Use of process modelling in product development integration within manufacturing environment

The impact of supply chain on new product development (NPD) and product introduction is particularly important in a time when (i) there are pressures for growing product proliferation in order to meet varied demands and constraints, (ii) the research and development pipeline is a key focus in companies, and (iii) technology life cycles have shortened so much that obsolete inventories and time to market are crucial for companies’ margin performance. This research focuses on the early stages of the collaborative product development process in the extended enterprise and shows it is a contribution to the business world. The output of the research includes the functional requirements of a framework and a developed prototype methodology with tools and technologies that are tested with case studies in the industrial environment. The study also focuses on using modern modelling tools to represent the product development processes of an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and its suppliers