How do lift trucks take shape?

Adding value in the Cat^® forklift product cycle

How do the designers and engineers at Cat Lift Trucks know what buyers want and need? As Mark Nicholson discovers, they rely heavily on Cat product managers. He talks to three PMs about their pivotal role in matching forklift development to customer challenges.

(Executive Summary)

A crucial aspect of a Cat product manager’s job is to channel information back and forth between departments – with interpretation and explanation as necessary. PMs continuously interact between R&D teams, customers, sales staff, trainers, marketers and more. Their involvement ensures that all issues, data and views are considered, throughout a product’s planning, design stages, launch and beyond.

The following summary of key product management activities is based on answers from Andreas Schock, Carmen van Boeckel and Håkan Ek.

Understanding the materials handling market

Essential to their work is a thorough knowledge of the market. Achieving this involves monitoring and research, customer surveys, analysis of trends, attention to new developments, and awareness of competitors’ solutions. Visits to dealerships, customers’ workplaces and other relevant businesses deepen understanding of their needs. Collected feedback from customers and dealers in relation to current products is also crucial. It all helps in identifying gaps in the Cat product offering, and areas for further improvement.

Collaborating with lift truck designers

Equipped with that knowledge, Cat PMs collaborate with the engineers and designers in creating updated or new products. Their input can push innovation to new levels. “When brainstorming with R&D and sales on new designs, we aim to be creative,” says Carmen. “We think about what the customer will need five years from now. We challenge ourselves to test the limits of what is possible in terms of design and technology.”

Håkan reinforces that view: “Rather than sticking to ready-made solutions, or copying those used by competitors, we look further. We aim to add value or – better still – transformation compared to previous solutions. The results may be truly innovative, bringing something totally new to the market. But small changes matter too. Sometimes even tiny, but very clever, design differences make a big difference for the truck owner and user. To gain these improvements, we must fully understand the customer’s business and the truck’s use.”

To ensure that design and engineering changes have the required effect, product managers take part in testing. This applies both to prototypes of entirely new products and to improved versions of existing trucks.

Preparing and communicating product information

Another important responsibility of the product managers is to ensure full awareness of each new Cat product’s capabilities, features and benefits. They prepare comprehensive manuals which describe and explain the truck specifications and options in detail. They also construct a detailed feature and benefit analysis and argumentation matrix. This spells out the reasoning behind each design and specification choice, and what the new product brings to the market. PMs encourage out-of-the-box thinking, often challenging the sales force and customers to consider radically different solutions.

Andreas comments: “These documents give a sound basis for our contribution to training and promotion in relation to the products. We provide documentation, advice and support to the sales and technical trainers, and make presentations if required. It’s essential that sales staff should understand the products thoroughly, to give customers the best advice. Equally, it’s vital that technicians should know how to maintain them properly. We are always available to answer any questions.”

When it comes to a product’s launch, its PM oversees the process. He or she coordinates with the sales and marketing teams to make sure the new truck is introduced effectively to the market. That includes briefing marketing communications staff and advising on the content of all promotional materials.

Continuing the forklift product cycle

After launch, the product manager continues to monitor the product’s performance and gather data. Customers or dealers may raise issues, which the PM will answer. Occasionally, a little fine-tuning of the product may be needed to address these. This is all part of a thorough product quality and care (PQC) process, through which the PMs and others seek continuous improvement. Key areas in which they look for gains include productivity, safety, ergonomics and durability. Ultimately, the information gathered is used in planning upgrades and replacements – and so the product cycle goes on.

In short, Carmen describes the forklift product manager as “a strategic thinker, a customer advocate, and a key player in driving innovation in materials handling equipment.”