The launch of innovative services : lessons from automotive telematics

Sylvain Lenfle (1) , Christophe Midler (1)

1 CRG - Centre de recherche en gestion

In the literature on NPD, most existing studies on the end of the design process concentrate on managing ramp-up of manufactured products. However our economies increasingly depend upon services. This article examine the management of the final phases of the design process of an innovative service. Our research make three contributions : 1) we show that the concept of ramp-up is insufficient for understanding the phenomena at works. The nature of services means that two types of learning – technical and sales – take place at the same time. 2) an analysis of the data collected confirms this difference by bringing to light great contrasts in these two dimensions. 3) This led us to identify a new field for NPD research : the design of the sales process.

Keywords: project management; Automotive telematics; Automotive Industry; Product Launch; Ramp up; Sales; Design Theory; Innovation Management

Keywords: Management de projet; Services; Télématique automobile; Industrie automobile; Lancement de produit; Montée en cadence; Vente; Théorie de la conception; Gestion de l'innovation

Domains: Business administration

Sylvain Lenfle, Christophe Midler. The launch of innovative services : lessons from automotive telematics. 13th IPDMC, 2006, France. ⟨hal-00263133⟩