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Bmw - Product Life Cycle

BMW Product Life Cycle Speaking of successful history: The automobile was invented in Germany about 120 years ago not by us by the way. But that is another story. We have however, shaped the development of the automobile for years and decades. Crucial, trendsetting innovations came and continue to come from BMW, from BMW Groups excellent engineers. That much about history. The world has changed. And BMW Group needs to change as well (Reithofer, 2008). When Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management for BMW AG, addressed shareholders during their annual meeting on May 8, 2008, he carefully acknowledged the strong financial foundation of the company, the three world-renowned brands it represented and the fact that it is the most innovative and technological leader in the automobile industry. However, despite such accolades, he carefully laid out a plan for change and direction that would continue the success of the company through 2020 (Reithofer, 2008).
Such bold acknowledgments of success combined with the continual desire to stretch above competitors could be a main indicator behind the dissimilarities between the product life cycle shown in figure 11-1 and that of BMW. The figure shows four life stages of every product, Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. According to vice president of marketing for BMW, Jim McDowell, the average product life cycle for a BMW (depending on the series) is around seven years. However, they prefer to concentrate efforts around Introduction and Growth versus an overall focus of all life stages (Kerin, Hartley & Rudelius, 2000, p.304). By consistently introducing new models of the same product lines customers are able to enjoy similar, yet updated products, throughout the lifespan of the series. This strategic thinking and use of the product life cycle figure is different from that of other automobile makers. Competitors prefer to introduce one vehicle and move it through the life cycle without...

In what stage of the product life cycle is the Toyota Camry?

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Anon

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

If you are wondering when it will be updated, the automotive industry typically goes with 2/4 or 3/6 cycles. The 2/4 is a new model every 4 years and in the middle they do a front/rear and interior refresh. The 3/6 is a new model every 6 years and the refresh in the middle. The current Camry generation was introduced in 2006 as a 2007 model. The previous generation ran from 2001 to 2006. So the sixth generation ran for six years. The five generation ran for four years. The 2010 Camry will get a new front bumper and a few other changes. No big changes will probably be made until 2012.

April 25, 2011

Apple Case Study - from the iPod to the iPad - Product Life Cycles and growth potential

The Apple product life cycles indicates just how big the iPhone and the iPad will be over the next few years. It took the iPod five years to break the thirty million units per annum mark. The iPhone got there in four and the iPad will make it in year two of launch. As for the Sony Walkman it never made it, it took over ten years to top out, the iPod topped out within eight years of launch. Apple product Life Cycles are moving faster and higher sooner than ever before.

iPod sales may have peaked in 2008 at just under 55 million units and may fall to around 45 million units this year but the iPhone is set to sell just under 70 million units and the iPad is chasing fast behind. It all adds up to an exciting phase of growth for Apple over the next four years with revenues set to rise over $100 billion in 2011. Students of corporate strategy and business theory are familiar with the concept of the Product Life Cycle. Generally the life cycle is perceived to have four specific stages, introduction, growth, maturity and decline generally plotted with volumes a function of time. In the introduction phase, costs are high, sales volumes are slow, there may be little or no competition and customers have to be stimulated to action. Profits are limited and the product is

cash extensive as marketing costs are substantial. Key customers tend to be innovators and early adopters. In the growth phase, unit costs are reduced as volumes increase, advertising is amortised over greater volume, market awareness increases beyond the early adopters, to the early majority, competition increases with more competitors entering the market and price levels may begin to fall. Profits increase but the product remains cash extensive as greater investment in marketing or working capital is required. In the maturity stage, costs are lowered further as volumes have increased, the market becomes more competitive and alternative products begin to date the initial product offering. The product remains profitable and begins to generate cash. The innovators, early adopters and early majority are joined by the late majority. In the saturation and decline phase, sales volumes decline, profits margins are maintained and the product becomes remains cash generative. The laggards and luddites still do not enter the market. Either way for Apple, four years of strong growth are evident from products already in the line up, both the iPhone and the iPad are set to hit the one hundred million units per annum mark in 2012 and 2014. Despite the march of the Androids, the Apple growth story will continue. Sign up today and "subscribe" for e-mail notification of updates. The Apple Case Study Apple from the iPod to the iPad is available as a FREE download. The views expressed are my own and in no way reflect pro.manchester policy. In no way should the comments be considered as investment advice or guidelines or reflect political bias. UK Economics news and analysis : no politics, no dogma, no polemics, just facts. JKA is a visiting professor at MMU Business School, an economist and specialist in Corporate Strategy, educated at LSE, London Business School with a PhD from Manchester Metropolitan University. Author of the Apple Case Study from the iPod to the iPad part of which is published in Johnson Scholes Whittington Exploring Strategy 9th edition 2010. Posted on April 25, 2011 at 06:13 PM in Apple Case Study - iPod to the iPad, Corporate Strategy, Current Affairs, Economics, iPad market share, jkaonline | Permalink Technorati Tags: Apple, Apple Case Study, Apple from the iPod to the iPad. Product Life Cycles, Corporate Strategy, iPad, iPhone, iPod, jkaonline.

The Corporate Strategist : Apple product life cycles, iPod, iPhone, iPad is this the future?
Posted on January 31, 2012 by John Ashcroft

On January 24th Apple reported first quarter results with the highest quarterly revenues and earnings ever. In this article, we look at the product life cycles of the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. The Corporate Strategist Apple Product Life Cycles iPod, iPhone, iPad The Company posted record quarterly revenue of $46.33 billion and record quarterly net profit of $13.06 billion. The results compare to revenue of $26.74 billion and net quarterly profit of $6 billion in the year-ago quarter. It is a great result but what happened to the product sales? The company sold 37 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 128 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 15.43 million iPads an 111 percent unit increase. The Company sold 5.2 million Macs during the quarter, a 26 percent unit increase over the yearago quarter and Apple sold 15.4 million iPods, a 21 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. Tim Cook Apples CEO said : Were thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs, Apples momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline. For lovers of product life cycles, the Apple product line demonstrates some classic lines. The iPod is on the wane but the future of the iPhone and the iPad look incredibly strong. In the charts, the performance of the Sony Walkman and the Disk man is compared to that of the iPod in the period from 1980 to 2012. The second chart outlines the performance of the iPod from launch to the present day with a forecast of future sales up to 2016. The third chart maps the performance since launch of the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. Is this the future path of the iPhone and the iPad. The only problem, latest sales for the iPhone suggest total sales could be off the chart in the current year with sales of 150 million units compared to the 88 million modelled here.

Extract from the Corporate Strategy Case Study Apple from the iPod to the iPad to be updated soon. Check out the Saturday Economist blog. Just Google the Saturday Economist, Follow me on Twitter @jkaonline, or join me on LinkedIn or Google+.

Smartphones Strategy: Case Studies

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Two companies, Research in Motion Ltd (RIM) and Apple Inc, have made headlines for different reasons. Euromonitor International examines the different paths that these two companies are adopting in their smartphones strategies. Poison Berry and Tasty Apple An anonymous letter by a current employee of RIM, the maker of Blackberry, was first published on a technology website before going viral. The letter detailed issues plaguing RIM's limited success in smartphones, which resulted in it losing share to Apple within global smartphones in 2009. RIM accounted for 14% of global volume sales whereas Apple garnered a stronger 16% share in 2010. Apple's feat is all the more remarkable as it only has one product family (iPhone). The latest rumour that has excited Apple fans is the reported replacement of Apple's current crown jewel, the iPhone 4. Speculation is rampant about the improvements expected to be made to the successor, which is widely expected to be launched in September 2011. Global Company Shares of Smartphones, 2008-2010 % volume,

Euromonitor International In the competitive landscape, Apple is on a roll, with each iPhone model successfully capturing expanding market shares. On the other hand, RIM is struggling to launch a worthy competitor to iPhone and has seen its fortunes decline. Product Lifecycle The Product Lifecycle is typically used to track the duration for which a product is available on the market. When the product is first launched in the market, consumers' acceptance is low but growth accelerates as the product gains traction. Eventually the market stabilises and the product matures; then after a period of time the product is overtaken by superior competitors, it goes into decline and is eventually withdrawn. However, there are a lot of products that fail to gain traction and never progress it to the growth phase. Table 1: Product Lifecycle

Mapping the Products

Apple first launched its widely successful iPhone in 2007, and the company is generally credited as being the force that turbo charged the current smartphones craze and related demand for mobile apps. iPhone 4, which was only launched in mid-2010, is the first smartphone within the iPhone family to be launched globally. It has seen remarkable global success, with sales of iPhones exceeding 46 million units in 2010, according to Euromonitor International. Apple has made minor upgrades in terms of hardware and features with each new version, a classic case of product extension, catering to different consumer segments. Now that iPhone is approaching the maturity phase of its product lifecycle, a low-cost model derived from iPhone 4 without front-facing camera and retina display would still be an attractive proposition to late adopters in emerging markets like China and India. At the same time as this, Apple could also have a technologically advanced model to leverage on its iCloud initiatives and drive revenue from content and services in developed markets like the US and Western Europe. RIM, on the other hand, had a headstart in the smartphones market and captured a large portion of corporate clients. While Blackberry enjoyed success in selected countries like the US, Canada, the UK, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, the Canadian company struggled to attract mass consumers. RIM has seen its market share overtaken firstly by Apple and then seen a host of companies like HTC and Samsung hot on its tail. Table 2: iPhone and Blackberry

Targeting late adopters Despite the fact that sales of smartphones are expected to record a phenomenal 25% CAGR rise during the forecast period, feature phones are still expected to account for 46% of total mobile phone sales globally by 2015 in volume terms. Smartphones, like iPhones are usually given for free or highly subsidised by the mobile network operators as part of a monthly subscription plan, tied to a 24 months contract. In emerging markets, a significant portion of consumers are buying mobile phones without monthly subscription plans or part of a pay as you go (prepaid) plan. As detailed by the graph below, this clearly contrasts trends in developed countries such as the US and UK. The mobile network operators do not make a lot of profit from prepaid plans and

therefore do not subside prices for mobile phones for the consumers. Consumers on prepaid plans, therefore tend to purchase feature phones and are not able to harness full potential from the mobile internet. Table 3: Mobile Phones by Type of Contract 2010

Euromonitor International The next step for Apple and other companies with ambition to dominate the smartphones arena is to work with mobile network operators to convert feature phone users into smartphone users. Apple, having conquered the smartphones market, is more than equipped to launch a low-cost iPhone to entice late adopters. Ominously for RIM, it is still struggling to capture the current pool of iPhone and Android users. To try to capture feature phone users and concurrently regain market share in smartphones would stretch the company and fail on both ends. The bigger issue plaguing RIM beyond the points highlighted in the anonymous letter is that RIM is always two steps behind its rivals. Back to its roots RIM has been unsuccessfully courting the consumer market and the company is lagging behind rivals like Apple, Samsung and HTC. RIM may have lost the battle in the consumer market but not the war on smartphones. Blackberry already has robust security and messenger service in its arsenal, which corporations like. Maybe the best strategy for RIM is to return to its roots and focus on corporate sales. This is the same group of customers that made RIM successful in the first place.

The product life cycle

Management
By Cary Silverstein

today's news 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. St. Marcus Expansion 2012 Master Mettle Winners Exporters dominate Future 50 list Congratulations to the 2012 MMAC/COSBE Future 50 Winners! Celebrating 25 years of Future 50

related articles Recently, Apple Inc. brought out the Apple iPhone 4S and sales of the iPhone 4 plunged, while the new model sold over 4 million units.

Why would Apple obsolete one model for another? In order to maintain their market share in hand held devices, Apple elected to introduce the iPhone 4S when the iPhone 4 was still selling. Why execute such a strategy? This fall, Target introduced a fashion collection by Messoni for women. This collection blew out of their stores in matter of days. Was this a fad or the start of a new trend? The answers to all of these questions can be found in the five phases to the product life cycle. No matter if you offer tangible products like Target and Apple, or just business services, you need to sit down and evaluate where they are in the product life cycle. Each of these phases: introduction, rapid growth, growth, maturity and decline, have their own customers and levels of profitability. In addition, there are three types of life cycles: traditional, fad and technology. The cycle your products or services interact in depends on the business segment in which you participate. For Target, and other apparel, home goods and specialty stores, it could be all three cycles. For Apple and other technology based organizations, it is the shorter, more turbulent technology cycle. Let's look at each of the life cycle phases and see how they impact your business.

Introduction
In this phase of the life cycle, a new product or service enters the market. There are few if any sales and a great deal of investment is put into getting the business community and public aware of its value and utility. The customer in this phase is the innovator, the techie. An example of a product in this phase would be the Apple iPad. When first introduced, the price was high and the sales went to people who understood and wanted the newest technology. Profitability is usually low or negative in this phase because of the low level of sales and high level of investment in promotion, inventory and distribution.

Rapid growth
This second phase is where sales grow at a rapid pace as the public becomes aware of the products attributes and value. Prices begin to drop as production increases and economies of scale take hold. The customer at this phase is the early adopter. There is still a high level of publicity and product placement in the media. Sales continue to increase as a larger number of market segments are penetrated. Profitability increases as unit costs continue to drop due to increased levels of production. It is at this phase competition begins to enter the market place, as demand begins to exceed supply.

Growth: No longer are sales doubling each quarter and more competitors are entering the market to gain their share of the business. The market begins to fragment and it is time to differentiate your product from the competition. Using Apple as an example, the features of the iPhone 4S differentiate it from the current competition, making it unique at this time. At this phase of the cycle, profits are still increasing and the adopters are now purchasing your product or service.

Maturity: In this phase, sales level off, market share remains stable and it takes small amounts of advertising and publicity to maintain your position in the market. Consider breakfast cereals as an example. Think about how long Corn Flakes, Raisin Bran, Cheerios, Special K and others have been staples in your home. They have lasted so long, because they are constantly being improved and reinvented. More raisins, freeze dried strawberries have been added, and new flavors are continually introduced. These evolutions keep the customer, the majority, interested in the product and reduce their desire to switch. This strategy does not work with products that are fads, which have a very short life cycle. In the technology arena, not many products reach maturity because they are replaced with a newer improved version during the growth phase. Profits are steady in this phase and the products are referred to as "cash cows" since they generate high profitability levels, which can be reinvested in the next product group. Competitors begin to drop out at this phase because the market growth slows.

Decline: Sales begin to decrease and market share is beginning to decline. More players in this market segment leave and prices begin to drop. Profitability declines because of shrinking margins and the laggard is your customer. Your product placement is reduced and assortments shrink to reduce investment. The "rising star" is now a "dog" you look to divest yourself from this market segment. An example at this phase would be your basic cell phone. There is a market, but it is smaller and no longer profitable for many manufacturers.

It is time for you to determine what phase of the cycle your products or serves are in. Do you have sufficient "cash cows" to fund your "rising stars" or are they "dogs" that you need to divest? What do you need to do to extend the life of your "cash cows," so they continue to generate consistent levels of profits? Using the GE model, you have four possible decisions during the product life cycle: invest (introduction and rapid growth), hold (growth), harvest (maturity), and divest (decline). What decisions will you make to strengthen your profitability in the future?
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The iPhone Evolution and Lifecyle

The iPhone. Now an infamous icon- one of the top smartphones on the market today. The evolution of the iPhone has gone through the different stages set forth above, utilizing the subjective factors. 2007: iPhone is launched. The cost $699 and exclusively with AT&T. Anyone who had one was automatically in the exclusive group of the first iPhone users. 2008: iPhone 3G is launched. The original iPhone, which was valued at $699, had been devalued to about $299. 2009: iPhone 3GS is launched. The original iPhone has pretty much been cut out completely, the 3G model had been devalued to $99, and the new 3GS model was valued at $199. 2010: iPhone 4 is launched. Again, the 3G model is now gone and the iPhone 4 is offered at the $199 price point. 2011: AT&T just announced that iPhone 3GS model phones have been reduced to $49, while iPhone 4 models remain at the $199 price point.

iPhone Product Life Cycle

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The Apple iPhone is now moving into the maturity phase of the product life cycle. This is typically the most common phase of the product life cycle; most successful products are probably in this phase (Thompson, 1999). During this phase the primary objective of Apple is to defend market share while maintaining revenue. During the earlier phases of the product life cycle the iPhone was able to catapult itself into superstar status. This eventually led to many

similar products showing up in the market place. Because of this, the market has become overly saturated with Apple iPhone like products. This and many other factors have helped push the iPhone into its current phase of the product life cycle. At this point sales have peaked, but are now starting to slow. Slow sales, as well as a drop in revenue have started to impact the overall profitability of the iPhone. In order to maximize any remaining profits from the iPhone, Apple must shift away from the strategy it used during the previous phases of the product life cycle. Maturity Phase In the maturity phase of the product life cycle Apple will be using a number of key strategies to defend market share, while maximizing profits for the iPhone. The key elements of the sales strategy are new product features, cost, distribution, and marketing. By effectively positing themselves in each of these areas Apple will be able to hold market position until the final phase of the product life cycle. If executed properly, the maturity phase of the product life cycle could last for many profitable quarters before costs reach their peak, then decline (Thompson, 1999). New Product Features To align with the strategic sales plan Apple will be launching a number of product enhancements for the iPhone. Introducing new features for the iPhone will lengthen the maturity phase of the product life cycle. These enhancements will range from accessories to software updates. Apple will also offer limited edition iPhone will select bands, sports teams, etc. Apple may consider launching a totally revised version of the product, iPhone five. This would greatly increase the product life cycle of the Apple iPhone. Cost Pricing will be another area to be addressed by the Apple management team. In order to stay competitive prices must be reduced. This may come in the form of discounts, rebates, price drops, etc. By reducing the cost of the product Apple is planning to increase the overall sales volume. During the maturity phase of the product life cycle the only possible customers left are the most risk adverse and price sensitive. They do not want to take on any risk, or a perceived high price. Because of this, price becomes imperative to moving additional units (Thompson, 1999). Distribution In the maturity level of the product life cycle distribution will increase as well. Apple will begin to flood the market with the iPhone through all of its distribution channels. Distribution may also see an increase due to promotions, discounts, etc. These types of incentives decrease the cost-toconsumer, but increase the total sales numbers. This is a tactic typically used towards the end of a product life cycle.