KORG NPI: Building a Product-Led Innovation Engine

ONE KORG NPI SYSTEM

Building a Product-Led,<br>Innovation-Driven Company

Our reason to exist =<br>create new music through new products

NPI becomes the central operating system of KORG —<br>All functions support this pipeline.

No innovation → No growth → No KORG

ONE KORG NPI

CURRENT STATE

Why We Need a New NPI System

Current Pain Points

Business Impact

Fragmented idea generation (HQ vs regions vs artists)

Weak market validation upfront

Slow decision-making

Late involvement of supply chain & marketing

No global prioritization logic

Inconsistent launch performance

Missed market opportunities

Over-complex portfolio

Margin erosion

Weak brand clarity

The cost of inaction = competitive disadvantage

TARGET STATE

ONE KORG Product Engine

A global, structured, data-driven NPI pipeline.

01

Product-Led Strategy

Products at the center of all decisions

02

Data-Driven Ideation

Marketing intelligence shapes the pipeline

03

Global Prioritization

One global logic, no regional silos

04

Early Cross-Functional Integration

Supply chain & marketing from day one

05

Fast & Disciplined Execution

Speed with structure

06

Lifecycle Ownership

Not just launch — own the full journey

ONE KORG NPI

GOVERNANCE

NPI Governance Model

COMEX — Executive Power

Final Decision Authority

Go / No-Go decisions

Strategic alignment

Investment allocation

GPD — Global Product & Development

Product Authority

Product evaluation & scoring

Cross-functional validation

Pipeline management

GSPP — Global Strategic Product Planning

Pipeline Owner

Owns the pipeline

Assigns Project Managers

Coordinates globally

GSPP

GPD

COMEX

Clear authority. Fast decisions. Global alignment.

PIPELINE OVERVIEW

The NPI Pipeline — 5 Gates Model

Structured gates. Clear decisions. No skipping.

Ideation

Generate & capture ideas

GATE 0

Concept<br>Validation

Market + strategic validation

GATE 1

Development<br>Commitment

Commit resources

GATE 2

Development &<br>Industrialization

Build the product

GATE 3

Launch

Go-to-market execution

GATE 4

G0

PIPELINE / GATE 0

Gate 0 — Ideation

Who Can Submit Ideas?

Internal teams (R&D, Sales, Marketing, Supply)

Regional teams

Artists & partners

Distributors

External ecosystem

IDEA CARD

Product Concept

Target User

Problem Solved

Market Opportunity

Strategic Fit (KORG / VOX / etc.)

Early Differentiation

Review Cadence

Monthly Idea Review

managed by GSPP

Every great product starts with a great idea — captured in structure.

G1

PIPELINE / GATE 1

Gate 1 — Concept Validation

Kill weak ideas early. Strengthen strong ones.

Inputs

Market data (global + regional)

Competitive benchmark

Price positioning

Brand alignment

Concept Scorecard

Market Potential

Strategic Fit

Innovation Level

Profitability Potential

Brand Impact

Output Decision

Output:

Concept Dossier submitted to GPD for review

PIPELINE / GATE 2

Gate 2 — Development Commitment

Decide: Do we invest or not?

Business Case (P&L)

Full return on investment and financial evaluation

Volume Forecast

Global allocation and robust demand planning

Supply Chain Feasibility

Verified manufacturing capabilities and sourcing constraints

Industrial Cost Target

Clear commitment on absolute unit manufacturing cost

Pricing Architecture

Strategic market positioning and target price tiers

Supply chain + purchasing are involved BEFORE the investment decision.

Budget Approved

Resources Allocated

Project Officially Launched

No business case = No development. Discipline starts here.

G3

PIPELINE / GATE 3

Gate 3 — Development & Industrialization

Led by: Project Manager (GSPP)

Cross-Functional Team

R&D

Marketing

Supply Chain

Purchasing

Sales

Finance

Key Deliverables

📦 Product Finalized

💲 Cost Locked

🏭 Production Ramp-Ready

📣 Marketing Assets Ready

This is where the product comes to life — on time, on cost, on spec.

PIPELINE / GATE 4

Gate 4 — Launch

Global Launch Strategy —

ONE BRAND, ONE MOMENT

Global Campaign

ONE BRAND — consistent global identity

Channel Strategy

BtB / BtBtC / DTC — right product, right channel

Artist Activation

Cultural relevance through music icons

CRM / Digital

Demand creation through data-driven outreach

Inventory Allocation

Global supply chain ensures launch-day readiness

Launch is not the end — it's the beginning of lifecycle management.

CROSS-FUNCTIONAL ALIGNMENT

Role of Each Function in NPI

One product vision. Seven functions aligned. Zero silos.

Marketing

Market intelligence + positioning

Sales

Market feedback + demand shaping

Supply Chain

Feasibility + cost optimization

Purchasing

Supplier strategy

Finance

Profitability oversight

ARM

Cultural relevance + artist activation

Digital

Data + CRM + e-commerce

PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

KPI Framework

🎯 CORE TARGET: 12% CAGR Revenue Growth

Time-to-Market

Speed from idea to shelf

Product Success Rate

% of launches hitting targets

Gross Margin

Profitability per product

Forecast Accuracy

Supply meets demand

Inventory Turnover

Efficient stock management

Launch Performance

Sales velocity at launch

"What gets measured gets managed. What gets managed gets improved."

TRANSFORMATION ECOSYSTEM

NPI as the Engine of ONE KORG

NPI doesn't operate in isolation — it activates the entire ONE KORG ecosystem.

NPI

PIPELINE

ONE ERP (Odoo)

Cost control & operational planning

ONE E-Commerce (Shopify)

Launch execution & DTC

ONE CRM (Klaviyo)

Demand creation & customer data

ONE Brand

Global consistency & identity

Global Supply Chain

Fulfillment efficiency

THE MINDSET CHANGE

Cultural Shift — From Old to New

TRANSFORMATION

Engineering-driven decisions

Regional silos & fragmentation

Late-stage decision making

Slow & reactive execution

Product-led strategy

Global thinking & alignment

Data-driven decisions

Fast & disciplined execution

The way we think about products must change — starting today.