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R&D MINUTE

BEHIND THE SCENES OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

 

 
Imagination, design, constraints, materials and technologies are at the heart of the process of creating new products. Adrien Guillon, Product Development & Marketing Manager, and Antoine Tirmarche, Materials Manager, take us behind the scenes of the development of a new product range.
 
How do you prepare a new product range?
Adrien Guillon: We look several years ahead! First, we decide on the direction we want to take and what we'd like the brand to look like tomorrow. We start with product concepts, personal aspirations, feedback or recommendations from athletes, or gaps in the market. Then we put our ideas in order and challenge them. We ask ourselves why no one has done this before, and we discard ideas that seem unnecessary. We think about the coherence of the range and the values we want to convey. We also need to size the range according to constraints and team size. Once the plan has been drawn up, we list the requirements: technological bricks, associated constraints, necessary resources. Even if everything is "planned", nothing is set in stone, and a product may be postponed if we don't consider it complete within the allotted time.
 
What are the development constraints?
AG : Several constraints add up. When creating a new product, we are faced with the constraint of technological bricks, i.e. all the know-how needed to make this new product. This process takes us through phases of research and then development of new technologies, as with our waterproof-breathable membrane. Then there's timing. We have to be able to develop a finished product on time in relation to the market launch schedule, including the various phases of development, prototyping, field testing and athlete feedback.
 
We also have to deal with the supply chain, which means finding the right suppliers and factories capable of producing our technically sophisticated products.
 
Minimum quantities are also an essential element in this process. Working on exceptional products with very specific uses, our volumes are de facto smaller than the norm. We must, however, ensure a minimum quantity produced to be able to ensure industrial production, and before that, to order a sufficient quantity of material in the eyes of our suppliers (particularly in the case of customized development).
 
Price is also a key factor. Maintaining a viable production price to market is essential, and a major constraint when working with high-end materials.
 
Finally, our last constraint is to succeed in linking the specific performance needs of our athletes with the needs of our customers, which sometimes differ.
 
Product development thinkingMaterial cutting
 
How do you choose the materials or technologies for these new products?
Antoine Tirmarche: Firstly, the product brief imposes a specific use and therefore constraints linked to its environment, which guides our selection of materials and technologies to be used on the product. If it turns out that materials or technologies we already use are suitable for the new product, we select them, as they have already been tried and tested in the field. The result is consistency and timelessness.
 
If not, we embark on a development loop. The first step in this process is to draw up a set of specifications (CDC) for these materials and technologies, in line with the product's functional requirements. The materials are sourced and/or developed in line with this CDC from our suppliers. They are then tested in the laboratory (pure performance) and in the field (durability) to validate their viability for the product. Finally, we use these materials during the prototyping phase to test them on products in actual use.
 
In some cases, a "simple" development loop is not enough to obtain a material or technology on time. For example, since the collection plan is available a few seasons in advance, the need for complex materials and technologies is directly identified. As a result, more "complex" R&D actions than usual can be envisaged, giving rise to projects that extend over more than one season.
 
What messages and values do these products convey?
AG : Above all, we want our products to reflect the brand's values: performance, attention to detail and ergonomics. The "beautiful" and the sense of aesthetics, although subjective notions, are also at the heart of our development. Very much in tune with our alpine DNA, Samaya products are designed to meet the functional needs of the sport, while respecting a certain style and approach characteristic of the mountains, which translates, for example, into the expression of a certain purity in the design with a touch of boldness in the colors! When you use a Samaya product, you understand the environment by integrating into it, not the other way around!

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