The decline in defense spending has resulted in defense dependent companies seeking new markets through re-designing existing products, developing new products and restructuring their businesses. Defense diversification is defined as the process of transitioning a defense company's core capabilities (technologies, products, services) into commercial and non-Department of Defense government markets. A combination of site visits and review of the literature on defense diversification demonstrates the need for diversifying companies to adopt a systematic approach.
A concurrent new product development/product redevelopment model is proposed, based on the principles of concurrent engineering. The model consists of an eight phase development cycle and a set of enablers which are the key supporting processes and practices.
A phased sales cycle was formulated for a diversifying, defense dependent company. A survey of a sample of successful and unsuccessful companies in the different stages of diversification and a commercial company was performed using a questionnaire developed for this purpose. The survey responses were quantified using a scoring methodology devised as part of this thesis. The higher the score, the better the chances of success for a company in defense diversification. An analysis of the survey responses, together with company specific factors and changes, validated the fundamental applicability of the model.
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