Product creation process at Philips Electronics

About 3 years ago Dr F.P. Carrubba, Chief Technology Officer on the Board of Philips Electronics, stated that product creation is a core activity for Philips and thus needs continuous attention and improvement. A corporate-wide Product Creation Process Improvement Drive was started. In this article describing the drive, we want to share our experiences that we think are important for a successful improvement drive.
The elements to be addressed are:—a framework for the improvement drive;—top-down or bottom-up approach;—the creation of an assessment tool;—some considerations for the buy-in process;—application of the assessment tool;—follow-up after the creation of the assessment tool;—conclusion.