Product Management plays a critical role in the long-term success of an enterprise. This discipline helps an organization to best utilize its internal resources in order to continually bring competitive products and services to the market. It guides the selection of a product and service portfolio based on quantifiable market drivers, as opposed to basing these selections on random ideas.
Product Management acts along the entire value chain and across all business units. In other words, it integrates the various segments of a business into a strategically aligned whole, maximizing the value of a product or service by allowing a keen understanding of market needs to drive product selection and innovation. The result is a successful transition of customer needs into products and services that deliver superior customer benefits while simultaneously providing long-term value to the organization.
Product Management provides critical insight to these strategic questions:
- Is our product/service mix based on what our customers want to buy, or is it based on what we want to sell?
- Are internal resources adequate, or properly utilized, to meet market demands?
- Is our supply chain (up-stream and down) optimally aligned to meet our demands as we constantly adjust our product mix in response to market requirements?
- Do we constantly measure, assess and adjust our strategy in order to fully and proactively exploit changing market opportunities?
- Are we proactive or reactive in our anticipation of and reaction to the changing demands of our customers and stakeholders?
An organization engaged in successful Product Management responds to market demands and utilizes internal structures, processes and resources effectively and in time to create competitive solutions that continually outperform competition. This requires long-term strategic thinking and a management team that recognizes the importance of this discipline.
