Product Portfolio Management: the influence of STP analysis on New Product Development and product elimination decisions in COBO Group

This thesis is a research study investigating the strategic interplay between segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP) analysis and its influence on decision-making processes related to New Product Development (NPD) and product elimination within B2B contexts. By examining how STP frameworks inform the identification of market opportunities and the discontinuation of underperforming or obsolete offerings, the research highlights the critical role of Product Portfolio Management (PPM) in sustaining corporate competitiveness. The study is grounded in an industrial internship, which provided access to real-world data and operational insights, enabling a practical evaluation of portfolio dynamics and strategic prioritization. Due to the practical nature of the research, the thesis adopted a multi-method methodology consisting of a literature analysis and a strategic market analysis conducted during the internship. While collaterally obtain a direct comparison of what can be found in literature and what is actually applied in the industrial environment, the findings provide insight on how the market segmentation can be used to determine the market potential of new products and current market status of older products.