隨著經濟快速發展，台灣的空調市場也歷經了重大轉變，目前正是進入轉型的時間點。產品及時上市變得比以往更具關鍵性。當大部分的家電製造商致力於品質和製程能力的提升，以至於彼此之間的產品差異性減小，而此時消費者之喜好，又明顯已有多元化的趨勢，產品外觀、功能等成為重要的挑選因素，有時更勝於對品牌的偏好。因此，產品生命週期縮短的情況下，產品及時上市成為製造廠的關鍵能力指標之一。企業必須運用有限的資源加快設計開發腳步，滿足顧客並獲取利潤。因此，對設計開發部門進行流程再造，實是至為關鍵之策略行動。本研究將探討台灣地區冷凍空調產業，家用空調如窗型和分離式冷氣之現況，對個案公司A提出協同設計之建議，並以新產品開發流程中所可節省之時間做為衡量本案例研究之目標。和其他大部分的公司一樣，個案公司A可將設計開發分為四個階段，分別是企劃、設計、產品驗證與上市前量產階段。運用流程再造概念於縮短研發流程之作業時程，建議的流程做法配合可行性分析也將實地的導入個案公司A中。The air conditioning market in Taiwan has witnessed drastic changes due to rapid economic development, and has now reached another transition point, where time to market becomes more critical than ever. While most major manufactures of home appliances improved their quality and capabilities such that product differentiation diminishes, consumer preferences have diversified over time. Product appearance and features becomes more important deciding factors than brand names. As such, product life cycle is squeezed, and time to market becomes an important performance indicator for manufacturers. Companies must employ limited resources to expedite design and development in order to maintain profit. Therefore, process reengineering in the design department becomes a critical strategic move.In this study, we looked into the air conditioning industry of the window-type and split-type air conditioners in Taiwan. A collaborative design process is proposed for Company A, and a project of new product development was used as a target to verify the possible time saving during the new product development. The new product development in Company A (and most other companies) can be classified into four major phases, namely planning, design, product validation and pre-market production. The target project was found to be shortened using the proposed re-engineered process. A feasibility analysis was conducted and the proposed process was found to be feasible for Company A.
