7.7 TIMING THE LAUNCH

Should the launch be a frantic rush or a well planned exercise? The latter takes longer but entails much less risk.

When the product looks a success, everyone involved is itching to get it out on the market, and this may be intensified by rumours that competitors are ready to flood the market with copies of the new product.

What is important is that the launch should be planned for the right time of the year for this particular type of food, just before the beginning of the high sales period. Problems may be caused by unusual climate changes, for example if temperatures are staying high and winter is taking some time to come when you are launching a line of winter soups; or vice versa, in summer, temperatures do not rise and ice-creams are not selling but you have a new frozen novelty which will only last a season.

Usually, however, the timing of the launch can be calculated reasonably accurately, and the timing of the activities in the launch can be controlled on a critical path network or a job progress bar chart.

The company also needs to decide, as policy, if the new product is to be the first of this type of product on the market, or if they want to follow another company’s product as second or even third. . The first product on the market may have a problem convincing the consumers to buy, while the second and third product can be improved and launched later at less expense and still take the larger market share.

The product in the project may be of course only one of the company's new products, and its timing has to relate to the timing of any other launches.