Speed of Business
No doubt the business pace has changed over a period of time and same with product lifecycle. Product lifecycle is a term used to define the total shelf life of any product from its first sale to its last sale as product including its maintenance and support system. From telecom to automobile and any real infrastructure has a limited lifetime of 7yrs , 10 yrs and 25 yrs respectively as considered for accounting and depreciation cost making it practically zero after that time period. Currently we hear these terms predominantly in the tech world used synonymously with mobile phones, laptops, computers, electronics hardware and OS support for various products which keep reducing with time. Just like fashion and lifestyle products, we keep changing our valued possessions with changing technology, market and intrinsic desire to keep pace with time. But do business keep pace with the change? How do they achieve it?
Flexibility coupled with Agility:
Flexibility is in the approach of developing new products and accommodating various consumer preferences in design and development phase.The biggest change we perceive today is not to develop products for the consumer but to synchronise and collaborate along with customers in various stages of development cycle; providing genuine products to target customers and reduce multiple iterations. Agility is incorporated in the process of meeting technological innovations at a rapid pace along-with changing marketing channels of social and digital media for connecting customers. Brand value creation and brand recognition were an ongoing process for various companies to create a mind share for its core value offering; and were introduced through various product launches in in the past . This perception has changed, over time and limited to Company only and its forgone stories because of the fast pace of product lifecycle.
Lean business model with specific and specialised partner outsourcing:
Research and development is the key to innovative products, and building end-to-end in-house products is a challenge of the current scenario. Time to market and product lifecycles are limited; and multiple products with variations have to developed within shortest possible time to keep the consumer focussed to your brand, interested in your products and develop business strategy. Simple example is of *Xiaomi* brand . *Xiaomi* launches almost 5-6 different variations of mobile phone over a year under *Mi* and *Redmi* brand along with various other electronics gadgets and accessories. This leads us to a conclusion that a new handset model is being rolled out every 1.5 to 2 months duration. Although the products mayn’t be significantly different from its predecessor, but never fails to astonish customers with flash sale and intermediate value additions. This is only possible due to specialised and specific outsourced partners for product design and development, sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, ecommerce and fulfilment. *Xiaomi* focusses on technology, OS update, sales, distribution and support. This keeps the organisation structure lean enough to handle market challenges and build up multiple product portfolios.
Customer engagement and co-creation:
Internet connectivity, available smart phones and social media applications like facebook, linkedin, twitter, snapchat, Instagram and Pinterest equally empowers all the companies to be in constant communication with target and potential customers on an ongoing basis and share your products in various phases of development and marketing. But this is not limited to social media only, even physical presence at various outlets, sourcing partners, kiosks and events like product and new market launch will allow companies to engage with various customers who are not adept with technology and social media to communicate and share their stories. By virtue of this, potential customers start influencing decision making process and take active part in the product creation process. *Xiaomi*’s leverages these platform to the fullest, and the Country head for India is in constant movement to monitor manufacturing processes and touch-base various locations for product and market launch, and simultaneously communicating on social media as part of the ongoing marketing process. Marketing is not a standalone entity in the wheel of innovation but strongly integrated into the culture of company for various risk mitigation and advanced communication using latest tools and tactics.