Product evolution refers to the process or cycle of updating an existing product by enhancing its features, functionalities, and quality over time to better serve its purpose and customer, usually, brought about by technology developments and innovations and changing market needs.
Just about every product we know has evolved, been reimagined, or updated over time. Take for example the smartphone, every year sees a new model released that is an improvement on the previous model. The new models retain many of their predecessor’s characteristics and have a host of added features to make them faster and more efficient as technology advances.
Why should companies evolve their products, services, and systems?
Product evolution is important not only to customers but also to businesses and economies all over the world. If businesses want to stay competitive, they need to figure out how to evolve, innovate and stay relevant in a world of unfaltering change.
Developing new products helps target new markets, increase market share, and increase revenue streams. Redesigning or evolving existing products has many of the same benefits as well as additional ones including cost reductions and operational efficiencies.
Our evolution philosophy
At Plastic Bubbles, we’ve made a conscious decision and commitment to do things differently and better.
Dynamic, Specialized, and Innovative is how we want to be seen. We always look for ways to improve and evolve our processes and products so that they continue to add value for our clients and their clients.
Our philosophy of continuous improvement, innovation, and evolution is underpinned by 7 core questions:
- How can we set our customers up to succeed?
- How can we improve our systems?
- How can we be more cost-effective and pass the savings onto our customers?
- How can we improve our performance as individuals in the company?
- How can we give our customers a better experience?
- How can we help our customers’ brands stand out more?
- How can we lessen our impact on the planet?
We’re always on the lookout for and invest in new technologies that are more efficient and cost-effective, so it was no accident that we were able to help our client develop a plastic scoop to better serve its purpose and customer needs.
The re-evolved scoop
Together with our client, we co-created and updated our existing plastic scoop design that exceeded our expectations:
- The new scoop uses 58% less plastic than the existing disc scoop. As a result, our client has reduced its plastic waste from 124 tons to 54 tons per year, at one of its facilities.
- The new scoops’ stacking and zero-nesting design, means that more scoops can be packaged into a box, reducing paper & carton waste by 60%. So, instead of using 10 boxes, only four are needed for the same number of scoops.
- The new scoop is more cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Less plastic, less downtime on the production line, less packaging, and less waste has translated into a saving of R1,2-million per year for our client.