2. Global company with history of growth
•Turnover £314 Million in 2011
•2200 employees worldwide
•Sales into over 120 countries
•24 International Subsidiary
Offices
•>200 Distributors
4. Lesson No. 1
• Complex products – complex set of
deliverables for launch
– Engineering / product elements
– Marketing collateral / sales tools
– Training materials / equipment
– Policies – Spares, Service, Repair,
Warranty
– Supply chain – stock!
• Strong Project Management
– Committed launch team
– Regular project meetings along side Stage
Gate product development process
5. Lesson No. 2
• Poor Sales Channel commitment
– Multiple products / technologies through the
same channel
– “We don’t have the bandwidth”
– Not commited to sales goals
– Need to “Train the Trainer” for both commercial
and technical training to cope with local
language
• Local champion / Launch owner
– Part of the project team to input local needs
– Ensure all the channel deliverables in place
• Schedule launches to match channel
capacity, regional priorities
• Create “useful” sales tools – focus on
value propositions not features
6. Lesson No. 3
• The product is never 100% “ready”
– Project extends, or unrealistic timescales, but launch date
“can’t” move back
– Launch with known issues / bugs effecting few applications
– Loss of sales channel and general business confidence
• Keep development resource in place post launch
– Resolve issues quickly
• Communicate status
– Communicate known issues / status e.g. Early Life Tracker
Report
– Update sales channels / teams regularly
7. Lesson No. 4
• Often replacing existing products……to existing customers
– Not all the functionality of existing product is in place from day
one
– Not possible to kill the existing product
– Adds complexity and cost to the business
– Adds confusion within the sales teams and customers
• Have a plan!
– Range completion takes time
– Set clear expectations
11. How to build a Product Release
Checklist
1. Determine impact on all stakeholders
2. What documents will inform
stakeholders of the impact?
3. Build a Library of Reference Materials
4. Build an Issues List
5. Iterate!
6. Communicate regularly
7. Don’t forget to celebrate!
List available at http://blog.stream121.com
22. TAP Biosystems
Delivering systems since 1988
HQ: Royston, (Cambridge) UK
US: Wilmington, DE
150+ employees
£20 million revenue
Direct sales and support
North America
UK & Ireland
DACH Region
Distribution Network
Europe
Asia Pacific
Confidential 14 September 2012 22
23. A broad portfolio for a range of markets
Integrated systems Mid sized systems Benchtop systems
High throughput Bioprocess Regenerative ADME / Tox
drug discovery development medicine
Confidential 14 September 2012 23
24. The good, the bad, ok perhaps the really ugly!
ambr Cell IQ
TAP developed product Distributed product
TAP’s first suspension cell Applications in stem cell
culture product and assay development
TAP’s first consumable led TAP’s first imaging based
product product
Targeted but highly Broad market & interested
conservative market in new technologies
Confidential 14 September 2012 24
25. So how did the launches go?
ambr Cell IQ
200-300 leads generated 200-300 leads generated
Trade shows and e-mail blasts Telesales & e-mail blasts
Evaluation led closure Evaluations not converted
Pharma / biotech customers
Interest from academic
30 companies adopted after
sector
18 months
grant dependent
Product growth to £10m per
annum 2 years after launch Product dropped after 24
months
Confidential 14 September 2012 25
26. So what did we learn?
1. Really know your market
ambr Cell-IQ
• Developed with 2 partners • Relied on partner’s market research
• Extensive market research • Value proposition based on flexibility
• Clear plan to reach customers • ‘shotgun’ approach to lead generation
2. Commit to the product!
We were reluctant to invest in Cell IQ evaluations
3. Do not assume a sales team will follow up on
untargeted leads
4. Just because a partner has sold systems does not
mean it will be a successful product
Confidential 14 September 2012 26