How to create an internal structure and product planning team to successfully move away from OEM

Moving away from Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) can be a crucial transition for companies looking to assert their brand identity and push their innovative capabilities.
To navigate this shift successfully, setting up an internal structure and a product planning team is essential.
This article provides a step-by-step guide to creating a solid foundation for this strategic move.

Understanding the Move Away from OEM

Before diving into the logistics of forming an internal team, it’s important to understand why moving away from OEM can be beneficial.
OEMs are great for reducing production costs and accelerating time to market.
However, they limit your control over the branding, product quality, and customization potential.
By developing your own product planning team, you gain autonomy, maximize the potential for innovation, and ultimately enhance your brand value in the market.

Establishing a New Vision

Define Clear Objectives

The first step is to establish clear goals and objectives for your transition.
What do you want to achieve by moving away from OEM?
Is it about improving product quality, increasing profit margins, or gaining a competitive edge?
Defining these objectives will help guide your strategy and decision-making process.

Create a Strategic Plan

Once objectives are defined, the next step is to create a strategic plan.
This plan should outline the resources needed, identify potential challenges, and set a timeline for the transition.
It’s crucial to make the plan flexible enough to adapt to unforeseen changes in the market and ensure it aligns with your company’s overall goals.

Forming an Internal Product Planning Team

Identify Key Roles

Building a successful product planning team requires identifying key roles.
These typically include product managers, designers, engineers, and marketing professionals.
Each role should have distinct responsibilities, but they must work closely together to ensure the project’s success.
Consider the skills and experience necessary for each role and seek candidates who are innovative, proactive, and adaptable.

Assemble a Diverse Team

Diversity in the team is crucial for creativity and innovation.
A team with different perspectives can approach problems in unique ways and come up with more robust solutions.
Encourage a culture that values varying opinions and insights, which ultimately contributes to better product development.

Set Clear Responsibilities

To ensure efficiency, it’s vital to define clear responsibilities and roles within the team.
Each member should understand their contribution to the product’s development, timelines for deliverables, and whom they report to.
Clear accountability helps minimize confusion and ensures everyone is working towards a common goal.

Implementing Effective Communication Channels

Encourage Open Dialogue

Open communication is essential for internal teams.
Foster an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing ideas, providing feedback, and voicing concerns.
Regular meetings, brainstorming sessions, and open-door policies can create a transparent communication culture.

Utilize Technology

Leverage technology to facilitate communication among team members, especially if you have remote participants.
Project management software, video conferencing tools, and collaborative platforms can help everyone stay aligned on the project’s progress and deadlines.

Engage in Continuous Training and Development

Provide Learning Opportunities

Product development is an ever-evolving field, making it important for team members to stay up-to-date with industry trends and technologies.
Provide regular training sessions, workshops, and seminars to enhance their skills and knowledge.
Encourage them to attend conferences and networking events to broaden their perspectives.

Foster a Culture of Experimentation

Encourage innovation by fostering a culture where experimentation is welcomed.
Allow team members to test new ideas without the fear of failure.
This approach not only leads to breakthrough ideas but also increases team enthusiasm and engagement.

Align Product Development with Market Needs

Conduct Market Research

Transitioning from OEM requires a deep understanding of your market and customer needs.
Conduct thorough market research to identify gaps in the market and potential opportunities for your products.
This research should feed directly into the team’s brainstorming and development processes, ensuring that products are aligned with market demands.

Iterate and Gather Feedback

Once a product is developed, it’s essential to test it in the market and gather consumer feedback.
This feedback is invaluable for making improvements, ensuring product quality, and meeting customer expectations.
Adopt an iterative process where products are continually refined based on user feedback.

Monitor Progress and Adapt

Set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

To measure the success of the transition, establish key performance indicators.
These may include product development timelines, budget adherence, market share growth, and customer satisfaction levels.
KPIs provide concrete data to evaluate and improve strategies over time.

Stay Flexible and Adapt

The market and technology are constantly changing.
Stay flexible and ready to adapt your strategies as necessary.
Encourage the product planning team to remain vigilant and responsive to these changes to maintain a competitive edge.

By following these steps, companies can successfully build a competent internal structure and product planning team, allowing them to move away from dependency on OEMs.
This shift not only empowers a company to innovate and enhance its brand value but also aligns its products more closely with market demands, ensuring long-term success and sustainability.