Table 3 Product launch barriers Stage of... | Emerald Publishing

Table 3

Product launch barriers

Stage of the process	Overview	Main barriers
1. Establish initial value proposition, business case and project one-pager	- The project begins with creating a “one-page description” of the new product, which is used as a communication tool for different actors - The description includes the product's benefits, expected volumes and revenues, and gaps in the product that competitors have addressed - The location of the product launch is not a significant factor in this initial phase, as most products are launched globally at the same time	- Difficulty in creating and communicating the product's benefits and expected volumes in a one-page document - Challenges writing the description in a way that is easily understood by stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and knowledge levels
2. Project added to launch	The new product is added to the launch overview schedule after receiving formal approval - The schedule is shared with relevant stakeholders to keep them informed - The launch overview is divided by product area and includes time estimates for each project	- Lack of knowledge about a particular project - Difficulty balancing transparency with protecting existing product sales. - Challenges related to sourcing necessary components
3. Communicate project to relevant stakeholders	- The global marketing and communications team has regular monthly meetings to discuss progress and changes to the launch plan - The team is spread out across different locations, with regional teams also informed of any changes through regular collaboration sessions - In case of delay, the information is cascaded from the global team to the regional teams	- Complexities managing timely and effective communication across geographically dispersed teams. - Delays in the launch plan, which can affect the work of the different teams
4. Define and brief launch team	- The global marketing team shares information and a basic template for local launch plans with the regional teams responsible for developing their plans	- Lack of clear structure for identifying and deciding on project launch activities is unclear and needs to be reviewed - No formal process for communicating delays to the regional marketing teams - Lack of documentation from meetings held
5. Create global market introduction plan and launch checklist	- Plan is developed to choose the activities and materials needed for a global launch. A checklist is also created to ensure the steps are completed	- Difficulty ensuring that all required launch activities (advertising, promotions, events) are comprehensively addressed
6. Creation of local launch plans	- Regional teams receive the global marketing plan and define their own strategies based on the global marketing material with the sales team	- Challenges coordinating with other regional teams (e.g. sales) and global teams (e.g. global marketing team) to ensure consistency in the regional launch - Delays affecting regional launch planning - Not knowing much about the product in the beginning
7. Develop global launch activities and material	- Materials for the global launch are created and approved (e.g. advertising campaigns)	- Ensuring consistency in the regional campaigns
8. Localization/development of local launch activities and material	- Global material is “localized” for a specific region (e.g. translation of materials)	- Difficulties in translating specific marketing messages - Managing regulatory requirements specific to each region - Limited resources - Product not meeting customers' expectations
9. Development of training package	Training of sales reps is necessary, especially to be certified to work on specific products. Global materials must be developed before being translated for local markets. The launch checklist and market introduction plan are followed, after which comes a follow-up and launch elevation process. The training occurs by the academy sector, which is a separate organization under the communication department that specializes in training	- Dependency on global training materials, causing delays in local adaptation - Challenges adapting training approaches effectively (e.g. shifting toward self-paced, online training due to external factors like COVID-19)
10. Execute global launch activities, including training	The launch is executed	- Lack of detailed planning and coordination with regional marketing and sales teams - Lack of proactive engagement with potential customers - Lack of clear key performance indicators to measure the success of local launch plans
11. Execute local launch activities	The launch is executed	- Difficulty synchronizing global and regional launch timing and activities. - Challenges maintaining consistent messaging and approach globally - Complexity in adapting to local market conditions
12. Follow-up and launch evaluation	Start of the follow-up process, which reviews the new product development process and evaluates the performance of a product after it has been on the market	- Lack of structured follow-up processes and insufficient frequency of evaluations. - Challenges evaluating products due to the extended timeline from development to market availability - The follow-up process primarily focuses on identifying engineering issues with the product rather than evaluating the success of the product launch

Stage of the process	Overview	Main barriers
1. Establish initial value proposition, business case and project one-pager	- The project begins with creating a “one-page description” of the new product, which is used as a communication tool for different actors - The description includes the product's benefits, expected volumes and revenues, and gaps in the product that competitors have addressed - The location of the product launch is not a significant factor in this initial phase, as most products are launched globally at the same time	- Difficulty in creating and communicating the product's benefits and expected volumes in a one-page document - Challenges writing the description in a way that is easily understood by stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and knowledge levels
2. Project added to launch	The new product is added to the launch overview schedule after receiving formal approval- The schedule is shared with relevant stakeholders to keep them informed - The launch overview is divided by product area and includes time estimates for each project	- Lack of knowledge about a particular project - Difficulty balancing transparency with protecting existing product sales. - Challenges related to sourcing necessary components
3. Communicate project to relevant stakeholders	- The global marketing and communications team has regular monthly meetings to discuss progress and changes to the launch plan - The team is spread out across different locations, with regional teams also informed of any changes through regular collaboration sessions - In case of delay, the information is cascaded from the global team to the regional teams	- Complexities managing timely and effective communication across geographically dispersed teams. - Delays in the launch plan, which can affect the work of the different teams
4. Define and brief launch team	- The global marketing team shares information and a basic template for local launch plans with the regional teams responsible for developing their plans	- Lack of clear structure for identifying and deciding on project launch activities is unclear and needs to be reviewed - No formal process for communicating delays to the regional marketing teams - Lack of documentation from meetings held
5. Create global market introduction plan and launch checklist	- Plan is developed to choose the activities and materials needed for a global launch. A checklist is also created to ensure the steps are completed	- Difficulty ensuring that all required launch activities (advertising, promotions, events) are comprehensively addressed
6. Creation of local launch plans	- Regional teams receive the global marketing plan and define their own strategies based on the global marketing material with the sales team	- Challenges coordinating with other regional teams (e.g. sales) and global teams (e.g. global marketing team) to ensure consistency in the regional launch - Delays affecting regional launch planning - Not knowing much about the product in the beginning
7. Develop global launch activities and material	- Materials for the global launch are created and approved (e.g. advertising campaigns)	- Ensuring consistency in the regional campaigns
8. Localization/development of local launch activities and material	- Global material is “localized” for a specific region (e.g. translation of materials)	- Difficulties in translating specific marketing messages - Managing regulatory requirements specific to each region - Limited resources - Product not meeting customers' expectations
9. Development of training package	Training of sales reps is necessary, especially to be certified to work on specific products. Global materials must be developed before being translated for local markets. The launch checklist and market introduction plan are followed, after which comes a follow-up and launch elevation process. The training occurs by the academy sector, which is a separate organization under the communication department that specializes in training	- Dependency on global training materials, causing delays in local adaptation - Challenges adapting training approaches effectively (e.g. shifting toward self-paced, online training due to external factors like COVID-19)
10. Execute global launch activities, including training	The launch is executed	- Lack of detailed planning and coordination with regional marketing and sales teams - Lack of proactive engagement with potential customers - Lack of clear key performance indicators to measure the success of local launch plans
11. Execute local launch activities	The launch is executed	- Difficulty synchronizing global and regional launch timing and activities. - Challenges maintaining consistent messaging and approach globally - Complexity in adapting to local market conditions
12. Follow-up and launch evaluation	Start of the follow-up process, which reviews the new product development process and evaluates the performance of a product after it has been on the market	- Lack of structured follow-up processes and insufficient frequency of evaluations. - Challenges evaluating products due to the extended timeline from development to market availability - The follow-up process primarily focuses on identifying engineering issues with the product rather than evaluating the success of the product launch

Source(s): Authors’ own work