Manufacturing/Supply Chain Management

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 505.

New Product Development

Mission Statement/Values

From day one a mind map can help lay out the initial strategy of an enterprise. While a successful enterprise must be based on a good idea, it will only achieve success if the management have a clear strategy for capitalising on that idea. A mind map can be an excellent tool for developing the business plan of the enterprise, and understanding the values upon which it will be based. Starting with a central vision (i.e., a ‘best case' image of the enterprise three or more years down the line), a mind map can be used to outline the methods by which that vision can be realised (i.e., strategies, programs and objectives).

Mind maps can also be invaluable in making sense of the hundreds of functions and processes necessary to successfully develop a new product and bring it to market. Every product begins with a central idea. Even before the physical product is envisioned there is a basic concept — the product should do this, or make that easier. Using that idea as the centre of a mind map, an enterprise can unlock the creativity of its designers and allow them to work through the problem of achieving the central goal.

One of the largest problems facing an enterprise involved in the manufacture of goods is in optimising the supply chain and manufacturing processes. While traditional linear thinking on process optimisation may stifle creativity, the use of mind maps can offer decision makers the opportunity to develop creative new methods — be it through finding new sources for materials, streamlining the manufacturing process itself or brainstorming better distribution methods.