Design of Goods and Services SLP - Assignment Example

Design of goods and Services SLP How Project Design is applied in Decision making in Wal-Mart For this assignment, Wal-Mart Inc. fits the requirement of the paper in the best way given that it is usually engaged in the making of production and sales decisions on a regular basis, without which its operations would appear as crippled. The launching of a product in the company presents milestones achieved in recognizing the crucial parts of the company’s progress. Product launching presents a careful planning process since each product introduced into the business involves investment of a great capital (Landwehr, Wentzel & Herrmann, 2013). Consequently, this makes the process of product design to be among the most momentous components in product development, given that it involves all the processes that strive to make the business successful. Since product designing progresses from one stage to the other within the organization, it influences the process of decision making in Wal-Mart organization. There is a stage of idea development about the products to be designed in the organization. At this point, the organization’s leaders and parties concerned get into a discussion to identify the relationship between the product to be introduced to the market and the customer expectations in the market. This will compel the organization to conduct a qualitative and quantitative research that tests the ideas of the customers. The competitors for the same product are also closely examined; the suppliers are contacted as one of the sources of important information required by the organization. All the dynamics are taken into contemplation when the product is designed so as to come up with the best and competitive product (Landwehr, Wentzel & Herrmann, 2013). The product development team must sell out the idea with the senior management, and create appropriate awareness within the organization’s departments. The responses received from the stakeholders are then scaled down for implementation by the sales and marketing specialists. It is from this point that sales and marketing specialists make the decisions in relation to the feedbacks. The decisions made are directly linked to the design of the product that is later to be launched for customers to purchase. The product designed should be able to meet all the requirements and desires of the stakeholders into consideration and influence the decision making process of the company (Landwehr, Wentzel & Herrmann, 2013). Product Life Cycle Product life cycle traces the stages involved in the strategies used by the organization from production to consumption or rather from idea development to the time that the product is fully grown and begins to decline in the market. The product life cycle begins with the initial product design, where a lot of research and development is done in relation to the product and prevailing market conditions (Day, 1981). This cycle ends up with the product at the market with the inclusion of the customers and the relevant stakeholders. The product life cycle used by Wal-Mart Inc. is portrayed in the following stages: The first stage is the introductory stage of the product’s life cycle. It majorly concerns the development of a new product just like when the company launched the sustainable packaging of the bean pod, which is deemed to be a new technique in the market (Day, 1981). Once the ideas are fully conceptualized, the organization does not hurry in introducing the product in the market but, wait for competitors to copy the idea. The improvement of the other companies dealing with the same product will help in coming up with a more informed and grounded decision regarding a new product. At this point, the successfully introduced product impacts on the growth of the organization. This is due to the increased sales that the new product brings to the organization, prompting new competitors to get into the market. The key challenge at this phase is the imitation of the new product by competitors and even modification of the same product (Day, 1981). This erodes the market for the product and the company begins to export the product after such competition. The company also introduces more innovative strategies to overturn the competition (Day, 1981). This is where the product has been standardized and is widely available in the markets and the organization makes sure that its distribution is well established. The competition takes peak and the organization puts more focused and defined strategies to overcome them. The last stage is defined by a decline in the popularity and sales of the product. The production is taken to the points where the product cost low. As the profit margins decline, the production and distribution financial systems are sought. This will lead to the product retirement and marks the end of its cycle (Day, 1981). Issues of Product Cycle The Need to Meet the Unmet Need There is a critical need to meet the unmet need which is the ultimate goal of introducing a new product or redefining the current product condition. This is incorporated in the organization’s strategies by doing research on the taste and preference of the consumers regarding the product to be introduced. Market Size The organization examines the market size with the potential to buy the product. The size will portray much on the possibility of the product to meet the organization’s objectives. The Wal-Mart Company does a market analysis prior to the introduction of the product. The Competitive Advantage The organization does research on the customers’ needs and helps it to come up with merchandise that fulfills the needs of the targeted customers, best. This is linked to the reality that once the product meets the customers’ needs best, the customers will but the product than any other product. Conclusion The essence of developing a new item or initiative is usually done taking into consideration the benefits the stakeholders will derive from the same. In the case of Wal-Mart, the numerous programs and designing of new projects that have been performed have been as a result of the incorporation of data in the management of the applications it runs. It has been discovered that the reliance of Wal-Mart on the adoption of new techniques in the designing of its products has facilitated it to advance in competitive improvement over other competitive firms in the same market (Trivedi, 2002). References Day, G. S. (1981). The Product Life Cycle: Analysis and Applications Issues. Journal Of Marketing, vol. 45, no. (4). Pp. 60-67. Landwehr, J. R., Wentzel, D., & Herrmann, A. (2013). Product Design for the Long Run: Consumer Responses to Typical and Atypical Designs at Different Stages of Exposure. Journal of Marketing, vol. 77, no. (5). Pp. 92-107. Trivedi, M. L. (2002). Managerial economics: Theory and applications. New Delhi: McGraw-Hill. Read More