Background and goal
Our client, a leading provider of international service and refueling cards throughout Europe, asked ANXO MANAGEMENT CONSULTING GmbH to develop and define a central product management. Product management is an organisational lifecycle function within a company deal- ing with the planning, forecasting, production and marketing of products at all stages of the product lifecycle. Product management enables the steering of all activities connected to the products of a company and integrates people, data, processes and business systems. As an interface between different divisions within the company such as marketing, purchase, sales and IT and their extended supply chain enterprises, the product management owns a central position of product planning, steering and controlling.
Realisation
To find reliable and valid definitions of products and services in the future, we imple- mented a joint project team consisting of external consultants and internal employees. This measurement assured the input of the diverse pool of internal opinions and a moderated process in order to reach a consensus. Interviews with involved employees and managers in branches and headquarters were carried out to gather more detailed information about historically developed and currently used product development pro- cesses and relevant responsibilities. In the next step, the organisational structure of the new central product management division was developed. This included the determination of the product managements goals, tasks and processes, especially in cooperation with other divisions, and finally the quantitative structure and reporting line of the new division. This process was ac- companied by several reviews and decision-making meetings with the management board.
Outcome
Our client was able to define a framework for a central product management with broad acceptance as it contained the input of all relevant persons. The framework includes defined reporting lines, product-specific responsibilities, clear processes, quantitative structures and a timeline. The proposed schedule allowed a quick implementation of a central and entrepreneurial product management dur- ing day-to-day business. The additional employment of new product managers strengthened the operative power of the product management and provided a new impetus.