The main purpose this paper is to discuss a research potential in the area of understanding how a company can enhance innovation at the early phases of production system development. Due to this purpose, the structure of this paper deviates from the conventional ones that include methods, findings, and contributions. The chain of logic in this paper is structured as follows. Firstly, the importance of the early phases in terms of constantly developing new production systems is mentioned. Then, the early phases are defined and described in theoretical frameworks. Later, two industrial cases are introduced to emphases the aforementioned importance. Finally, the research potential is discussed based on the theories and practices introduced in the earlier parts of the paper.