Product Lifecycle and Report
From the product report of Alikay Natural Moisturizing Black soap Shampoo the product it within the decline phase of it life cycle. From the report, the product was introduced in 2014 and it had a market share of 3.8% that stagnated at 3.7% for two consecutive quarters. However, since then the product is experiencing a declining market share of 3.4, 3.0 and 2.8% for the other preceding three quarters (Savino, Mazza, & Syphoxay, 2014). In as far the sales turnovers may be increasing that can be as a result of price increase which is evident from the declining number of units sold in those respective quarters.
Questions
With regard to the questions that will I pose to the team, first it will be prudent to know about prices. Have you made any changes to the prices of the products since the introduction? If the changes were made what were the compelling factors? For instance, desire for more sales turnover, is it because of the competitor’s prices changes or any other concerns. The third question will focus on any customer complaints received, therefore would like to know whether the customer has had any significant customer complaints that have been lodged so far with regard to the products.
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Product Changes
From the report so far the product is within its decline phase. Faced with that reality there is need to have some products changes to address the dwindling market share. On the onset, it will be appropriate to redesign the packaging of the products so as to come with an appealing one and maybe the most appropriate size that the customers will prefer. From the complaints received by the clients such as the smell will be better to change the formulation of the products (Savino, Mazza, & Syphoxay, 2014). In the event that we were to create a new products then will go for Alikay Naturals Organic Bloom Shampoo as from the market survey most consumers are willing to pay a premium price for a product that stimulates hair growth and ensures there is a clean scalp. With regard to the type of product innovation, this will be a new product from the existing one. Based on that the innovation will be a disruptive innovation within the market having to abilities to get its own marketplace share.
New Product Development
In the event that the company wants to launch the new products on a timely trial then they should use batch production method. With batch production methods they will be able to monitor each release and its impact in the markets (Mosca & Viscolani, 2004). Turning to an example of a product in the mature stage can talk of Polar Soft Drink produced by Polar bottlers. Currently the prices of the products are stable and there no major fluctuations in terms of decline or growth.
Production Methods
For the Black soap shampoo and based on its market share Alikay may be using the lean production method. At the moment the company seems to be cautious on various factors such as market changes and the price fluctuations. On that, they have to produce as per the sales orders that they have so that they cannot overstock a products that seems to be declining. They are in need of making changes (Mosca & Viscolani, 2004). Faced with that, they will be in quest of getting new packages and other changes that cannot allow them to carry out mass production.
Real World Application
This section seeks to address the improvements that need to be carried out on the product that is in its mature stage of the cycle. This would involve the identification of the weaknesses of the product in the market and then changing the tactics in the production line of the product to help beat the competitors (Mosca & Viscolani, 2004). The process can be achieved by simply changing the design pattern of the product in one way or the other.
References
Mosca, S. & Viscolani, B. (2004). Optimal Goodwill Path to Introduce a New Product. Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications , 123(1), 149-162.
Savino, M., Mazza, A., & Syphoxay, P. (2014). Product information traceability within product lifecycle design and development: the case of CE conformity for consumer devices. International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management , 7(2/3), 184.
