Research and Development
Transforming R&D into a digital champion
Digitisation is intensifying pressure to innovate across all industries. We accompany your company on its journey towards optimum innovation and product development to ensure a future-fit range of digital services. This allows you to anchor research and development expertise directly in your R&D Department, boost knowledge acquisition in real time with the help of data analytics, and reliably transform these insights into products. Agile and collaborative development enables these products to be launched on the market both more quickly and with a higher level of quality. We also promote your product development in terms of product cost optimisation and sustainability. All of this is embedded in an overarching concept which considers the abilities within an organisation as a whole, in addition to specific R&D processes.
Our services at a glance
Digital product development: Technologies with an underlying method
Strategic R&D planning plus digital upskilling: This is how we get your product development ready for the AI-driven topics associated with the Industrie 4.0 strategy. For this purpose, we support you with digital product development, data analytics, machine learning, digital twins, social listening, and agile methods such as co-creation and collaboration. The objective is creating a range of new digital services and an effective increase in the value of your existing product portfolio, for example by skilfully using the possibilities offered by the Internet of Things (IoT).
Innovation and development strategy
Vision alone does not guarantee success on the market – an appropriate strategy and suitable development process are essential. From the innovation funnel to the finished product, we will collaborate to define the underlying technologies, long-term product strategies, and all the processes required to ensure the targeted pipeline is perfectly aligned with the requirements of your industry and the respective project.
Digitally Transforming Research and Development: For Better Operating Models and Footprints
Assessing expenditures accurately is pivotal for successful innovation and development operations. However, these can vary by industry, company, and project. An approach customised for your company allows expenditures to be universally coordinated and controlled. At the same time, we support you in boosting the economic success of your research and development and visualising it as a footprint. This enables you to react to new market requirements more quickly by utilising innovative ideas in a short period while maintaining cost efficiency.
Development and Commercialisation: Setting Processes Up Correctly and Using Them for the Entire Range
So that your new products do not just serve as ends in themselves, we consult you along your path to development productivity and convey the correct handling of suitable tools for more profit, greater return on investment, and a shorter time to market. We support your portfolio optimisation and complexity management so that your existing portfolio benefits from the defined product and innovation strategy.
Product, Application and Configuration Lifecycle Management (PLM, ALM, CLM, BIM)
Our experts have R&D experience in a wide variety of industries. You benefit from our expertise at all levels of your development – whether Product, Solution or Application Lifecycle Management. We provide the insights needed to make a timely ROI predictable in your environment. In addition, we assist you in setting up consistent Configuration Lifecycle Management, merging various disciplines by conceptualising and realising digital twins during operations, as well as during Building Information Modelling. We are ready for Industrie 4.0!
Configuration Lifecycle Management (CLM) – The Catalyst for Your Digital Transformation
Trends such as hyper-personalisation, intelligent factories, and the servitisation of products are considered key elements for preparing manufacturers for the future. However, in order to facilitate this, companies must ensure they have consistent data throughout all their functions – from sales and development up to manufacturing and customer service. A CLM solution allows companies to establish a "single source of truth" and maintain an overview of thousands of possible product configurations. The advantages: greater efficiency, shorter market launch periods, less risk, and lower costs, as well as improved product quality. Read our white paper to find out how a CLM solution can help you in dealing with current challenges and trends, changing customer requirements, and increasing product complexity.
Product Value Management (PVM): Optimising Costs from Procurement to Your Carbon Footprint
What are the properties and functionalities to which end customers attach value, and what are they willing to pay for them? We monitor the entire value-added chain to ensure that we not only cooperate to improve the user experience but also optimise your product costs and carbon footprint.
How do we support you? For example by means of AI-supported analyses, bottom-up product cost evaluations or experimental development, taking procurement, production, and supply chain management into account. Our tools also determine the carbon footprint along all value creation stages so we can provide you with practical leverage for more sustainable products – throughout the entire lifecycle up to recycling.
These Integrated Solutions Help You Optimise Your R&D
- Value Network Tracker
- Digital Operations Maturity Assessment
- Data Hoover
- Product Cost Manager
Value Network Tracker
The Value Network Tracker is an AI-supported market intelligence system which uses publicly accessible data to deliver a 360-degree view of your company and competitors. The solution merges various sources for detailed benchmarking, effectively revealing relevant gaps and areas of growth. What does your current competitive environment look like? Which competitors are praised in particular on social media – and why? Which product features are in demand right now, and which aren't? Our Value Network Tracker provides the answers.
Digital Operations Maturity Assessment
Using our Digital Operations Maturity Assessment, we analyse the degree of maturity of your research and development to recognise gaps and exploit potential. A web-based tool makes the assessment of the degree of maturity particularly efficient and intuitive – from surveying to evaluation. This is how you find answers to questions like these:
- How reactive and powerful are our R&D processes?
- What is the maturity of the relevant organisational unit?
- What degree of maturity is a reasonable target for our company, and how can we attain it?
Data Hoover
The Data Hoover bundles our entire data expertise within one tool to allow fast analysis of your R&D efficiency. For this purpose, it evaluates the data which is extracted seamlessly from your PLM and ERP systems within a brief period using predefined analyses – providing the ideal basis for all further steps in your company's development. At a glance, you are able to answer questions such as:
- Are all projects on time and in budget?
- Have resources been allocated correctly?
- Which projects generate revenue – bold innovations or proven products as "cash cows"?
Product Cost Manager
| The Product Cost Manager supports you in optimising your product costs and your CO2 footprint. It allows the cost drivers and potential savings to be identified at an early development stage regardless of whether during budgeting or prior to the next round of negotiations with your suppliers. In addition, detailed information obtained from our database allows you to accurately calculate the carbon footprint of your products and components and receive advice on how to reduce it. |
More Than Just Digital Tools
Future-Fit Research and Development
The integrated solutions from PwC allow you to invest directly in the future sustainability of your research and development by means of state-of-the-art software solutions. We support you in translating industry-specific issues into innovative business opportunities. Our proven BXT approach is the key to this. This approach combines our expertise in the fields of Business, Experience, and Technology. In this way, we are able to integrate our expertise across all industries to benefit your company. You are even able to use our integrated solutions fully as a self-service.
Carbon Footprint Optimisation
Are you looking for ways to be able to develop innovative products which can make people or other companies more sustainable? We support you in establishing processes and know-how within your R&D to allow you to promote ecological, social, and economically sustainable projects.
"Industrial R&D is subject to constant shifts and the accompanying disruptions, technological trends, and changes in the market environment."
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