Web-enabled quick response technology application in advanced product design

Matching offers against customer needs is one the greatest challenges to electrical appliance firms to survive in the information age. Capturing the voices of customers for product design can enhance the value of a product. In the old economy, companies used Quality Function Deployment (QFD) to get the customer's voice. Much time would be spent on questionnaire surveys and paper work. In the new economy, the firms can innovate by leveraging IT and related technologies to acquire the relevant information and reuse it for product development. This paper describes a case to deploy QFD to increase the appeals of product design features to customers. A Web-Enabled Quick Response System (WEQRS) is proposed for to assist a firm intending to migrate to e-business. A prototype of a ventilating fan is used as an example to validate the concept of web-based QFD in operation.