Concurrent product development and new communication technologies - a research framework

Abstract

Development and design have always been driven by the need for communication to integrate different technology and market perspectives into an innovative and successful product or service. The possibilities and characteristics of communication such as face-to-face, telephone, or more recently e-mail, are strong factors determining processes and organisational structures in product development. As new communication technologies -most notably presence based real-time communication and rich media conferencing -become increasingly available, we can expect that the organisation and management of product development will change considerably towards more "virtual" and distrib uted forms. However the principles and routines of virtual collaboration and their embedding in projects and multi project, multi-company networks are so far ill understood leading to high risks. The paper proposes a layered research framework on routine, project and network level to support the development of a systematic body of knowledge for organising and leading concurr ent product development utilising the new communication technolo gies. It understands managing product development as interdependent and dynamic system of organisational setup, working/management methods, and technology usage. Research methodologies must be adapted to the context and newness of the ICT. We propose using business experiments in a Living Lab setting as complementary research approach.

Proof of concept of an RFID-enabled supply chain in a B2B e-commerce environment

“…For the third phase, the "Living Lab" approach was adopted, where RFID-enabled B2B ecommerce scenarios were simulated in laboratory settings, reproducing a supply chain environment, with the focus on warehousing activities. As proposed by Loeh [9], this approach supports different research settings including the simulation of business experiments, by private and academic partners for "selftrial" learning, over a prolonged period. All the data generated over the period preceding the POC also served to refine our understanding of the RFID implementation project and its impact on B2B e-commerce activities.…”

The impact of RFID technology on warehouse process innovation: A pilot project in the TPL industry

“…In this approach a given scenario is retained to be implemented and monitored during a pilot project in the focal firm warehouse. In fact, "Living Laboratory" approach was intended to support diverse research settings, including the simulation of business experiments and the use of the laboratory over a prolonged period by all key RFID project stakeholders for "self-trial" learning (Loeh 2005), joint problem solving, interaction, knowledge generation and exchange among all key project stakeholders (Bergvall-Kareborn et al 2009;Eriksson et al 2007;Følstad 2008).…”

A contingency model for creating value from RFID supply chain network projects in logistics and manufacturing environments

“…Here, the physical and technological environments, interfaces between all actors in the supply chain are simulated, followed by a discussion on the feasibility of RFID technology for each of the scenarios and their evaluation in terms of business process automation, ISintegration, and real-time data collection and sharing. In fact, the "Living Laboratory" approach was intended to support diverse research settings, including the simulation of business experiments and the use of the laboratory over a prolonged period by all key RFID project stakeholders for "self-trial" learning (Loeh, 2005), joint problem solving, interaction, knowledge generation and exchange among all key project stakeholders (Kusiak, 2007;Konsti-Laakso et al, 2008;Bergvall-Kåreborn et al, 2009). Finally, one scenario of RFID-enabled supply chain was selected (which may not be necessarily the optimal one) to be implemented and monitored during a pilot project.…”