Food Processing - October 2007 - (Page 32)

36th Annual R&D Survey tives that may help the creative process in looking at a new item.” “A cross-functional team allows you to call out issues in product development early on,” stresses the associate marketing manager for a large frozen food company. “If you don’t bring finance, operation or procurement, etc., into the game early, and rely only on marketing and R&D, a lot of problems usually arise. You need operations to let you know if it’s feasible for the company to process the product or if you need to look into co-packing. Finance needs to look to see if a profit can made. Everyone’s role is important in product development.” WITH WILD HE EN C A L TR MICA NSF UM ER P PS Global leader in AODD pump chemical transfer Pump range: 6mm (¼") through 203 mm (8") Broadest material offering in the industry Pro-Flo X: Most efﬁcient Air Distribution System (ADS) in the industry Superior containment Putting the “cons” succinctly, Betty Jo Steel, president of Steel’s Gourmet Foods (www.steelsgourmet.com) Bridgeport, Pa., says “Marketing [might] see opportunity in a category; R&D may find it uninspiring. Consensus within a team can help everyone, but it can also blunt creativity.” “The benefit allows specific departmental team members to understand the larger scope of the project in terms of both development and impact,” wrote the technical director of a development lab. “One hindrance is the challenge of ensuring each department continues to maintain the broad perspective throughout the discussion.” “The volume of group development input is greater,” noted one respondent, “but it takes longer to finish a project with so many different ideas. Yet we do end up with a better product.” Praising the cross-functional model, Robin Robinson, vice president of marketing for Bell-Carter Foods Inc. (www.bellcarter.com), Lafayette, Calif., notes, “Teams reduce [the chances of missing] key executional elements; issues are identified by experts in specific areas. Ideas are better defined and products are ultimately better with diverse groups involved.” “The benefits far outweigh the hindrances,” lauds Scott Selman, director of operations for Traditions Meal Solutions (www.traditionsi.com), a frozen and shelf-stable meals manufacturer in Jackson, Miss. “By having a cross-functional team in place at the beginning of the product development process, all parties are on the same page and know the goal. Each function needs to have input and then needs to make sure their part of the process is delivered. This approach can predict issues with functions that a single R&D team might miss.” Many respondents tendered valuable tips for smoother operation of cross-func- More on the web 22069 VAN BUREN STREET • GRAND TERRACE, CA 92313-5607 (909) 422-1730 • FAX (909) 783-3440 wildenpump.com there are more details and charts from this survey on the web; go to www. read-more.us/?fp07-211. You can also see prior years’ r&D Surveys by going to www.foodprocessing.com and typing “r&D Survey” into the search bar. 32 • FooD ProCeSSInG oCtober 2007 www.FooDProCeSSInG.CoM http://www.steelsgourmet.com http://www.bellcarter.com http://www.traditionsi.com http://www.wildenpump.com http://www.read-more.us/?fp07-211 http://www.read-more.us/?fp07-211 http://www.foodprocessing.com http://www.wildenpump.com http://www.foodprocessing.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Food Processing - October 2007

Food Processing - October 2007 Contents Editor’s Plate Power Lunch NewsBites Rollout Food Biz Kids Product Spotlight Annual R&D Survey Product Development Plant Operations Packaging New Product Profiles Toops Scoops

Food Processing - October 2007

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