Riverwood Solutions, a managed supply chain services and operations consultancy, has launched a new group integrates the full product realization lifecycle for companies.

Riverwood’s new Product Realization Services group has developed a proprietary product realization lifecycle platform that brings its clients’ new product concepts through development and piloting. This prepares them for high-volume production and scale.

“There’s a major trend right now toward the development of new hardware products,” said Pat Meagher, who recently joined the company as executive vice president in charge of the group. “The problem is that most companies don’t know how to get from concept to manufacturing, and as a result the vast majority of products are extremely late to market and cost far more than they should to produce.”

Companies often try to skip steps by not properly developing and piloting new hardware, according to Meagher. “We call that phase the valley of death,” he said. “We’re launching the new Product Realization Services group to navigate companies through this critical phase of the development cycle.”

“The new service fills a critical gap largely absent in the market today,” said Brad Knight, CEO at Riverwood Solutions. “By launching this new service we are providing our customers with the tools necessary to drive cost out of the supply chain and mitigate extremely consequential delays in bringing new products to market when these critical steps are skipped. This new offering underscores our commitment to strong, effective execution of expertise in manufacturing, supply chain, and product operations.”

“Navigating the supply chain, especially in a hot market like wearables, can be a nightmare,” added Mike Kasparian, chief technology officer at Atlas Wearables. “Riverwood has been critical to our success in connecting the dots, bringing a strong concept all the way through a complicated process to manufacturing a quality wearable.”