June 2013
A1: Explain all aspects of your decisions to build the initial computer brands.
The selection made in initial products to manufacture were a result of analyzing the marketing research for the potential wants and needs of the customer, as well as the potential demand for collection of these wants and needs into individual products. The Customer needs and wants research in personal computers indicated three main types of computers rated the highest in demand, and within these three types of computers, there were specific wants for the functionality and features that rated most important to the customer. The first thing I decided was how many products that I should concentrate on, taking into account the demand estimations and the complexity of setting up a new manufacturing facility for multiple products and the associated costs. I selected two main products to allow for diversification in the market so that I would not have all investment in a single product. I then selected the exact features of my products based on the priorities of the rankings of customer wants versus the anticipated associated cost of producing the product.
The Chart below shows the beginning data supplied that prioritized customer wants into figures that were used to design the two primary products chosen for the company. The top three wants were chosen as features, with base needs built into both products to allow for combined manufacturing of a base model. The base model minimums chosen were competitive and included Base Components, Standard Design, 17” Monitors, standard High Speed Internet and Network Connections, and Base Operating Systems featuring the Office Software Suite. These choices allowed the product to be manufactured in a standardized production environment throughout the production process until the final Processor step. The Production then split into Standard and Maximum feature products. The Max PC was equipped with the fastest Maximum Processor on the market, then loaded with the latest and most robust Engineering Software and Accessories and a high quality Hot Key Keyboard for performance and speed. The Standard product was loaded with a Standard Processor and Keyboard, and added Games and Multimedia for expected casual and home use at speeds compatible to most home internet cable connections. The products were named to represent their design and easily identify with the associated price range and features, Source2 PC and SourceMax2.PC.
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Top of Form Customer Needs And Wants | . |
Workhorse |
Mercedes |
Traveler | Engineering applications | 58 | 132 | 73 | Office applications | 125 | 100 | 117 | Easy on eyes | 97 | 116 | 113 | Fun to use | 105 | 70 | 104 | Portability | 53 | 79 | 129 | Fast and powerful | 103 | 135 | 104 | After-sale service and support | 123 | 109 | 111 | Can link with other computers | 109 | 127 | 121 | Easy to use | 132 | 102 | 109 | Low price | 128 | 81 | 115 | |
Bottom of Form
The following chart identifies the exact chosen components of the products offered for the leading competitors: | Source Max2 PC | Source2 PC | Creative Power | Creative Worker | Creative Work2 | Creative Power2 | Excite V2 | Trooper VX | Stealth | Commander T1 | ZEUS | APOLLO | Apollo 200 | Zeus 200 | Apollo 400 | Zeus 400 | Apollo 50 | Base Components | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | Office software-word, ,spreadsheet | X | X | X | X | | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | Scientific/engineering software | X | | X | | | X | | X | | X | X | | | X | | X | | Games | | X | | X | X | | X | | X | | | X | X | X | X | | X | Multimedia accessories for office | | X | | X | X | | X | | X | | | X | X | | X | | X | Multimedia accessories for science/engineer | X | | X | | | X |