The document discusses achieving excellence in product development and launch. It provides context on the challenges facing the pharmaceutical, consumer goods, and retail industries in developing and launching new products given dynamic market conditions. It identifies key lessons that can help businesses, including focusing on critical success factors, embedding launch capabilities, navigating uncertainty, and getting launch fundamentals right. Digital technologies, customer insights, and adapting operating models are also discussed as important to maintaining speed to market and innovation. The document covers industry dynamics, digital technologies, and future operating models as they relate to product development and launch excellence.

1. AfocusonthePharmaceutical,
ConsumerGoodsandRetailindustries
Achieving
Product
Development
and Launch
Excellence

2. 1 Purposeofthispaper
2 Context
6
8
10
14 Moorhousesummary
16 Furtherinformation
INDUSTRYDYNAMICS
DIGITAL&TECHNOLOGY
FUTUREOPERATINGMODEL

3. Developing and launching new products is the lifeblood of many
businesses; we are all engaged in an innovation war to survive.
The marketplace is increasingly dynamic and fiercely competitive
due to new disruptors, pricing pressures, digital innovations and more
demanding consumers. History is full of examples of companies that
failed to innovate and maintain a competitive product portfolio.
With this in mind, Moorhouse
brought together leaders
fromacrossthepharmaceutical,
consumer goods and retail
industries, to identify key lessons
theybelievewouldhelpbusinesses
achieve product development
and launch excellence.
1
PURPOSE
OF THIS PAPER

4. Pharmaceutical product development is highly resource intensive: Pharma
represents 20% of all R&D spend by UK businesses,1 with an average 12 year
development pathway from discovery to market, at a typical cost of £1.15bn
per drug developed.2 Yet even in the face of this significant investment,
only 1 in 5000 drugs make it to market and ~2/3rds of drug product
launches fail to meet expectations. 3
Pharma represents 20% of all
R&D spend by UK businesses.1
2/3rds of drug product launches
fail to meet expectations.3
Typical cost of £1.15bn
per drug developed.2
Only 1 in 5,000 drugs
make it to market.3
1.15bn
1
Source: Office for National Statistics
2
Source: Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)
3
Source: “The secret of successful drug launches” McKinsey & Company, March 2014
2
CONTEXT:
PHARMACEUTICALS
20%

5. Only 24% of new products remain
on-shelf 1 year after launch.4
Branded new products contribute
just 2% to overall UK sales (down
from 3% 5 years ago).5
Only 1 in 3 innovations achieved sales
volumes of more than 10,000.4
Only 1 in 7 new products achieved 75%
distribution in multiple retailers.5
4
Source: Nielson Breakthrough Innovation Report, 2016 (tracked 61,644 new FMCG SKUs in Western Europe across 17 categories over a 2 year period)
5
Source: IRI New Product Development Study, 2016 (UK study)
3
Consumer goods and retail companies are also struggling with the
challenge of driving future growth through their product development
portfolios. In the UK, the fierce fight for shelf space is intensifying as
major retailers seek to cut their ranges, increasing the challenge for
new products to secure listings and grow distribution.
CONSUMERBUSINESS
75%
1 in 3
2%

6. 4

7. FUTUREOPERATINGMODEL
Whataretheimplicationsforthefuture
operatingmodel,recognisingthereisaneed
tochangeanorganisation’sculture,mind-set
andwaysofworking?
PAGE 10
DIGITAL&TECHNOLOGY
How can organisations harness people, data,
customers and platforms to innovate and
maintain speed to market in a digital world?
PAGE 8
INDUSTRYDYNAMICS
How do organisations achieve and sustain
launch excellence given the dynamic
landscape they face?
PAGE 6
5

8. INDUSTRY DYNAMICS:
HOWDOORGANISATIONS
ACHIEVEANDSUSTAINLAUNCH
EXCELLENCEGIVENTHEDYNAMIC
LANDSCAPETHEYFACE?
Focus energies:
Identify and focus energies on the critical factors and
decisions that will define success. These will vary depending
on the type of product being launched and on dimensions
such as: customer insights, level of differentiation,
competitor landscape and proposed market positioning.
Of the many activities to manage, companies need to
identify and be exceptional at those activities that will
truly provide an edge for each product.
Embed capability:
Product launches require the co-ordinated efforts of
numerous people, spanning functions and markets.
However, many of those involved will have limited launch
experience and differing approaches. Leading companies
look to instil winning behaviours and have Centres of
Excellence to improve and embed launch capability through
the application of best practice approaches, processes,
tools and governance, and through shared learnings
from across the organisation.
Navigate through uncertainty:
Launching products has always involved managing
key sources of uncertainty, whether they be external
such as regulation, market access and competitor
activity, or internal such as portfolio strategy,
resource availability and operating model change.
Launch teams need to be agile to react quickly to
change, by building variables and scenarios into their
plans, and by closely managing risks.
Get the fundamentals right:
Commercial launch is often undermanaged,
resulting in significant value being left on the table.
Robust launch planning, programme management,
and KPI tracking, are vital to ensure that nothing falls
by the wayside in executing the numerous activities
involved. Companies that excel at tightly managing
the commercialisation of products achieve earlier
ramp-up, higher sales and quicker
time to profitability.
2 4
AlexHolmes,PharmaceuticalLeadatMoorhouse,
openedthediscussionwithhisinsightsonlaunchexcellence.
6
1 3

9. The day of the ‘blockbuster’ is over for
most Pharma companies; the challenge
is how to transform your company to
become an innovation launch factory.
Cheryl Dhillon
Senior Vice President Supply Chain
& Corporate Management at Otsuka
We are developing a twin speed
process. For viable products it is
about speed to launch. For future
innovations, yes first-to-market
is vital but it is less about absolute
speed - you need to allow enough
time to develop a consumer relevant
product that is set-up for success.
Kostas Didaskalou
Head of Product Planning &
Innovations Portfolio at
British American Tobacco
Key perspectives from the discussion:
Speed to Market
An interesting insight from the group was that two ‘gear settings’ may be
required. For viable new products you need to be in the highest gear; focusing
efforts and co-ordinating activities across functions to launch your product as
quickly as possible. This will maximise the products’ opportunity and quicken the
time to profitability. For concepts earlier in the development cycle, you need to
be in a lower gear setting - time is still important to be first to market, but this
is a ‘long distance event’ that needs to be well paced, allowing sufficient time
to collaborate across stakeholders and gain insights during development, to
maximise the products’ potential.
Challenging vested interests
The group identified that innovative products can often be treated as more of
a threat than an opportunity within organisations. If you have a new product that
will transform a category, it could be better for your business in the long-term,
but also act as a threat to your current offering by cannibalising sales. Whether
it be digital media, e-cigarettes, or a new medical treatment, those managing
today’s business may not be so enthusiastic to embrace the innovation. Instead
they may be conflicted by immediate self-interest and established incentives.
The challenge for business leaders is to recognise this conflict, to protect the
new product and allow it to succeed by changing the business strategy and
operating model.
Differentiating between development and innovation led growth
In the world of consumer goods and retail, often so little of what is passed off
as a new product is truly innovative. If people were brutally honest, they would
recognise that much of their development pipeline consists of ‘renovations’ –
product refreshes, line extensions and packaging modifications. Although this
activity is still important to keep brands fresh and relevant, in themselves they
will not drive a step change in category growth. If left unchecked, these activities
can consume R&D budgets and organisational efforts. The message from the
group was that businesses need to be clear on what is truly innovative and then
to focus appropriate resources to ensure success.
7

10. DIGITAL & TECHNOLOGY:
8
HOWCANORGANISATIONSHARNESS
PEOPLE,DATA,CUSTOMERSANDPLATFORMS
TOINNOVATEANDMAINTAINSPEEDTO
MARKETINADIGITALWORLD?
Blurring of physical and digital:
An increasing number of products may have
both a physical and digital product component.
This fundamentally changes the approach,
activities, skills and experience profile of
all those involved in developing and
launching products.
Customer centricity:
The balance of power has shifted to the customer.
Multi-channel digital communications mean that
feedback and engagement can be gathered,
measured and analysed in ways never previously
thought possible. This brings invaluable information
back into the product development lifecycle.
Internet of things:
Miniaturisation and pervasive wireless data
connectivity are presenting pharmaceutical
companies with new ways to build products and
to focus more intensively on patient outcomes.
Coupling pharmaceutical products with apps
and devices, can support the shift in helping
patients take greater control of their own health.
2
StephenStanton-Downes,Digital&TechnologyTransformation
LeadatMoorhouse,expandedthediscussionwithhisreflections
onthekeytrendsandconsequencesofdigitaltechnology.
1 3

11. 9
Key perspectives from the discussion:
Understanding needs
Be they retail customers, healthcare buyers, doctors, patients, shoppers or end
users, the consistent theme from the group was that organisations need to gain
an intimate understanding of needs across a consumers shopping experience
or a patient’s health pathway. The opportunities to achieve this are far greater
today, with tools to get closer to customers (e.g. social media, mobile apps, loyalty
data, wearables), with the access to data and with the ability to analyse ever more
information. The big rewards for businesses and for society, are through
identifying and serving today’s unmet needs.
Gaining true insights from the ocean of information
Marketers and product developers are awash with a wealth of data that was
unimaginable a few years ago and which they currently feel ill-equipped to deal with.
Companies need the analytics capability to mine this information, to discover the
valuable nuggets of consumer insight and actionable information. This capability
needs to be built or be provided by service partners, and employees need to be
equipped to best harness it.
Managing the new flow of communications
The group agreed that the whole communication model in business is changing.
Historically it was predominantly a one way flow from companies to their customers
and end-users. The objective was to convince them of their products’ benefits and
their superiority over competitive alternatives. Today, communication requires
a much more sophisticated dialogue. Feedback can be more readily harnessed and
fed directly into product development efforts. Furthermore, people are less likely
to be influenced in their decision making by ‘experts’, be they health professionals
or business representatives. Instead people are engaged through social media in
discussions with one another and with ‘social influencers’, whose opinion may hold
greater sway as it is perceived as more authentic and trustworthy.
Test and fail fast
There was broad agreement from the group that the intent is to build
a culture of testing and fast failure. Technology provides the opportunity
to test more broadly and at a lower cost to the business. Insights and feedback
can now be gathered quickly and at lower cost, for example through social
media and video conferencing tools.
Enhancing products through technology
Many of the discussion group’s companies had traditionally viewed
themselves as product based companies. Increasingly though, products
are being enhanced by technology to provide service benefits as well.
In the example of medications, the development of mobile apps for patients
to support treatments, can help with patient medication compliance,
significantly improving a medications efficacy.
Technology has disrupted traditional
consumer goods communications
models; consumers no longer expect
to be told what to do, they want to
be part of the conversation and be
treated as individuals. Harnessing
technology to gather these inputs
can help to unlock new insights
and drive innovation.
Nicola Butler
Innovation Manager
at Intersnack Group
Until recently we have not had access
to all information required to manage
our critical path and ensure launch
success. The next challenge is going
to be how to use and analyse this
information well.
Richard Norton
Supply Chain Planning
at Marks & Spencer
The priority is to truly understand the
patient and their journey, to gain deep
insights into how and where you can add
most value. This requires a mind-set
change beyond purely the supply of
a medical product and also requires
thinking on how to better communicate
its benefits.
Karishma Jivani
Commercial/Market Access,
Oncology at Shire

12. FUTURE OPERATING MODEL:
10
1 3
Performance measurement:
The longer a product stays in the pipeline, the more time,
effort and resources are consumed. If you are targeted to
achieve a stage gate for your project, you may keep the
concepts in the pipeline to achieve this goal, when it may
be better to re-evaluate or drop the concept. As a macro
measure companies need to measure not just category
market share (a defensive lag measure) but also share of
category growth (a forward looking lead measure).
Culture:
There are a number of elements that constitute the
ideal organisational culture and mind-set, to stimulate
innovation and support successful product development.
Such as: entrepreneurial mind-set, acceptance of failure
to learn from for future success, collaboration, a customer/
consumer/patient mind-set. However, building such
a culture and mind-set is easier said than done. It requires
strong leadership, consistent re-enforcement through
managerial actions, and a conscientious effort to build
trust in your relationships with all stakeholders,
to truly collaborate.
Processes:
Product development is often seen as a linear
process, where concepts are developed then
taken through each stage gate in turn, before
being launched successfully in the market.
In reality it is more a series of loops. An iterative,
agile approach is required; learning as you go
and allowing concepts to fail-fast.
Organisation:
The chances for product development success are
already stacked against many large businesses,
due to self-imposed financial/market share target
constraints and the physical constraints of legacy
back-office and supply chain infrastructure. Seek
additional innovation opportunities through M&A/
partnering/joint ventures/licencing with small
businesses that have developed successful new
products. Integrate them appropriately though,
so as not to ruin what has made them successful.
2
4
StuartClarke,ConsumerGoodsandRetailLeadatMoorhouse,
providedsomeinsightsonthefuturechangesrequiredto
companies’operatingmodels.
WHATARETHEIMPLICATIONSFORTHEFUTURE
OPERATINGMODEL,RECOGNISINGTHATTHEREIS
ANEEDTOCHANGEANORGANISATION’SCULTURE,
MIND-SETANDWAYSOFWORKING?

13. 11
Key perspectives from the discussion:
Transforming ways of working
The challenge for many companies is; how to become the company of the future
that they instinctively know they need to be, without losing what has made them
successful to date. There was broad agreement from the group that a balance is
required; it is possible and necessary to change current ways of working, but there
is also a requirement to bring in new talent with experience from other companies,
to support and inform this change.
Fostering a customer/consumer centric culture
Challenger brands succeed because they focus their efforts on being authentic and
relevant to their end users; as opposed to obsessing about internal financial/market
share thresholds.
Moving towards a network of trusted partners
Large corporations need the humility to recognise that they no longer hold all
of the answers. Not all capabilities can, or should be, held in-house. Instead,
companies will succeed through the strength of their network of trusted partners.
These partners in some instances may even be their traditional competitors, e.g.
ViiV Healthcare, a specialist in the development of HIV treatments, an independent
company which pools investment and capabilities from three competitor
pharmaceutical companies. It requires a greater level of managerial sophistication
to build the required levels of trust, and to manage the more complex tapestry of
associated risks. In Japan, alliances are commonplace and it is usual for the roles and
responsibilities of each partner to be relatively vague; this helps to focus all parties
on achieving a mutually beneficial result, rather than falling back on contractual
agreements. At the heart of any partnering, is the need to build and maintain trust.
Focus efforts to increase success rates
It is often the elapsed time of people working on multiple projects, plus their
business-as-usual activities, which slows time to market and reduces launch
effectiveness. A better approach may be to place your bets and focus investment,
by establishing cross-functional teams focused solely on a single innovation project
brief. It may mean taking on fewer development projects but allow teams to manage
them more effectively.
Encouraging difficult conversations to improve decision making
There was agreement that a degree of friction is required to improve the chances
of product development success. A sufficient level of challenge is required and
disagreements need to be aired, for business leaders to be well informed before
making a decision on how best to progress with a new product.
Enhance your change management capability
Whether it be changing your operating model, encouraging the acceptance of failure,
harnessing analytics, or building external partnerships – the common denominator is
the importance of change management. Success or failure will largely be driven by
a company’s capability to manage and communicate change in their organisation.
The future is about partnering
successfully with organisations,
to attain the additional capabilities
you need, to help create and deliver
new brand expansion opportunities.
The upside of this far outweighs
the risks.
Julie McCleave
Global Licensing Director at Unilever
The operating model changes
required, present a huge leadership
challenge and a realisation that
they do not hold all the answers.
The paradox for leaders is the
requirement for process control,
whilst managing within a fast
changing crazy world.
Bob Hannon
Supply Chain Director, Procurement,
Business Planning at Nomad Foods
Once you get to launch you need to
support a new product for a significant
period of time. Often a judgement is
made prematurely that a product is
not succeeding. A new product may
take some time to establish.
Paul Dewis
Director at Yellow Hat Solutions

14. 12

15. 13
MOORHOUSE
SUMMARY
Stephen Vinall, Partner
Stephen is the lead partner for
Moorhouse Pharmaceutical and
Consumer Business sectors.
The dinner discussion drew together a group of experienced individuals
who between them have led, advised, and been involved in, multiple product
development and launch initiatives across their sectors and beyond. It was
a passionate and lively discussion from which there were surprisingly common
themes across pharmaceutical, consumer goods and retail businesses and
categories. Drawing on this experience, the following summary points from
the evening capture perspectives, which can act as a simple guide. We hope
these points will enhance the chances of realising greater value from product
development and launch efforts in the future:
— Gaining true insights
With the exponential rise in available information comes the need to have the
analytical capability to mine the information for insights and truly understand
what the customer wants.
— Develop a capability and culture for innovation
To be truly innovative, failure must be embraced. This requires wholesale
change to the operating model and company culture. Strong leadership
and good judgement is required to axe product developments
fast or to back them hard.
— Increase the product development ‘clock speed’
A more iterative and agile approach to product development is required.
Harness technology to reach out more broadly across your customer base
to test and adjust concepts throughout the development cycle.
— Tolerate a higher level of risk but manage this closely
Increasing development speed, partnering with others and reducing internal
bureaucracies, means tolerating a higher degree of risk. Done well, this will
make for an exciting working environment, but it is important that the right
policies and processes are in place to manage the risk.
— Adopt a bold strategy
When products are in decline and threatened by substitutes, be prepared
to shift investment fast, to ensure a competitive and relevant product
portfolio into the future.
— Build a network of trusted partners and advisors
The insights and capabilities no longer rest within single organisations.
A network of partners is required in today’s world to develop the best
ideas and to drive fast and successful innovation.
Product development and launch
excellence in this dynamically
changing world, challenges us to
think how we can best organise
ourselves for future success.
Stephen Vinall
Partner at Moorhouse

16. 14
In summary, it is recognised
that product development
and launch is complex. To lead
the field you need to focus on
truly understanding needs, on
developing robust approaches
to product development and
on the management of the
associated change.

17. 1515

18. 16
Moorhouse is a management consultancy that
works with major corporate and government entities.
We support our clients in turning their strategy into
action, by providing ‘out of the ordinary’ delivery
capability, and by establishing a culture of change.
Moorhouse regularly runs discussion dinners and breakfast seminars that seek
to draw out perspectives and to identify lessons for broader benefit.
Visit our website at www.moorhouseconsulting.com
for more details or call 020 3004 4482
Alex Holmes
Pharmaceutical Lead
AlexHolmes@
moorhouseconsulting.com
Stuart Clarke
Consumer Goods
and Retail Lead
StuartClarke@
moorhouseconsulting.com
Stephen Vinall
Pharmaceutical
and Consumer Business
sectors Moorhouse
Partner Lead
StephenVinall@
moorhouseconsulting.com
Stephen
Stanton-Downes
Digital & Technology
Transformation Lead
StephenStantonDownes@
moorhouseconsulting.com
FURTHER INFORMATION

19. Strategy
intoaction
Turningstrategicambitions
intodeliverableportfolios
andprogrammes.
Programme&project
changeculture
Improvingorembedding
acultureforthesuccessful
deliveryofchange.
Outofthe
ordinarydelivery
Supportingthedelivery
ofcomplexprogrammes
andprojects.
SERVICES

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LondonEC4V5BT
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Achieving Product Development and Launch Excellence