Product Development and Management Body of Knowledge, 3rd Edition

Appendix B: The BoK in Practice Cases

Following is a collection of cases demonstrating application of various aspects of PDMA's BoK.

B.1 CASE 1

Global DairyCo (not the actual name of the company).

B.1.1 Purpose

This case study provides an overview of how a large multinational food company used its business goals to provide a direction for its product innovation strategy and application of its R&D resources. It demonstrates the importance of the linkage between corporate and innovation strategies.

B.1.2 Corporate Strategy

The role of corporate strategy in product innovation is to provide the context, goals, and direction for product innovation portfolio development, prioritization of projects, and management of individual projects.

B.1.3 Company Background

Global DairyCo is a multinational dairy product manufacturing and marketing company, with a wide portfolio of products across commodity, ingredients, and consumer categories, in 120 countries worldwide. Characteristics of the company include:

• One of the largest dairy R&D capabilities in the world with extensive research, development, and pilot plant facilities
• Connections with over 100 research institutions worldwide
• R&D investment of over $100m annually
• Established customer base with several large infant formula and sports food manufacturers

B.1.4 The Challenge

Global DairyCo recognized the need for a clearer vision and strategy on which to base its future growth. It was concerned that the return on its R&D ...