New product development strategies at Salesforce and Apple
The transformation of many diverse forms of customer, supplier, internal development, and research & development (R&D) insights into a consistent and productive platform for product development is key to long-term competitive growth. The reliance on advanced frameworks for organizing these diverse sources of innovation into taxonomies that can eventually be used to fuel new products is often called the New Product Development (NPD) process. As every company has a unique, highly differentiated and often highly customized business model, the same holds true for the NPD process. Companies over time define the NPD process to align with their unique technological and market strengths. Comparing the NPD process at Salesforce, the leading provider of SaaS-based CRM software versus Apple makes this point clearly. Salesforce is known for very rapid product releases of the CRM applications and exceptionally quick updates. Conversely, Apple is known for being slow and deliberate in their user experience design criterion and extremely secretive about their NPD process. Both companies are market leaders in their fields, one in a digital product and the other, in a physical product. As is the case with any 21rst century product, both have electronics and software heavily embedded within each of them. The digital product, which is Salesforces' CRM application, has a much more accelerated product development and testing cycle associated with it, as the company is aggressively pursuing market share against large, entrenched rivals. Conversely, Apple on the hardware side of businesses is often creating their own new markets through efficient use of intellectual capital and innovative, user experience-based designs. Both companies are market leaders in large part due to the success of their continual execution of their NPD processes and strategies.
Apple's product development strategy and supplier relations in China
China and Apple seem to have experienced a love relationship which is no surprise since Apple's products, although ‘designed' in California, are mostly produced in China. As recent as August, 2012, Canalys indicated that China accounted for 27 percent of global smartphone shipments overall in the quarter, compared with 16 percent for the U.S. (CNN Money). Apple's relations with suppliers are, however, more pessimistic. Apple's code of conduct in 2007 determined that "working conditions in Apple's supply chain are safe, that workers are treated with respect and dignity, and that manufacturing processes are environmentally responsible" (Duhigg & Burboza, January 25, 2012)
The reality, however, as evidenced by working condition within the Foxconn factory proved otherwise, and Apple's workers, despite slight and voiced improvement, are still paid paltry wages with horrendous working conditions that demand improvement. Apple's present situation may best be summed up as shades of gray. Apple and China have maintained something of their flourishing relationship, but Apple seems to slowing somewhat due to external conditions. These mostly include their exorbitant price for their iPhone which is causing China, for the first time, to prefer other companies as suppliers. As of the last quarter, Android sold 100 million quarterly smartphone shipments and shared that No. 1 spot with Samsung who boasted a 31 percent share of the market. Apple and Nokia meanwhile claimed second two spots. But Apple still seems to be going strong.