Evaluation of Innovation, T Mobile, Nike Considered and Swatch - Assignment Example

T Mobile, Nike Considered and Swatch In the 1960’s, the game of product manufacturing was to create low-cost products by utilizing techniques of mass production. Corporations built facilities as huge as could be suitably managed to the make the most of economies of scales. During the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, European and Japanese producers introduced lower cost goods, and U.S. manufacturers retorted by underscoring increased production effectiveness in addition to waste reduction viewpoints. Manufacturing policies of lean manufacture, inventory reduction, as well as just in time were emulated from the efficacious Japanese industrialists, who launched themselves as excellent low cost (inexpensive) manufacturers. There are three basic techniques in which enterprises can compete they include production, development, and distribution. This is where T mobile, Nike and Swatch enterprises have developed their competitive advantage. This paper will compare and contrast the process of creativity and innovation involved, in the development of a product, a service and a process in T mobile, Nike considered and the Swatch Swatch The Swatch redesign came about because of low priced quartz watches from Hong Kong and Japan, as well as the adoption of the quartz technology, which was invented by the Swedish. There were strategic, managerial and structural problems, which led to the amalgamation of Omega and Asuag (Swedish biggest watch enterprises) into Swiss Corporation for Microelectronics and Watch making. At the time of the merger, the watch market had been divided into 3 market segments: lower segment, intermediate and the highest market. It is at the instance that Swatch emerged to control cost and quality in the segments. Swatch introduced trend tied to a firm’s philosophy, which welcomes change. Swatch configured itself to rapidly develop, launch, manufacture and deliver its new merchandises to the market via cross- functional and synchronized engineering processes and structures. Use of cross-functional crews by aided in reduction of costs and maximization of results for Swatch. Swatch is designed not as a commodity but an emotional product. It became an accessory something that was not common with other brands. As an accessory Swatch was very recognizable. Additionally, to make it even more appealing, the Swatch was designed with different colours that matched with an individual’s outfit. The colours made Swatch more vibrant with crazy designs, which matched mood as well as the sense of style (Design Council 2009). Nike Considered Nike redesigning strategy was influenced by the criticism it received in the 1990’s because of its poor labour and its environmental policies. When it made a comeback in 2000, under its Considered Design Process, Nike established its vision with the aid of Natural step an establishment that is devoted to research and education in sustainable development. The ‘North Star’ vision would ascertain that the products create dare completely closed loop, by employing the fewest conceivable resources and assembled into in ways, which permit them to be reprocessed into new commodities or are safely sent back to nature by the culmination of their usage. After the establishment of the vision, the next stage involved creation of tools for the 200 designers. The tools enabled the designers to be ‘change agents’ within the company. Thirdly, a ‘Considered index’ was created that rated the designer’s products. The index could also be used to calculate the carbon impact upon the initial stages of the process. The outcomes of the considered methodology were seen in the Pagasus 25 shoe. The shoe utilises less materials and it has a remarkable weight reduction(less weight equal less waste) than previous versions (Design Council 2009). T Mobile T mobile found out that it its phone bills lacked clarity leading to many customers calling in search of clarification. T Mobile had unexplainable digits that were hard to understand. To improve the design of its bill, T Mobile called upon its direct marketing agency and Boag design associates. T mobile bill had a few problems, which included unutilized space in page 2, lack of helpline and clarity in the how the bill came about. The lead designer Boag from the Boag Associates proposed solutions to this problem by adding new functionalities in T Mobile document generating system that allowed creation of pie charts. More changes were proposed and incorporated, and with the aid of T mobile personnel and family, the team was able to devise a bill that was more appealing and communicated very effectively. The new bill had graphs for communicating data, account summary; information on debits and credit became straightforward, use of large bold type to aid with filing and referencing. Bill totals aid customers in tracking their usage pattern, and the usage is very clear so that clients can view what they are being charged. The new bill for T Mobile is user friendly, client centric and transparent. Customers saw it as a great improvement, which is easy to understand (Design Council 2009). Conclusively, each company had to carry out a market research before they embarked on the innovation development. Each company knows that the client is always right and it is crucial to put their interests first. For instance, Swatch realised that there was untapped market niche for the youth, also it realised that it needed to design products that clients saw as the in thing. Swatch revolutionised watches by making them appear to be more than just a commodity but something to treasure, something of class and style. Each company has thrived to ensure that their commodities are user friendly, in the case for the T Mobile; the innovation process was focussed on easing the work of the customer with, for instance, a bill that is transparent and accommodative, easy to read and understand. Contracted experts facilitated each company’s innovation process. This means that the companies know the need for pooling resources. Each company’s innovation process was projected to reduce costs and maximize results. Like in the case for Swatch’s, design process that employed cross-functional utilities to aid in cost reduction and maximise results. The Nike’ innovation process is projected to produce environmental sustainable products. This is not the case with the T Mobile and Swatch (Design Council 2009) . Appendix A Swatch Swatch is a sculpted plastic wrist watch that has a quartz-like movement. It is exclusively manufactured in Switzerland. The Swatch watch was unveiled in Italy 1986, the last noble European country to have welcomed it into its arcade: because at the time of its inauguration the Swatch triumph was tremendous. Appendix B Nike Considered A strategy established by the Nike Company to ensure environmental sustainability. Appendix C T Mobile T Mobile is a UK based company that provides phone services. Its vision is to make monthly communication effective. References Design council, 2009, Nike Considered. Design Council, 2009, T Mobile. Design Council, 2009, The Swatch. Read More