2008 Media Releases & Alerts
NAHB Research Center Unveils New Online Building Product Development Tools for
Manufacturers
User-friendly Online Resource Guides Manufacturers through New Product
Development Process; Provides Industry Forum and Peer Reviews
February 13, 2008, Upper Marlboro, Md. - The NAHB Research Center (a
wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders) has
announced the launch of the PATH New Product Development Tools, a new
online resource that guides building product manufacturers and innovators
through the process of developing and launching new building products and
services. Funded by the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH)
program and developed by the NAHB Research Center, this web-based suite of new
product development tools provides readily accessible information to help users
successfully navigate the product development and commercialization process,
build relationships, and understand the nuances of the building industry –
based on benchmarking the top-producing new building product developers.
By offering template tools and guides describing markets, regulations, and
processes in home building, the New Product Development Tools are a
timely public resource to help innovative companies, entrepreneurs, and others
break into the marketplace and accelerate product diffusion within the
industry. Project principal investigator, Dr. Randy Cantrell, notes that
leading firms within the industry shared freely in helping to assist with the
development of the tools, which now are poised to assist building-product
manufacturers of all sizes while also engaging financiers, legal professionals,
regulators, and research facilities in the product development process.
Phase one of the New Product Development Tools suite includes the New
Building Product Development Resource Guide, Collaboration Forum,
and Lead-User Panel. These three distinct tools address concepts such
as opportunity assessment and idea generation as well as the creation of a
compelling business case, development of manufacturing capabilities, testing,
validation, and final product launch. As a publicly-funded resource, access to
the tools is free of charge, excepting nominal user fees for the Lead-User
Panel.
The second phase of the Commercialization Tools project is currently
under way and focuses on dissemination efforts. The research team will be
conducting visits and presenting the tools to approximately 30 points of
contact, reaching several hundred participants. Venues are scheduled for West
Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and the International Builders' Show in
Orlando.
Additionally, Research Center experts will visit Small Business Development
Centers throughout the United States to demonstrate the tool’s features and how
to use them most effectively with their constituents. This phase will conclude
in the fall of 2008 with the development of a fourth tool being offered to the
public.
The NAHB Research Center and PATH have made the tools widely available online,
with the primary portal located at
http://www.housing-commercialization-tools.org. For more information
about the New Product Development Tools and how you can benefit from
this free resource, visit PATH’s website at www.pathnet.org,
the NAHB Research Center’s website at www.nahbrc.com,
or contact Randy Cantrell or Ed Hudson at (800) 638 -8556.
02/08
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