Page 204 - Six Sigma for electronics design and manufacturing

Six Sigma Quality and Manufacturing Costs of Electronics Products
Figure 6.1 Product life cycle stages. 171

and reliability of the new product in manufacturing is achieved by ex-
tensive inspection and testing.
The second stage is the growth stage. As the marketplace is ex-
panded and general acceptance of the product is assured, the number
of competitors drops and the rate of market development begins to
slow. The issue is not the acceptance of the technology or the particu-
lar use of the product, but the differentiating aspects of the manufac-
turers. Elements of the long-term cost of ownership of the product
such as the quality and field support of the product, the commitment
of the manufacturers to the particular business segment, and the
growth of ancillary products and services supporting the product and
its technology are emphasized. In addition, there is increasing cus-
tomer confidence in the evolution of the product technology.
Product development during the growth stage is characterized by
the focus on introducing the manufacturing guidelines of capabilities
and constraints to the new product, and beginning to concentrate on
manufacturing as a strategic weapon to achieve low cost and high
quality. Coordination with suppliers is increased by the introduction
of just-in-time (JIT) schedules into the manufacturing process.
The third stage is the maturity period. This phase is characterized
by the emergence of a dominant technology or technique for the prod-
uct design. At the same time, the relative growth of the market is
slowed, being only proportional to the growth of the population or the
customer base, as the product saturates the market. The number of
manufacturers continues to decrease, as they either go out of business
or get bought out by larger companies. The competitive emphasis in
this stage is on price and quality, as the dominant technology does not
allow too much variation on the basic design of the product.
Product development in the maturity phase is focused on continued
improvement in manufacturing processes, such as a stronger empha-