What is product planning?

The evolution of scientific product planning in business, designed to reduce the risk of failure and to avoid the enormous waste that failures cause, has led to the formalizing of the various activities involved in product planning. In general, we can summarize the function of product planning in the following ten points:
(a)    Evaluation of the idea. Does the product belong in our line? Is the time right for it now? Does this seem like a good idea for us to make this item?
(b)    Evaluation of the potential market. Does the consumer want or need this product? Is the market big enough to warrant our investing the necessary time, manpower, and money to make it? What influences consumer buying of this type of product?
(c)    Evaluating the product. Is this new idea sufficiently different and superior to existing products (competitive products) to warrant investment? Will this new product give the consumer substantially more for his money?
(d)    Evaluating company resources. Is our company set up to make this new product? What additional equipment or manpower will we need to make and market it? Can we make and sell it economically against the price the consumer is willing to pay? How long will it take our company with its present or potential resources to recoup investment and start making a profit from its operations? Approximately where is the break-even point?
(e)    Preparing customer specifications. If preliminary evaluation is favorable, just what is it that the consumer would like in a product of this kind? What would the consumer not like? What assurance do we have that a product meeting those specifications will find a ready market? What should our new product be like? What should it do to meet customer specifications?
(f)    Developing the product. Armed with this information, which marketing research has developed for us, we can turn to the engineering or laboratory department for the development of a product which meets those specifications as nearly as possible.
(g)    Pre-testing the product. The sample or model product, as designed and developed by engineering, has to be tested in the market against competition. If there is nothing like it on the market now, it must be tested against consumer apathy or resistance. Generally, at this stage, some modifications are indicated as consumer
 tastes change, or as our model fails to meet customer specifications.
(h)    Producing the product. Once we have tested the model, and have confirmed customer desire to buy, we can return it to engineering for last- minute modifications and then turn it over to manufacturing for production for the market. Careful timetables will have been made, allowing the sales, advertising and promotion departments to prepare their programs for proper market coverage and market introduction.
(i)    Marketing the product. If all necessary planning and programming have been accomplished, marketing the product should begin as soon as production has turned out enough units to meet the initial plan. It is important that dealers and distributors, as well as the company's own sales force, shall have full knowledge beforehand.