News Release

New SG Navigator™ for the Services Industry: Focus on Service Delivery Model Creates NPD Advantage

ANCASTER, ONTARIO, CANADA – FRIDAY AUGUST 29, 2003 – Companies in the services industry, looking to enhance their new service and/or product development programs can now benefit from the experience of the world leaders in Stage-Gate® Process best practices. Stage-Gate®, Inc. has just released the new SG Navigator™ – Services Version, a new tool to enhance service and product development, tailored specifically for the service industry.

SG Navigator™ – Services Version is based on the knowledge of the two recognized world experts in new product development, Drs. Bob Cooper and Scott Edgett. It includes more than 25 years of best practice research and incorporates the Critical Success Factors, a break-through discovery in NPD. Furthermore, it contains best-in-class gatekeeping, complete activity descriptions for each stage, numerous worksheets and deliverables, and fully detailed descriptions of the six critical roles in NPD.

“Traditional manufacturing and processing companies have long recognized the need for effective product development as a competitive weapon”, explains Scott J. Edgett, CEO of Stage-Gate Inc. “But the service sector has been slower to adopt an aggressive stance in this area. However, each year more companies are looking to service development as a weapon in the increasingly competitive environments in which they operate.”

“SG Navigator™ – Service Version incorporates service industry terminology and ‘know-how’ derived from our work with numerous service organizations that clarifies the activities and expectations for improved NPD. Special features incorporated into this version include: a comprehensive Service Delivery Model that is the basis for being able to deliver the new service and a Pilot Launch Plan that enables a test market of the service prior to a full scale launch. Therefore, this off-the-shelf solution significantly reduces the time organizations in the service industry spend on designing a New Product Development process. “SG Navigator™ – Services Version eliminates weeks of in-house design work,” explained Edgett. “Many organizations have tried to develop NPD processes themselves utilizing the best practices knowledge. But many soon discover how truly challenging such a project can be, let alone one that requires industry specific knowledge. Our tool gives organizations the complete package they need to jump-start the implementation of a best-in-class process.” she concluded.