tooling is developed, the room for fundamental improvements quickly shrinks. Engineering is therefore not only a technical discipline, but also an important instrument for influencing cost price, quality, and manufacturability.

Sustainability is also determined during the design phase.

The same applies to sustainability. According to research by McKinsey, up to 80% of a product’s environmental impact is determined during the design phase. Material choice, product architecture, ease of disassembly, weight, and production method largely determine how sustainable a product ultimately is.

This means that sustainability goals are not only achieved by using recycled materials or making production processes more sustainable. They start with fundamental design choices. That is why more and more organizations are re-examining existing products with questions such as: can we use less material, combine components, simplify assembly, or make the product better suited for repair and disassembly?

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Small design choices often have a surprisingly large impact.

Product optimization does not have to mean developing an entirely new product from scratch. Relatively small adjustments can often have major consequences for performance, costs, and sustainability.

For example, a different rib structure can increase stiffness without adding extra material. An adjusted wall thickness can shorten the cycle time during injection molding. Combining multiple parts can save assembly time and increase reliability. On their own, these may seem like minor changes, but together they can lead to a product that is cheaper to produce, easier to assemble, and better aligned with current market requirements.

Product development does not stop after market introduction.

Many organizations consider a product ‘finished’ once series production is running. In reality, that is precisely when a new phase begins. New insights from production, changing customer demands, technological developments, and stricter regulations constantly provide reasons to re-evaluate an existing design.

Organizations that invest in this view product development not as a one-off project, but as a continuous improvement process. Not because the product is not good enough, but because a good product can be even better in five years’ time.

Five questions every R&D Manager should ask themselves

Before you develop a completely new product, it is worthwhile to first take a step back and look at your existing product portfolio.

1. Which design choices were made years ago and deserve renewed attention?
2. Which components cause the highest production or assembly costs?
3. Which materials would you select differently today?
4. Which sustainability goals can you achieve through engineering?
5. Where is the greatest gain without having to redevelop the entire product?

Perhaps the next innovation does not lie in a new product, but in the product that is already on your production line today.

From insight to improvement

At PEZY we look at products every day through the lens of plastic engineering, product development, and manufacturability. It is precisely because of this that we often see where existing products can be made smarter, lighter, stronger, more sustainable, or more cost-efficient.

Do you have an existing product that you suspect could be better? Then a fresh engineering perspective can help make hidden improvement opportunities visible.