Time to market is a critical component used during time-based competition. It is defined as the actual time taken from the onset of a product idea to the finished goods during the product development process.
The duration of time includes generating ideas, designing, developing, testing, and lastly introducing them to their customers. Organized efficiency is the name of the game, and this is possible via an efficient tool known as the time to market.
Organizations use this metric for evaluating the handling of an external competition for a particular project.
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Meaning of time to market
Time to market is also referred to as TTM and is described as the time it takes to conceive a project to the length of time it is available for selling. It is especially an important tool for industries where goods become outdated very quickly.
Better control over the development process will help to make an accurate prediction about time to market. It becomes possible for a company to launch the product at the appropriate time and place. Time to market is the key to deciding whether a product will be successful or not.
Measuring time to market
Measuring Time to market is difficult as there are no set standards for it. There is a great difference to the term start of a period for every industry sometimes when an idea is conceived the starting period starts there whereas for some when it has been approved for production and others when it has gone for production.
Similar is the case with the end period. Some define it as the time when the engineering department confirms it, for some, it is when the product is ready for sale, for some when it is shipped and for others when it reaches its destination that is at the hands of a customer.
Measurement of time to market also varies as per the complexity of the product, its process, and the technologies it integrates. The one thing that is important in calculating time to market is that a business entity’s capability must be relative to its rival companies.
Types of time to market
Business entities pursue time to the market concept for several reasons. The variations and types of time to market are as follows-
- Speed-Pay attention to the speed of availability by bringing the product or service to the consumer market as quickly as possible.
- Flexibility to change – Innovation and change are the same sides of a coin, and it is a fact that the need for change arises midway during a project. Suppose the product is for specific consumer use and you get valuable feedback about it and make adjustment accordingly. Then it becomes to measure time to market concept from the time you made the last change to the delivery time.
- Minimizing the use of resources– Time to market is also used as a viable means to cut the costing. Management believes that if the period between conceiving a project and its end game is cut shorter, the project cost will automatically become less as it is consuming fewer amounts of available resources. Organizations reduce time to market cost by increasing the number of staff in actual case this move can prove more costly if the labor resource is very costly.
- Predictable schedules – It is more valuable to be on time as per schedule than reaching the market as fast as you can. If you launch your product at a trade show, the product will garner better results.
Benefits of time to market
The benefits of time to market are as follows-
- Increasing profitability
- Garnering larger sales figures
- Speeding the time to market
- Improving the quality of the product
- Increasing productivity of a company
- Improving the communication level within the company
- Proficient managerial processes
- Higher share in the market
Keeps you ahead in the game by dealing effectively with the competitors
Key points to speed the process of time to market
The main points to boost time to market are as follows-
1. Traceability
Involve everyone by facilitating visibility and access to share information. Open communication will increase collaboration internally and will help to achieve the desired results with transparency.
It will also amplify time to market due to increased fluidity amongst the team members.
2. Optimizing development process
It is not possible to align all the members with the same process hence it is a good policy to automate the development cycle of the product so that one can put its onus on the thing that matters most. This will boost the time to market.
3. Integrate innovation
Make sure that the organizational teams are involved in the innovation process so that you can speed up the time to market.
4. Organized workflow
The basic idea is to organize your workflow by eliminating anything that can be considered a waste to increase time to market. Reduce the downtimes throughout the process. You can also share valuable knowledge so that the workflow is smooth and sure.
It is important to create a workflow that lessens the downtime to increase time to market.
5. Use of outsourcing
It is possible to outsource all elements of time to market, for instance, ask another entity to know about target customers, one for knowing price points and someone else for the promotional channel.
6. Flexibility
Gathering and sharing data and information in real-time helps in making the smooth decision making. It will be flexible to market changes and thus increase time to market.
7. Product strategy
If you are interested in improving your time to market, opt for a product strategy that is consistent by nature.
8. Simple roadmap
An organization which has put its onus on increased time to market will keep its priorities clear and roadmap for product development simple.
