It’s a simple but common truth: teams that don’t collaborate and communicate won’t consistently innovate. Innovation at scale requires open channels of dialogue to ensure speed and accuracy, but that can’t happen when teams work in silos — especially when it’s between product development and manufacturing. These two teams are integral to product success, and they must leverage each other's expertise and perspectives, which can negatively impact innovation and problem-solving capabilities.
Let’s examine how organizations can spot communication breakdowns and how to improve collaboration and innovation between these two groups.
There are tell-tale signs that product development and manufacturing teams aren’t collaborating and communicating. Some are obvious, and others are subtle, but they all create innovation barriers.
I’ve seen it time and again — product development teams design difficult or costly products without a clear understanding of manufacturing requirements and limitations. It’s easy to get caught up in what you believe is ‘the next big thing.’ Still, failure to ask the experts if it’s possible can lead to unnecessarily lengthy iterations between the teams, causing delays in bringing the product to market and potentially missing critical market opportunities.
Effective collaboration and communication between product development and manufacturing teams are essential to ensure the product meets the desired quality standards. Without clear communication channels, misunderstandings and misinterpretations occur, leading to design flaws or manufacturing defects that affect the final product's quality. This not only impacts the bottom line but could also compromise consumer safety.
A lot can go wrong during production when teams aren’t on the same page. Product designers might not consider the most efficient and cost-effective methods without a clear understanding of manufacturing requirements, leading to increased production costs.
Communicative miscues happen, but over time, these misunderstandings become a feature, not a bug. When faulty collaboration is the norm, animosity, conflicts and tensions will inevitably bubble up between product development and manufacturing teams. This scenario is a recipe for disaster, as teams stop looking at moving toward the organization’s overarching goals and spend more bandwidth defending their team’s actions.
To prevent future communication breakdowns, prioritize strategies that enhance communication between product development and manufacturing teams. Here are some practical tips for improving communication.
Encourage teams to share information, ideas and concerns openly. Establish a culture that values and rewards effective communication and removes the stigma around ‘bad ideas.’ No one’s going to share an unconventional thought if there are repercussions for it being off base. The fact is that innovation is the one area where different schools of thought should be encouraged the most. That’s how you uncover unmined gold.
Create formal communication channels like regular team meetings, shared project management tools, and collaboration platforms. These channels should facilitate clear and timely interaction between teams. These channels can be facilitated by having the right technology that allows a free flow of real-time updates.
Promote forming cross-functional teams that include representatives from both product development and manufacturing. This ensures that perspectives are shared and potential communication gaps are bridged. And perhaps it positions empathy between teammates who might not be aware of the pressures teammates are under based on their roles within the company.
Involve the manufacturing team in the product development process from the start. Regular collaboration between teams will help identify potential manufacturing constraints and provide opportunities for creative problem-solving.
Every expectation related to a product — like documentation, information and timing, for example — must be explicitly communicated and agreed to between product development and manufacturing. Development needs to know exactly what manufacturing needs and when, and vice versa. This becomes an agreement that has to be coordinated and met to avoid unexpected surprises, which can jeopardize product success and negatively impact the working relationship between the two.
Effective collaboration and communication between product development and manufacturing teams is non-negotiable for companies that want to innovate at scale. Organizations can mitigate these risks by implementing strategies to improve communication and foster an environment that nurtures innovation.
Want to learn how technology can simplify communication and collaboration efforts? Learn how Sopheon Accolade can offer better visibility to your organization's innovation process, make smarter decisions, and improve your time-to-value.