Five-Stage Model Corning\'s Five Stage

Five-Stage Model

Corning's five stage gate process

Corning's five-stage stage-gate process

According to market research analyst Sidharth Thakur's article on "Analyzing Corning's five-stage stage-gate process" the first stage of the Corning method begins with a preliminary phase of "discovering opportunities and using these opportunities to generate ideas for new products" through brainstorming (Thakur 2010). The first, formal stage of 'scoping' is a more disciplined framing of the organization's needs and ambitions. It involves comparing the proposed project against existing rival products in the market, and finding ways to gain an edge over the existing competition. The second stage involves building the business proposal and more specifically defining the nature of the new product. Only after the target market is established and the likely competition is identified can the third, documentation stage commence in which concrete details about the product are hammered out. The third stage also involves the actual designing of the product, coupled with outlining the manufacturing processes and establishing the overall marketing strategy. During the fourth stage of testing and validation of the product model and its marketing, the final version of the design is refined out. Then, this is followed by bringing the process to a conclusion, where the product is actually released or 'launched' (Thakur 2010).

Corning's model has been used by many major organizations, including the tool manufacturer Black & Decker. B&D used the five stage process when designing a universal motor for all B&D tools. During the pre-planning phase, B&D determined that it had to cut production costs to compete with less expensive offshore manufacturers in the power tool industry and that a universal motor would increase efficiency, streamline production and decrease input costs (Gunu 2010). There was a clear need for the product, one which would satisfy B&D's need to reduce prices as well as consumer demand for more economic yet high-quality designs. Likewise, the Schwann Food Company regularly uses the model to compete in the competitive food and beverage industry. Honing product strategy and unified marketing is a critical aspect of the Corning model, and branding of new niche products to suite ever-changing consumer needs is lifeblood of the food industry (Schneider 2005).

Corning's model ensures that a new product has actual, objective quality, that there is a genuine market need for the product, there is untapped demand for the product, and that the function of the product or service aligns with those needs. The model integrates all aspects of the design, budgeting, and marketing process to ensure that they are not at odds with one another. It thus encourages cross-communication between different marketing divisions as well as facilitates the releasing of new projects through the development of a systematized model.

Business journalist Joan Schneider notes that the model itself is subject to frequent tweaking. For example, some companies separate the final 'launch' stage of the project into two phases. This "forces you to consider critical questions and to seize control of important timing factors, such as when planning for launch should begin and when it should end. The more deliberate you are in scheduling and handling launch, the better your results will be-particularly if you start thinking about launch as soon as you receive the go/no go signal from management" (Schneider 2005).