Platform strategies in international new product development
International Journal of Operations & Production Management
ISSN: 0144-3577
Article publication date: 1 May 1999
Abstract
The paper analyses the implications of a platform strategy in new product development with reference to the automobile industry. The implications and benefits of a platform strategy are discussed from both the technical and organisational points of view. The impact of a platform strategy on international product development is then analysed. The paper draws on examples from the experience of major Japanese automobile companies. In general, the analysis highlights how platform strategies are evolving and how they must be recognised more and more in relation to the internationalisation processes of R&D activities and operations. Moreover, different approaches are pointed out concerning more advanced and/or conservative approaches to platform development. A more advanced approach leads to more benefits in terms of the performance of the product development process and the reorganisation of the development process on a global level.
Keywords
Citation
Muffatto, M. (1999), "Platform strategies in international new product development", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 19 No. 5/6, pp. 449-460. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443579910260766
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited