Creating the right framework [concurrent engineering]

In today´s fiercely competitive world with shortened product life-cycles it is taken as given that companies need to accelerate the process of delivering the right product to the customer at the right time. It is also essential to expand existing markets and open up new ones by producing new differentiated products for these markets. Concurrent engineering can indeed speed this process, but if it is to be truly effective it must be part of a holistic strategy for the business. It is therefore essential that any business that implements concurrent engineering: understands and communicates very clearly how it will help them to achieve their vision; empowers their people to implement it in the most effective way to help them achieve the vision (including creating effective teams where there are no restrictive departmental boundaries); and uses it as a process to encourage innovation and enable the organisation to exceed their customers´ expectations