Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T17:24:43.139Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3 - Transforming Product Development at Huawei

The IPD Initiative

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2020

Xiaobo Wu ,
Johann Peter Murmann ,
Can Huang  and
Bin Guo
By
Zihan Zhang  and
Johann Peter Murmann
Xiaobo Wu
Affiliation:
Zhejiang University, China
Johann Peter Murmann
Affiliation:
Universität St Gallen, Switzerland
Can Huang
Affiliation:
Zhejiang University, China
Bin Guo
Affiliation:
Zhejiang University, China
Get access

Summary

Most companies discover that management practices that work on a smaller scale no longer work when the company grows substantially. This is also true for the product development process. As Huawei grew, the firm experienced problems in terms of higher product failure rates, longer development cycles and increased R&D costs. It then turned to the consulting services of IBM to upgrade its product development processes to a larger scale. The integrated product development (IPD) system implemented at Huawei was copied from IBM’s practices. IPD’s central idea is that companies must expand cross-functional teams to perform product development and use standard processes and templates to guide those development activities. IBM promoted the IPD system by providing consulting services to other firms. However, most of them failed during implementation, and only a few of them actually benefited from the IPD system; Huawei was one of them. The IPD transformation completely changed Huawei’s product developing system and helped the company overcome its problems in developing products on a larger scale. The IPD transformation was a turning point for Huawei in becoming a world-class company. This chapter explains how the IPD system helped Huawei solve its management problems and why Huawei was successful in IPD transformation when many other companies were not.

Keywords

HuaweiIntegrated Product Development (IPD)ChangeIBM ConsultantsChange of routinescross-functional teamscustomer centricityEfficiency IndicativesDevelopment CostsReduction of Product Failures
Type
Chapter
Information
The Management Transformation of Huawei
From Humble Beginnings to Global Leadership
 , pp. 110 - 135
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References

Chen, A. (2008). IBM consultor review Huawei’s management revolution. Huawei People Newspaper. 199.Google Scholar
Huang, W. (2016). Customers First: Huawei’s Business Management Philosophy. Beijing: China CITIC Press.Google Scholar
Huawei. (1998). Huawei Basic Law. Shenzhen: L. HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO.Google Scholar
Li, Y. (2015). Interviewed by Can HuanG, Ziyi Zhao, Haoyu Zhang, and Hongqi Xu in Shenzhen, December.Google Scholar
Li, Y. (2016). Interviewed by Can Huang, Zihan Zhang via Wechat, 10 May.Google Scholar
Liu, H. (2015). Interviewed by Can Huang, Ziyi Zhao, Haoyu Zhang, and Hongqi Xu in Shenzhen, October.Google Scholar
Liu, J. & Hu, B. (2015). Huawei Can, you also Can: IPD Restructure the Product Development. Beijing: Peking University Press.Google Scholar
Ouyang, J. (2015). R&D Management Transformation of Huawei. Presentation at the Huawei Forum organized by the Ruihua Institute for Innovation Management, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.Google Scholar
Ren, Z. (1998). What should we learn from American people. China Entrepreneur, 11, 34–35.Google Scholar
Ren, Z. (2014). How will Huawei fail. www.huxiu.com/article/34331/1.html?f=member_article (accessed October 24, 2019).Google Scholar
Ren, Z. (2014). Why Huawei should learn from “LanXueShiJie.” www.huxiu.com/article/35680/1.html (accessed October 24, 2019).Google Scholar
Ren, Z. (2016). Why Huawei Feel Confused. http://mini.eastday.com/a/160602115529454-2.htmlGoogle Scholar
Sun, K. (2014). Huawei’s Project Management. Beijing: China Machine Press.Google Scholar
Sun, Y. (2016). Interviewed by Can Huang, Zihan Zhang via Wechat, 10 May.Google Scholar
Tian, T. & Wu, C. (2012). Will Huawei Fail Next or Not. Beijing: China CITIC Press.Google Scholar
Wang, J. (2007). Research Based on Integrated Product Development of Huawei Products R&D Management. HeFei: HeFei University of Technology.Google Scholar
Wang, W. & Li, H. (2012). Huawei’s Management Mode. Shenzhen: Haitian Press.Google Scholar
Wu, C. (2014). Huawei Have No Secret. Beijing: China CITIC Press.Google Scholar
Yu, S. (2011). Reveal Huawei. Beijing: China CITIC PressGoogle Scholar
Yu, S. (2013). How Far Can Huawei Go. Beijing: China Youyi Press.Google Scholar
Zhang, J. & Wen, L. (2015). Huawei’s Human Resource Management. Shenzhen: Haitian Press.Google Scholar
Zhang, L. (2012). Huawei R&D. Beijing: China Machine Press.Google Scholar
Zhou, H. (2012). Huawei Scriptures: 14 Management Rules Make Huawei Become a Technology Empire. Shenzhen: Huazhong University of Science and Technology Press.Google Scholar

Reference

Song, J. & Lee, K. (2014). The Samsung Way: Transformational Management Strategies from the World Leader in Innovation and Design. New York: McGraw Hill.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×