The Ideas for Two New Eco-friendly Products - Report Example

A. As companies continue to emerge and perform business in the 21st century most enterprises have found that innovation is a critical success factor.An industry that has historically done very well in the United and the global marketplace due to the importance homeowners place on the looks of its residence is the lawnmower industry. Americans take pride in their lawns and many people prefer to do the work themselves rather than pay someone else to do it. Gas powered lawnmower have being driving industry sales for years. Unfortunately these types of machines are not very eco-friendly due the fact that the motors release lots of polluting emissions. During the last few years new green products have appeared in the lawnmower industry. One of leading firm in the lawnmower industry is John Deere. In order for this company to continue to dominate the marketplace the firm needs to introduce new eco-friendly lawnmowers. This paper provides two ideas for two new eco friendly products to improve the product offering at John Deere. We are living in a society in which its inhabitants have destroyed the natural resources of the planet. Air pollution is one of the biggest hurdles mankind has ever faced. It is going to take the collective efforts of everyone in order to make the changes in our life patterns and changes in the way business operate in order to protect our ozone from the damage associated with the greenhouse effect. Everyone can contribute towards the solution by promoting the use of green products. For example new hybrid vehicles can reduce the use of gasoline. The technology is accelerating and by the end of 2010 a vehicle created by General Motors called the Volt is going to give an incredible 230 miles per gallon. Another way consumers can contribute to the solution is by switching from gas powered mowers to eco-friendly mowers. The regular use of one gas lawnmower produces 106 pounds of greenhouse gases every year. Since there are nearly 56 million lawnmowers in operation these gas lawnmower are generating nearly three million tones of greenhouse gases per year (Solarispoweredproducts, 2009). Another detrimental effect of gas mowers is that they are contributing to the depletion of crude oil by accounting for over 800 million gallons of gasoline sales on a yearly basis. New green lawnmowers are the solution to stop the pollution generated by this necessary maintenance task. John Deere was founded in 1837. The company employs 56,000 people worldwide and its four core values are: integrity, quality, commitment and innovation (Deere, 2009). The two new products that are going to be proposed are aligned with the company’s value of innovation. The first product is an electric lawnmower with rechargeable batteries. The product is a 21” mower with 3 in 1 functionality (mulch, side discharge, bag). The mower cutting blade adjustment ranges from 1.5” to 3.5” inches. The electric motors that power the machine utilized brushless technology. The battery pack can be detached from the mower. The second product is a lawnmower that utilizes hybrid batteries that can be charged by either electricity or solar power. The basic attributes of the mower are similar as far as 3 in 1 function, 21” height, 1.5” to 3.5” blade adjustment and detachable battery. The batteries in this model can be hooked up to solar panel charger. The differences between the models are going to be discussed in the following section. B. The electrical lawn mower is an excellent product. The cost of charging the battery is about 10cents per charge. In comparison with the hybrid battery lawn mower model the cost of charging the batter y is 50% lower when using electricity. The hybrid model reduces the cost to zero when the person chooses solar power. The only problem with the solar charger is that it takes 24 hours to charge and if the day is cloudy it can take longer. The first model has a capability of mowing up to 12,000 square feet per charge, while the hybrid battery model is able to cut up to 16,000 square feet per battery charge. The cost electric mower with rechargeable batteries is $450, while the cost of the model with a solar charger is $650. C. I selected the lawn mower with the solar charger feature as the best choice. The fact that the mower uses solar energy to charge its battery eliminates pollution while at the same completely eliminating the use of any type of petroleum derived byproduct such as electricity. The cost of powering the machine is zero and the product has the capability of cutting an extra 25% of lawn per charge. I loved the detachable battery feature because it allows the customer to power up the battery in a more convenient manner. The price of the solar powered model is a little higher, but not high enough to persuade the customer away from a fully green experience. Showcasing technology in this manner is a great marketing strategy that can help John Deere create brand value. D. In the design process for new eco-friendly lawn mower at John Deere the design team must consider many variables or factors. The batteries had to be design so that its durability would be comparable with one full tank of gas in a typical mower. Also since the company had the concept of a solar charger the raw material selection for the batteries was important due to compatibility issues. People expect a mower to be powerful enough to cut down the grass without making too much force. In order to comply with that expectation the electrical motor had to have enough power. Electrical brushless motors were the best choice for the job. The physical appearance is another important consideration. The customer would be paying a premium price for this product, thus the mower must look attractive and it must illustrate a perception of quality. E. The new product idea of an eco-friendly mower at John Deere is a product with lots of attractive features. Such a product needs a proper supply chain strategy to achieve a high volume of sales. The company can increase its market presence by choosing several strategic partners to distribute its mowers. Along with the selection of strategic partners the company must also find new ways to expose the product. A good place to showcase the product is in technology fairs where other types green products are sold. The company must also perform more detailed market research to learn which foreign locations are suitable for international expansion. Cooperating with its suppliers can allow John Deere to identify parts used in the construction of the mower which could be substituted with cheaper materials in order to lower cost and make the product price point more attractive for the general public. The company could also consider licensing its solar charger technology in order to generate revenues with other solar panel applications for different battery products out in the marketplace. As we move forward towards the second decade of the 21st century there is going to be a flurry of new consumer products that will incorporate technologies that do not cause harm to the environment. Sometimes simply tasks such as mowing the lawn are the part of the problem, but due to a lack of awareness people don t realize it. John Deere needed to introduce new eco-friendly products for the lawnmower industry. The new products the company will launch soon are an electric mower with recharge batteries and electric lawnmower with the capability of charging its battery with a solar powered charger. In order for these new eco-friendly products to be success in the marketplace companies have to educate the general public on the negative impact gas mower have on the environment. Eco-friendly lawnmowers are a new innovation with tremendous upside that is going to impact this industry in the years to come. References Deere.com (2009). About Us. Retrieved September 3, 2009 from http://www.deere.com/en_US/compinfo/index.html Solarispoweredproducts.com (2009). Models. Retrieved September 2, 2009 from http://www.solarispowerproducts.com/specs.htm Read More