Purpose This study aims to focus on creating sales capability as part of new product development (NPD). The aim is to define generic requirements for building sales capability as a part of NPD and to propose a necessary process by defining key activities for sales readiness. Design/methodology/approach An inductive and qualitative research method was used to construct a sales capability creation process based on a current state analysis in seven companies. Findings The results indicate that the status of companies’ sales-related planning varies during the NPD, and the related activities are not systematically managed. Considering sales early is necessary to enable a smooth and cost-efficient start of sales, and to avoid unnecessary delays and problems in other functions. At the same time, the companies recognise the need for improvement. Originality/value This paper presents a potential process including systematic activities for creating sales capability in conjunction with product development, which is novel to the literature. The proposed process is applicable in aligning industrial company needs.

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The construction industry has been suffering from modest productivity development in recent decades. To address the recognized problems, collaborative delivery methods are replacing traditional project delivery models, especially in large and complex projects.The aim of this research is to describe the production capability creation (PCC) process as a solution for planning the production phase. The PCC process should be implemented parallel to the design phase and owned by the production. A qualitative and inductive approach, based primarily on case company interviews, is applied to identify the twelve most important challenges for preplanning in the design phase from a group of different types of stakeholders in construction projects. Based on these challenges, the main areas of PCC are structured, solving the depicted production challenges, enabling a wasteless and cost-efficient production phase to avoid unnecessary delays and problems. Parallel implementation of PCC and design processes of the building naturally also improve the result of the design itself. With PCC, contractors can recognize the need for improvement in their processes but, more importantly, can directly contribute to the design of the building. Described PCC process solves major challenges emerging from the case company interviews. Earlier literature on capability creation is scarce, and for the construction industry it is even more narrow. The PCC process presented in this research enables significant improvement in efficiency and effectiveness, and the elimination of waste in the construction industry.

Purpose This study describes how maintenance capability should be created during the design and construction phases of construction projects. Purpose of the abstract to define the elements for creating the maintenance capability and the process to be used in construction life cycle projects for buildings. Design/methodology/approach An inductive and qualitative research method was used to construct the proposed process based on the literature and 18 interviews in two large construction companies. Findings The results indicate that the maintenance phase is usually overlooked during the design and construction phases, and capabilities are not systematically built. In particular, processes are lacking in data management, causing severe problems in maintenance. Originality/value This study presents a process including key requirements and activities for creating maintenance capability in conjunction with the design and construction phases, which is novel to the literature. The validated process can be adapted based on the needs of the construction company.