The KF40 Line of Automatic Coffeemakers Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Evaluation of the Strategy of Launching the New Product

In the August of 1981, the management of Braun Company had the need to launch a new product in the market. The potential of the coffeemaker business had increased and certainly the expectation of the customers of the company had also increased. Therefore, in order to meet those desired needs, the management of the company had conducted a market research so that a new product could be developed and a new model of the coffeemaker could be designed and then the market could be penetrated.

In designing the new model, the management of the company had to carry out a detailed research regarding the cost structure, feasibility analysis and the schedule for launching the new product. This strategy of launching the new product was necessary at the current moment in order to maintain the competitive position of the company in the market as it has always maintained. In terms of project management, there are ranges of significant factors that play an important role in the success or failure of launching a new coffeemaker for the company. Some of the most important and the critical factors are defined briefly below:

Orchestrating the Launch Timing of the Product

First of all, the management of Braun needs to engage in the launch activities of the product along with the technical delivery of the new coffeemaker. The goal of the project manager should be to set a goal for the company under which the product should be ready to go and the team should be set to launch it right at the same time. If this does not seem to be possible for the project manager, then he needs to wait until both of these steps reach at the same point. Launching the product at the right time is highly important for the management of the company. If at the time of the launch, the marketing efforts of the company and other organizational efforts are incomplete, then it might have a less impact over the target customers. Therefore, the launch strategy for Braun’s new coffeemaker would only be successful if the product is launched at the correct time.

Product Launch Elements

The management needs to ensure that the product launch element is also ready such as:

The documentation for the new product should be made available on time so that the customers know about its functionality.
The promises and the liabilities should be outlined in a legal agreement.
The whole team associated with project management should be trained by the engineers and the testers.
Product related materials should also be developed that would help in promotion of the product.
Depending on the resources of the company, the launch should be announced to the world.

Setting Goals and Measurement Results

The task of a project manager, when he is managing the launch of the new product, does not end at the launch stage of the product, but he also needs to set the future goals, targets and the measurement criteria for evaluating the performance of the project. The goals could be set in advance and then the performance could be evaluated against those goals. These goals include setting the target of the production units or the number of orders received.

Project management plays a critical role in the strategy of launching a new product to the market. It is infact that the management of the project itself decides the fate of the new product in the market once it is launched.The KF40 Line of Automatic Coffeemakers Case Solution

Improvement Opportunities & Errors

There are many errors that are associated with the launch of the KF40 model such as:

Initially, the firm failed to create a balance between the costs and the benefits associated with the new product.
The management of the company has always faced challenges in turning its capabilities and technologies into products such as the management faced the manufacturing challenge.
The management of the company has not yet decided what type of plastic it needs to use in this product.
A wrong decision regarding the type of the plastic type might have significantly negative impacts upon the environment.

Seven models were offered by Braun for the new product; however, the management needs to explain the differences between all the models so that the differences in the prices do not cause dissatisfaction among the customers...............

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