Maarten de Vries
Jaron Weishut
industrial product management
and innovation
Maarten de Vries, Chairman, PDMA-NL, Founder-Owner, Halliard
( voorz.pdmanl@pdma.nl); and Jaron Weishut, Senior Consultant, Roland
Berger Strategy Consultants ( jaron_weishut@nl.rolandberger.com)
Even though industrial products may be invisible to the consumer, they frequently form the foundation of manufactured products—
providing a competitive advantage to the manufacturer. Last fall, PDMA’s Netherlands affiliate, PDMA-NL, held a seminar focused on
helping industrial product managers understand and share what helps drive successful product management in their highly complex
and competitive environment.
— Tricia Sutton, PMP, NPDP, Visions Chapter and Affiliate Spotlight Editor
The Netherlands affiliate of PDMA, PDMA-NL, held a
seminar on industrial product management and
innovation on October 30, 2008. The seminar
offered participants an attractive mix of guest speak-ers and interactive group sessions. The event was the
12th seminar of PDMA-NL, and it took place at the
Engineering and Research Center of SKF, located
in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands. SKF, a Swedish
company founded in 1907, is the world’s largest
manufacturer of bearings. The company is also
a manufacturer of seals, lubrication systems,
and other products. Today, the company
employs approximately 40,000 people
in approximately 100 manufacturing
sites that span 70 countries.1,2
Seventy participants convened
for an afternoon and evening of
talks and discussions on the subject
of industrial product management and innovation. The host and
organizing committee prepared an entertaining and insightful
event that struck an excellent balance between presentations,
networking, action, and discussion.
Amsterdam
Strong product management would have
avoided this pitfall.
The second speaker was Filtrix’s prod-
uct manager Frank van Heusden. Filtrix
is a startup that was recently acquired by
Norit, a leading supplier to the water and
beverage industries. Van Heusden’s pre-
sentation addressed several practical issues
that he confronted when Filtrix transformed
from an entrepreneurial venture into part of a
larger corporation. His experience provided
valuable insight into an organization’s search for
the optimal setup of product management.
Product management in industrial engineering
The program began with a tour of SKF facilities that opened
participants’ eyes to the great complexity of industrial product en-
gineering. Edward Hol-
weg, Director of Product
and Systems Develop-
ment of the Automotive
Division of SKF, gave
a plenary presentation
on how SKF integrates
commercial and tech-
nical aspects into its
product development
process. Using a case study, Holweg told participants of a pitfall
that SKF faced years ago, when the company developed a perfectly
engineered solution for which customers were not willing to pay.
“Above all, the product
manager must be an
excellent communicator
with a personal drive.”
Seminar combines presentations with
interaction
After enjoying dinner and networking, it was time
for participants to become involved. Participants were
divided into groups of seven and each group was assigned
a facilitator. Each group was then given a unique set of
questions on industrial product management, which 10
PDMA-NL members had prepared in a “think tank” ses-sion before the event. Groups then shared their results in plenary
presentations, concentrating on four themes: (1) the objectives that
a business gives to its product manager, (2) the actual execution
of tasks and roles by a product manager, ( 3) the personal traits of
a product manager, and ( 4) the product manager’s position in the
organization. (See box on page 28.)
Describing good industrial product management
All groups kicked off their discussions with the objective of
product management, as put forward by one of the attendees of
the think tank, Kees van Grieken: “Product management aims to
realize business success by actively managing the total life cycle
of a product, product family, or service—from its conception
as an idea, up to its withdrawal from the marketplace—thereby
making optimal use of the available resources.” Van Grieken is a
former manager of product management at Priva, a manufacturer
of climate control equipment and technology.
