NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES SURVEY

CONFECTIONERY, CANDY SNACK MANUFACTURERS

A study conducted by:

Department of Agriculture

Aslihan D. Spaulding, Ph.D.

Campus Box 5020

132 Ropp Agriculture Building

Normal, IL 61790-5020

(309) 438-8091

Questionnaire Online: http://www.cast.ilstu.edu/spaulding/NPDSURVEY2006.html
SECTION 1. NEW PRODUCT INFORMATION

Please tell us about your most recently introduced new product.

1.1) When did you introduce your most recent new product? ______month ______year

1.2) To which category does this new product belong? (Please check only one category.)

Chocolate Candy / Non-Chocolate Candy / Snacks / Gum / Other (please specify):

1.3) How would you categorize your most recently introduced new product in terms of its newness?

(Please check only one category that most closely represents this new product.)

Innovative (a totally new product to the world)
New to Market/New to Company (a totally new product to the company that also
offered new features to an existing market)
New Line (totally new product or line to company)
New Item in an existing company product line
Modification of an existing company product

1.4) For the most recently introduced new product, please indicate whether the development process included

the following activities. If so, indicate approximately how many months were spent on average for each activity.

ACTIVITY / Is this activity
included? / If included, month(s)
spent on activity
Concept Search: includes brainstorming and other creativity stimulating techniques, preliminary discussions about the product design and identifying new product opportunities. / YES →→→
NO / ______
Concept Screening: includes scoring and ranking concepts according to some criteria and eliminating unsuitable concepts. / YES→→→
NO / ______
Concept Testing: covers preliminary market need, niche and attractiveness. / YES→→→
NO / ______
Business Analysis: an evolution of the product concept in financial terms as a business proposition. / YES→→→
NO / ______
Product Development: the technical work to convert a concept into a working product. / YES→→→
NO / ______
Product Use Testing, Field Testing, and Market Testing: offering the product to a pre-selected group of potential buyers to determine its suitability and marketability. / YES→→→
NO / ______
Commercialization: launching the new product into full scale production and sales. / YES→→→
NO / ______
Post-Launch Review: Following launch, product, project and team performances are monitored for an agreed time period. / YES→→→
NO / ______
Other Activity (please specify): / YES→→→
NO / ______
Total time spent from
Concept Search to Post-Launch Review / ______months

1.5) Which of the following are new attributes of this new product? (Please check all that apply.)

Health / Taste / Convenience / Organic / Nutrition
Low carbohydrates / Low fat / Diet / Portion control / Other (please specify):

1.6) Was this new product intended to imitate a competitor product? (“me-too” kind of product) Yes No

SECTION 2. CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAMS

Please tell us about cross-functional teams in your company. Cross-functional teams typically consist of members drawn

from different functional areas within and outside the company which may or may not include suppliers and customers.

2.1) Do you use cross-functional teams to develop new products?

Yes No (if “No”, please go directly to question 2.7.)

2.2) Did you use a cross-functional team to develop your most recently introduced new product?

Yes No (if “No”, please go directly to question 2.6.)

2.3) From which of the following functional areas did members of the cross-functional team come? (Please check all

that apply.)

Accounting / Finance / Production / Sales
Customers / Marketing / Quality Control / Suppliers
Engineering / Packaging / Research & Development / Upper Management
Other Functional Area (please specify):

2.4) How helpful was the cross-functional team in developing this new product?

Not at all Helpful / Not Very Helpful / Somewhat Helpful / Very Helpful

2.5) Which of the following best describes your financial compensation plan for cross-functional team members

directly involved in developing this new product?

Straight salary / Salary plus bonus

2.6) If a cross-functional team member is highly involved in the development of a successful new product, what

type of compensation should he/she expect? (Please check all the apply.)

No direct compensation
Salary Raise / Cash Bonus / Promotion
Profit Share / Share of a Team Bonus / Company Award
Other (please specify):

MARKET OUTCOMES

2.7) How would you rate the amount of resources, excluding sales, dedicated to Marketing this new product (e.g.,

media, promotion, and channel incentives)?

Not Very Significant / Somewhat Significant / Very Significant

2.8) How would you rate the total company sales staff support in selling this new product to your customers?

Not Very Enthusiastic / Somewhat Enthusiastic / Very Enthusiastic

2.9) How would you rate the amount of resources dedicated to Selling this new product?

Not Very Significant / Somewhat Significant / Very Significant

2.10) Compared to your previous new products introduced in this category, how would you rate retailer acceptance

(actually carrying this new product) after a similar amount of time on the market?

Fewer retailers are carrying it
About the same number of retailers are carrying it
More retailers are carrying it

SECTION 3. SUPPLY-CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Please tell us about your supplier and customer involvement as well as outsourcing of activities for your most recently

introduced new product.

3.1) Which of the following do you consider as your customer buying directly from you? (Please check all that apply.)

Consumers / Retailers / Wholesalers

3.2) Which of the following did you outsource (hire outside assistance), as you developed this new product?

(Please check all that apply.)

There was no outsourcing. / Technical Analysis / Packaging
Idea Generation / Financial Analysis / Distribution
Market Analysis / Prototype Development / Advertising
Business Analysis / Market Tests / Legal Analysis
Other (please specify):

3.3) Level of SUPPLIER and CUSTOMER involvement with your new product development process over the last

5 years has:

SUPPLIER INVOLVEMENT / Declined / Stayed the Same / Increased
CUSTOMER INVOLVEMENT / Declined / Stayed the Same / Increased

3.4) How frequently were your CUSTOMERS involved as you developed this new product?

ACTIVITY / Never / Rarely / Sometimes / Often / Always
Concept Research
Concept Screening
Concept Testing
Business Analysis
Product Development
Product Use Testing, Field Testing, and Market Testing
Commercialization
Post-Launch Review
Other

3.5) How frequently were your SUPPLIERS involved as you developed this new product?

ACTIVITY / Never / Rarely / Sometimes / Often / Always
Concept Research
Concept Screening
Concept Testing
Business Analysis
Product Development
Product Use Testing, Field Testing, and Market Testing
Commercialization
Post-Launch Review
Other

SECTION 4. NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Please tell us about management of your new product development process.

4.1) To your best knowledge, approximately how many new products did your company introduce in 2005? ______

4.2) Based upon projections, what percent of your company sales in 2006 will be from new products introduced

in 2005? ____%

4.3) Your new product development expenditures as a percent of gross sales in 2005 were approximately:

less than 2% / 2% - less than 5% / 5% - less than 10% / 10% - less than 20% / 20% or more

4.4) Your new product development expenditures over the last 5 years have:

Declined / Stayed the Same / Increased

Any comments related to this response?

4.5) Please rank the following according to how much emphasis is placed on them by upper management when

developing new products. (1= most important; 3 = least important)

____ Product Development Cost
____ Product Quality
____ Product Time-to-Market (speed of new product development process)

4.6) How important is being “first-to-market” with a new product for the upper management of your company?

(first-to-market: you are the first company to introduce this type of new product into market.)

Very Important / Somewhat Important / Not Important

4.7) Please indicate the number of new products introduced in 2005 according to product type.

PRODUCT TYPE / Number Introduced
Innovative (a totally new product to the world)
New to Market/New to Company (a totally new product to the company that also offered new features to an existing market)
New Line (totally new product or line to company)
New Item in an existing company product line
Modification of an existing company product

4.8) Please indicate how frequently your company uses the following to measure new product’s success.

PERFORMANCE MEASURE / Never Use / Rarely Use / Often Use / Always Use
Return on Investment
Profit Margin
Product Sales
Payback Period
Market Share
Net Present Value
Customer Satisfaction Index
Other (please specify):

4.9) How often do you use the following to generate new ideas for new products?

SOURCES OF NEW PRODUCT IDEAS / Never / Rarely / Often / Always
Market Trends
Customer Requests
Trade Magazines
Competition
Employees
Upper Management
New Product Development Manager
Market Research
Other (please specify):

SECTION 5. COMPANY PROFILE

Please tell us about your company.

5.1) How long has your company been in the confectionery business? ______years

5.2) Which of the following products does your company produce? (Please check all that apply)

Chocolate Candy / Non-Chocolate Candy / Snacks / Gum / Other (please specify):

5.3) Approximately how many employees does your company have? ______employees

5.4) Approximately how many employees do you have at your location? ______employees

5.5) What was your company’s annual sales in 2005?

Less than $5 million / $100 million – less than $250 million
$5 million - less than $10 million / $250 million – less than $500 million
$10 million – less than $20 million / $500 million – less than $750 million
$20 million – less than $50 million / $750 million – less than $1 billion
$50 million – less than $100 million / more than $1 billion

5.6) In 2005, relative to your competitors, how has your company performed with respect to:

Exceeded Goals / Met Goals / Missed Goals
Market Share performance
Profit Performance

5.7) Does your company sell products through an Internet web site? Yes No

5.8) What is your position title? ______

5.9) How long have you been working in the confectionery/candy/snack industry? ____ years ____ months

Please enclose your business card in the return envelope if you want the results of this survey sent to you.

You can also visit

http://www.cast.ilstu.edu/spaulding/NPDSURVEY2006.html

to view the results of the survey.

THANK YOU FOR RESPONDING TO OUR SURVEY!!!

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