CSM Bakery Solutions – Client Interview

Senior Project Manager

CSM Bakery designed and introduced a Stage-Gate Model to get faster and better at commercializing new products and to manage the number and type of products in its funnel.  Learn how CSM streamlined its new product development, improved productivity, and launched new Oven Bake products customers love.

How a Grass Roots Approach to Portfolio Management and Customized Automation has Reduced Speed-to-Market from 150 (Average Days) to Less than 45 days
Claudette Cress, Senior Project Manager, Business Development, CSM Bakery Products interviewed by Stage-Gate International

Claudette Cress is the Senior Project Manager, for CSM Bakery Products (A Global Bakery Company).  She manages New Product Development (NPD) projects from concept to commercialization. She was selected and distinguished by CSM senior management to lead a revolutionary automated system to improve the NPD process, designed to efficiently commercialize product(s) within 45 days.

SGI: Let’s start by telling our readers a little about yourself and your company.

CC: I have been with CSM Bakery Products for five years. My title is Senior Project Manager, Business Development for one of our categories called “Oven Bake.” We specialize in muffins, scones, brownies, cookies, laminated dough and other wonderful decadent treats. I was brought into the organization to help the firm get faster and better at commercializing new products and to manage the number and type of products in the funnel. One of my first and key activities upon joining CSM was to design and then lead the implementation of a new idea-to-launch Stage-Gate process. I then assumed responsibility for training the organization on how to use and leverage this process. Our goal was to be fully cross-functional in our approach to product development so my training initiative was directed across the entire company. We were very successful with this but a fundamental gap was exposed along the way; that we realized would hold us back from achieving an important goal of reducing time to market from 150 days to less than 45 days. The gap arose from not having the right tools to streamline and centralize our process while enabling and facilitating its global usage, which was another key project objective. In essence, having the capability at the touch of a button to see the number of products we were managing, where they were in development, how they ranked and were rated against the hundreds of other products in the funnel or were under consideration. In short, we could not with confidence agree if we were working on the right products or projects and this was a problem.

As a result, we decided to explore what tools/solutions might exist to help us fully automate our process to facilitate global usage while allowing for real time data collection and analysis. We looked at several different Stage-Gate certified vendors and Planview had the package best suited for our needs. We implemented this tool earlier this year and have been extremely happy with its rollout, adoption and the results it is helping us to achieve.

SGI: What is your favorite new product out right now and why?

CC: I am going to focus on one of the projects I worked on in the organization since we are a dessert manufacturing industry and the reason perhaps so many people end a meal with such a happy smile. One of the fundamental challenges we face is that we are viewed as a guilty pleasure. People are generally trying to be more health-conscious and for good reasons, but truly also desire a treat from time to time, and it is so nice that we developed healthy indulgent treats. One of our new products, that I feel has been a great success, is our whole grain Greek yogurt muffins. What was unique and so gratifying about this particular product is the fact that the prime ingredients are Greek yogurt and whole grain, approximately 16 grams in each muffin. By creating this muffin we were able to deliver a great tasting treat that was also good for the consumer. Based on my experience and knowledge of the food industry, that was truly a new product that showed that, as an organization, we are really thinking about and delivering upon what consumers are saying I was really proud of this launch!

SGI: In your opinion, what is the single biggest portfolio management challenge that organizations face today?

CC: I think adapting to new tools to effectively manage increasing demands for greater productivity. Same old, same old just will not cut it anymore as the world is moving too quickly every 24 hours. If you are not prepared to meet changing expectations, to embrace new tools and management methods, ensuring the right projects are being identified/ advanced will become increasingly more problematic.

SGI: What advice would you give to others on how to tackle this challenge?

CC: Commit to spending time learning about different tools and software solutions that can help you get the visibility and data needed to underpin your portfolio decisions. Invest in your people to ensure they are trained to use the tools you have given them and make time to attend events like this Summit to network with other innovation professionals to learn what they are doing, what they are finding is working and what they are most worried about. Your greatest skill might be your ability to be proactive and to stay ahead of the curve.

SGI: What do you think Summit attendees were the most interested to know/learn in your presentation?

CC: We are extremely happy with the results being achieved since implementing our Planview idea-to-launch and portfolio management solution. Much of this has to do with the improvements we have witnessed with processing, evaluating and prioritizing customer new product requests. Speed to market has improved dramatically and the number of new opportunities competing for a spot in the funnel is up considerably. Prior to rolling out this solution, blind chaos might best describe what was happening with product development in this key business area. Now ownership for prioritizing potential projects has shifted to customer-facing personnel which we know is very unique given how portfolio decisions are usually made. I am looking forward to sharing information on this as I see having this capability within an organization a real game-changer. It has been for us on a number of levels . . . Very exciting!

SGI: Looking into your crystal ball what do you think will be the greatest challenge facing product portfolio managers 10 years down the road?:

CC: The need to develop “new to you” and “new to world” products will remain important to most, if not all, organizations, but, so too will the need to leverage market driven opportunities focused on existing products and platforms. Speed to market and prioritization issues, as a result, will continue to test product developers. Therefore, ensuring the right products are being worked on will remain a key challenge. As we have found out, the confidence and competency of your people will ultimately dictate how successful one is in this area. I do not see that changing any time soon.