The Dying of the Fax Machines - Essay Example

? Essay Product Assessment: The Dying of the Fax Machines Marketing July The dying of the Fax machines Advanced technology and fast communication are death blows to some products that by now are rendered obsolete. This essay specifically refers to the usage of Fax Machines. The life cycle of the fax machines had passed maturity stage and is now on a decline. With the sudden swift of technology changes there is an indication that it is headed in that direction. The use of internet, mobile communication, e –mail and other sorts of technological applications made the usage fade into background. Fax machines had been very popular in offices and at home for transmitting messages anywhere for some time. According to coupon. chili.com website, an environmentalist group, there are about 46.3 million fax machines in the world, most of which are held in the United States, Japan, Germany, France and UK (in that order) . This group is worried on the environmental effect of the staggering amount of paper consumed by the operation which they presumed to reach 853 miles of paper or approx. 1.373 kilometers and an impact to 2 million trees used for paper. It was once an important piece of technology that is attached to a telephone. However it is now considered by several analysts as an outdated technology that has many flaws. In the office setting, it is considered as a security risk for information and one that consumes a lot of money and materials. Due to other available means of communication, the fax machine is now suffering from a steady decline. For instance, as cited by Nick Staffeiri (April 9, 2010), law firms in Philadelphia have decreased its facsimile usage by about 55 to 70% from previous years due to electronic preference of documents than paper. A survey done by Linkedin to 7,000 professionals in 17 countries around the globe showed that it is one of the products that is slowly losing its appeal and would disappear by 2017 (Vivian Gang. Sept 25, 2012). So it is closer to an end, and by this time manufacturers in the US should have developed a strategy to avert this closure. Recommendations Businesses have a product cycle of growth, maturity and decline. In each stage businesses have to adjust strategies to complement the needs of the market and environment. In the declining stage, businesses will notice a decline in sales of the product or service. a. When a product reaches declining stage, it is about time that the company does strategic actions to resuscitate the dying business. At this point, company should look into foreign markets that have need for the fax machine. Wagner, K. (May 15, 2013), a reporter of the CNN, argued that in some markets, fax machines refused to die. This is the case in Japan wherein the popularity of fax machines has grown roots into the Japanese society. Old folks have developed attachment to the fax machine that they found it hard to replace regardless of the modern technology. Taking this as a cue, manufacturers of fax machine should take the market opportunity of developing third world countries. Statistics compiled by the Nation Master website showed that there are more users of fax machine in Japan aside from US, than in any other countries while fewer users are shown for African and Asian countries. This is an opportune time to develop these regions and introduce the product. b. It is also about time that manufacturers of fax machines upgrade their product to cope up with the advent of new technology. In order for the fax system to expand, it will be necessary to bring into it developments of multiple functions of the information system. But of course, this will be a tall order that will cause its reinvention and would incur a lot of new investments. Adding new features would be a risky investment where return of investment is not sure. c. Reduce marketing expenses such as advertisements and promotions. These are overhead expenses that could reduce operating cost and help preserve the business, and if sales do not improve, manufacturer should stop manufacturing and just let inventory run to zero. Better yet, it can sell the machine on a discount to recover manufacturing costs. Strategy – market entry to China As noted from the statistics there are other nations including BRIC economies that are not fully saturated yet when it comes to fax machine usage. BRIC pertains to Brazil, Russia, India, and China which are some of the emerging economies today. China, for instance, according to analysts is expected to overshadow Japan and the United States in the near future. Surprisingly, percentage usage of fax machine per person in these regions falls in the lowest bracket. (Nationmaster). China Total fax machines in China is 592,384 as compared to US which owns 17,396,892 units and Japan that owns 11,898,891 units. usage of fax machine is 0 .44 per 1,000 people (couponchili.com. March 12, 2013),. The low density is both opportunity and threat for manufacturers. A thorough research on consumers’ preferences should be done in order to establish why this is so. There are two possible thoughts here: Could it be possible that technology has already overtaken users or they have not taken advantage yet of this usage. The total population of China as of July 2013 is estimated at 1,349,585; ninety two percent of which is literate; 29% of the people is employed in the industry while 35% are engaged in the industries. (CIA World Factbook) Services and industry sectors could be a good starting point for segmentation and product positioning in China. There are about 285.111 million lines that could be used for the purpose and according to a report, most government and business offices here prefer to receive inquiries thru fax messages. (Evelyn Chao) Conclusion There is a clear indication that Fax machines are being overtaken by technology and time. But there are still strategies left open to the manufacturers. First, is entry into China or the third world countries where there is an opportunity for a new growth; second is to muster all its ability to upgrade the product and face the risks; and third is accept the fate of the dying business. Business dying or decline is part of the business process that should be expected. Take the case of the typewriter, old style cameras, fashion, etc. In case of this event, business must be prepared with sufficient strategies to keep it on hold. List of References Chao, E. (2013) Why Does China Still Use Fax Machines and Internet Explorer 6? http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/why-does-china-still-use-fax-machines-and-internet-explorer-6--2 Cia World Factbook (2013). China. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html Gang, Vivian. (September 25, 2012). 13 Office Trends that will disappear in the next 5 years. Business Insider Retrieved from < http://www.businessinsider.com/trends-that-will-disappear-from-the-workplace-2012-9?op=1> Stafferei, N. (April 9, 2010). Fax machines becoming obsolete. Workculture Newsletter. Examiner.com. Retrieved from < http://www.examiner.com/article/fax-machines-becoming-obsolete.> Wagner, K. (May 15, 2013). Why the fax machines refuses to die .http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/05/15/why-the-fax-machine-refuses-to-die/. Nationmaster (2013). Media Statistics : Fax machines (most recent) by country. Retrieved from Read More