Supplier integration into new product development: coordinating product, process and supply chain design Kenneth J. Petersen a, * , Robert B. Handfield b,1 , Gary L. Ragatz c,2 a Department of Supply Chain Management, W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4706, USA b Department of Business Management, College of Management, CB 7229, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7229, USA c Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, Eli Broad Graduate School of Management, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824–1122, USA Received 1 August 2003; received in revised form 31 March 2004; accepted 27 July 2004 Available online 16 December 2004 Abstract In many industries, firms are seeking to cut concept to customer development time, improve quality, reduce the cost of new products and facilitate the smooth launch of new products. Prior research has indicated that the integration of material suppliers into the new product development (NPD) cycle can provide substantial benefits towards achieving these goals. This involvement may range from simple consultation with suppliers on design ideas to making suppliers fully responsible for the design of components or systems they will supply. Moreover, suppliers may be involved at different stages of the new product development process. Early supplier involvement is a key coordinating process in supply chain design, product design and process design. Several important questions regarding supplier involvement in new product development remain unanswered. Specifically, we look at the issue of what managerial practices affect new product development team effectiveness when suppliers are to be involved. We also consider whether these factors differ depending on when the supplier is to be involved and what level of responsibility is to be given to the supplier. Finally, we examine whether supplier involvement in new product development can produce significant improvements in financial returns and/or product design performance. We test these proposed relationships using survey data collected from a group of global organizations and find support for the relationships based on the results of a multiple regression analysis. # 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Product development; Supply management 1. Introduction Research in new product development (NPD) has shown that a number of factors are important to the creation of successful new products. Two of these www.elsevier.com/locate/dsw Journal of Operations Management 23 (2005) 371–388 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 480 965 9862; fax: +1 480 965 8629. E-mail addresses: kenneth.petersen@asu.edu (K.J. Petersen), robert_handfield@ncsu.edu (R.B. Handfield), ragatz@msu.edu (G.L. Ragatz). 1 Tel.: +1 919 515 4674, fax:+1 919 515 6943. 2 Tel.:+1 517 353 5371. 0272-6963/$ – see front matter # 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jom.2004.07.009