How can companies develop products and production lines in order to maximize profit? Of all the possible configurations available to them as they have to decide which of them offer? The authors have developed a framework to balance the cost of developing and offering a rich range of products and services for the consumer demand for more choices. Their methodology helps managers make informed decisions about which features to include in the product, which include changes in the product line, and a proposal to develop technology and competition. Using examples from music, software and media, and with reference to companies, including Apple, Dell, Microsoft, New York Times, and ESPN, the authors describe the five main types of products offers the proposal on the menu, specialization offers an all-in- one sentence, Basic / Premium offer and have-it-your-way location. Emphasizing how costs affect product design, they depart from the standard product success indicators, such as revenue and market share, which is the main focus for most of the work complete product. The authors note that the decision to offer a product and how it is generally affects both the fixed costs and marginal costs. They claim that the product architects should expand its definition of fixed and marginal cost, except that they tend to monitor, and to cover costs of the supply chain. While some of these costs may be difficult to quantify, they are often too great to ignore. "Hide
by David S. Evans, Karen L. Webster Source: MIT Sloan Management Review 9 pages. Publication Date: 01 Oct 2007. Prod. #: SMR263-PDF-ENG