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Using Product Profiling to Illustrate Manufacturing-Marketing Misalignment

London Business School, Sussex Place, Regents Park, London, NW1 4SA, United Kingdom
Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch—7700, Cape Town, South Africa
Department of Management Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1

As companies choose among process alternatives, they need a clear understanding of the changing alignment between manufacturing and the needs of their markets. Assessing how well existing processes fit these market requirements and making choices to meet future needs are critical strategic responsibilities for manufacturing. Product profiling can be used to examine the degree of alignment between the needs of a company's markets and the characteristics of its existing manufacturing process and infrastructure investments. We compare product profiling with another tool, the product-process matrix, and examine the applicability of both in a typical mismatch situation. In-depth analysis in one firm indicates that product profiling is a valuable tool to uncover the origins of misalignments that occur over time and to illustrate the phenomenon to executives.

Key Words: industries; pharmaceutical; manufacturing; strategy

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				R. J. Schonberger Comment: Using Product Profiling to Illustrate Manufacturing-Marketing Misalignment Interfaces, November 1, 1999; 29(6): 127 - 129. [Abstract] [PDF]