Managing the global front end of NPD: Lessons learned from the FMCG industry

New product development (NPD) performance is particularly poor in the global fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. An important opportunity for improvement lies in the activities that take place at its front end. Studies looking at the front end of NPD in the global FMCG industry are, however, strikingly difficult to find, thereby failing to provide adequate guidance to practicing managers faced with the complexity of the front end. To address this deficit, a four months insider action research project was undertaken to study the process, the management roles, the barriers encountered, and the lessons learned in the management of the global front end within the FMCG context. The findings are particularly insightful and expand the understanding of the uncharted global front end process. Therefore, the study has significant academic and managerial implications; firstly, by adding a new stage to the global front end process, namely the rejected concepts resuscitation stage, secondly, by adding a new management role, the central stage role of the subsidiaries; thirdly, by demonstrating the necessity of introducing formality and detailed guidelines to the global front end process; and finally, by indicating the usefulness of direct modes of communication, in the form of global workshops.