RENEWING THE CORPORATE R-AND-D LABORATORY

How can a corporate-level R&D lab renew its role as a vital part of a winning business team in a world where technology is now exploding glo bally and becoming almost a commodity? The answer is to help customers achieve low cost, high speed, world-class quality, and to continue to stretch the boundaries of the technology, just as corporate labs did in the earlier, simpler days. The tools for doing this are the elimina tion of boundaries, planning two or three generations ahead, exploitin g synergies, implementing cost-based design, and reducing product vari ability. Do all this, and you'll achieve vitality; corporate R&D peopl e will have endless opportunities to be not only technically excellent , but also vital to the survival and prosperity of the company.