MARKETING AND RESEARCH ALLIANCES: THE STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF ROADMAPS

摘要

This paper explores the use of roadmaps as a strategic tool in technology development and customer communication. Technology demands continue to stretch conventional boundaries that exist between marketing and research organizations. Technology continues to move at an accelerated pace requiring companies to find effective communication mediums to consolidate and coalesce diverse input from multiple sources. Roadmaps serve as an effective communication tool that integrate long term market needs with the associated technical solutions. In order to assess rapidly changing industry needs, it is necessary to gather information from a wide range of sources. Interviews with technologists, marketers and manufacturing engineers combined with knowledge gained at symposia and conferences provide the foundational elements of a working technology roadmap. The building of the roadmap allows all functional levels within an organization to understand the dynamics of the industry and specific technical, environmental and manufacturability needs over a five to seven year horizon. Roadmaps serve as a planning tool when complex solutions require the building of components within a system. In the case of the materials industry, it permits the development of specific molecules as building blocks to the final material solution. Without the development of clear paths as established by a roadmap, technologists are limited to the use of commercially available materials that may not provide an optimal solution to the assembly challenge. In addition to the technical mapping, it allows marketers to integrate market forces that impact the technical decision making process. Technical personnel have increased visibility to the market and the market leaders throughout this process. The roadmap becomes an invaluable tool for the exchange of information as well as a reality check for industries that provide critical components or materials to other industries. It is critical for designers at all levels to check organizational and industry alignment as each level of mapping is accelerated by the design cycle of the next level. In the case of materials, roadmap goals must be set 18-24 months ahead of the design cycle of the end user. In order to meet these accelerated timetables, all functional groups within an organization must have visibility to the next generation materials to adequately assess the need for process development, environmental compliance, manufacturability and assembly solution development. Organizations can experience significant benefits when they take the time to review roadmaps and align technical resources and skill sets across other programs. Roadmap reviews allow maximum leveraging of technical resources as similar demands appear in diverse industries. When properly developed a roadmap captures both the industry and technology direction of an organization and effectively aligns its resources, increasing efficiency and accelerating time to market.