Archives for "Arena Customers"

Posted by Kathy Davies on 13th July 2010
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More of a good thing: Extending your product line without inventing a brand new product

Marc wrote recently about the motorized bicycle that is the latest addition to the Volkswagen product line and a way for the company to extend its brand into an adjacent market. And while innovation is often at the heart of new product development, it is worth pointing out that building a product line can be done without new invention. By varying peripheral product features, cosmetic details or packaging it is possible to use your existing technology and quickly expand your product line to reach new markets. Take Camelbak:

The company, an Arena customer, started making hands-free hydration systems for mountain bikers and motocross riders, “allowing them to drink without taking their hands off of the handlebars in technical terrain.” Since then “Camelbaks” have become popular for use while hiking, running, snowboarding and skiing in addition to cycling. They typically consist of a capped pouch of water with a long tube and bite valve, enclosed in some wearable form factor.

From this simple concept, Camelbak has built an incredible range of similar but specialized products: more than 90 hydration pack styles for recreational and military use. The company dominates the market through good use of technology (easy-to-use bite valve, rugged materials, easy opening and leakproof cap) and a willingness to customize its product for new sports or situations. Camelbak makes  a pack for refilling other packs (the Squadpak, 25L capacity) for use by a military unit, packs specifically designed for women, packs for use while skiing in sub-zero temperatures, packs for use under body armor and even a variety of “mini” packs (50 oz) for kids.

Another strategy is the purely cosmetic. Take Envirosax. These reusable shopping bags fold up into compact snap close packages. Envirosax has built its brand by offering a wide array of colors and graphics. Same bag design – different looks to appeal to different market segments.

You can also vary packaging and pricing. In addition to slight product differences, Superfeet uses color, pricing and packaging changes to sell its insoles to multiple market segments. The packaging and pricing for the product targeted at women differs from that aimed at athletes, “on their feet” professionals (doctors, nurses) or industrial workers. Inside the box you will find the same core product, with minor tweaks for the specific user segment.

These three companies have built on their primary product offering and diversified into adjacent markets without inventing a whole new product. Their strategy isn’t for everyone, but it might be worth considering whether your technology can be reused in new form factors or colors or marketed in a new way to appeal to other user groups. Who knows, variation on a theme might lead to your own empire.

Posted by Jennifer Bomze on 22nd April 2010
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An Earth Day salute to the Arena customers working on behalf of the environment

At Arena our customers make such a wide range of interesting products that it’s always fun to learn what each new one does. For years we’ve been adding a growing number of customers in the clean technology and clean energy sectors. Developing technologies that range from electric automobiles, wind turbines, energy-efficient LEDs and off-grid lighting solutions to solar power, energy management, intelligent batteries and green building systems, Arena customers are working to improve the environment through their products.

On this Earth Day, we thank them and salute them and invite readers to learn more about the fantastic products some of these companies are building:

Posted by Helen Shaughnessy on 5th April 2010
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Stanford Cool Product Expo – Wednesday, April 7

If you are in the Bay Area this week, stop by the Stanford Cool Product Expo (CPX) on Wednesday, April 7, 2010, from 12–6pm at the Stanford University Arrillaga Alumni Center. The Cool Product Expo is a free event showcasing more than 40 interesting products and projects from start-ups, university research labs, global manufacturers and local design studios.

Here’s how the CPX website describes the event: “The mission of the Stanford Cool Product Expo is to generate interest in and excitement around cool products and companies in the field of manufacturing and design at Stanford and the community at large…. The CPX is made possible through the efforts of the Stanford Product Design & Manufacturing Club (PDMC), the Product Realization Network at Stanford, and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.”

We are proud that this year’s lineup includes Arena customer Method Products, while customers Tesla Motors and d.light design have exhibited in the past.

If you can’t make it over to the event, check out the videos on the CPX website, where some of the exhibitors have posted previews using technology from CPX2010 exhibitor VideoGenie.

Posted by Joe Lipple on 1st April 2010
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The curse of the 5-cent part (or, the importance of proper documentation)

Image on the back of the T-shirt given to me by Mobius Photonics

I always feel fortunate when I get the opportunity to visit a customer. Invariably, I leave a little smarter and more enlightened than when I arrived. Sure, every customer has a long list of feature requests, but at the end of the day, I’ve learned something about how they work and how they work with our product (BOM and change management software).

One such customer, Mobius Photonics, makes high-powered focused light optical devices (read: giant lasers). During a recent presentation to us, one of the co-founders and lead engineers, Red Byer, and the director of operations, Susi Guzsella, shared their “Culture of Documentation” – a sort of credo that certainly left an impression on me. Here are three of the seven tenets:

  • If it is not documented, the work you’ve done most likely will not add lasting value to the company
  • If you are going to spend the engineering effort selecting a part, capture value in that effort and give the thing a part number and some documentation!
  • Documentation improves communication

These points may seem obvious, but think about how we actually work. In spite of our good intentions, we get too busy (or too lazy) to always make sure that the latest version of a spec has been copied up to the network drive. We tend to rely on our email inboxes and sent folders to track communication. We pick up the phone and call our suppliers to verbally confirm that they’ve got the information they need to provide a quote. In our busy lives, these activities pass for document control.

Our hosts led us to the stockroom for a most eye-opening document control lesson. Susi produced a tiny plastic cap from a blue inventory bin. This plastic cap, which costs just 5 cents, is used to protect sensitive optical components during shipping. She told us that this 5-cent cap was just as important as the $1,000 heat sink. Why? Because, the product can’t ship without either part. And without the right documentation, you put yourself at risk of running out of any part at any time.

Proper documentation may seem like a small thing, but then again, so does a 5-cent part…

Posted by Jennifer Bomze on 30th December 2009
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New product development…an early indicator of recovery?

At the recent Arena Fall 09 launch event, we asked 200+ customers what their companies are planning to do in the next 6 months to move their businesses forward. I expected to see cautious optimism…and there was a lot of that. But one response was a (very pleasant!) surprise – 58% of respondents said they were planning to develop new products in the next 6 months. Here are the full results:


pollChart2

What about you? What is your company planning to do in the next 6 months? Is new product development (NPD) on your list? If so, will you approach the NPD process any differently than you have in the past?