The Product Removal Process - A Case Study at Axis Communications
(2016) MTT820 20152Engineering Logistics
- Abstract
- Faster development of new products and shorter product life cycles increases the frequency of product removals. Despite its increasing presence, product removal tends to be neglected both in theory and in practice. When the product removal process is overlooked, it might induce customer dissatisfaction and unnecessary costs.
The product removal process is the implementation of the product elimination decision. It usually involves the planning of when and how a product should be removed from the market, and the execution of these plans. Since this important topic has been neglected, it needs to be examined further. The study uses a single case company, Axis Communications, as the empirical basis for research. Axis’ products have a... (More) - Faster development of new products and shorter product life cycles increases the frequency of product removals. Despite its increasing presence, product removal tends to be neglected both in theory and in practice. When the product removal process is overlooked, it might induce customer dissatisfaction and unnecessary costs.
The product removal process is the implementation of the product elimination decision. It usually involves the planning of when and how a product should be removed from the market, and the execution of these plans. Since this important topic has been neglected, it needs to be examined further. The study uses a single case company, Axis Communications, as the empirical basis for research. Axis’ products have a relatively short life time. Hence, the process of product removal is quite present. Personal at Axis describe that they experience increased difficulties in balancing supply and demand at the end of a product’s life cycle. The purpose of this study is to add on to the body of knowledge regarding the product removal process and to help Axis improve its process.
The study includes a review of literature regarding product removal and process management. The two are linked together to create a theoretical framework. This framework is used to assess the empirical findings. The empirical data collection consisted mainly of semi-structured interviews and observations at Axis. Pattern matching and content analysis were used to investigate the found main issues, and to generate improvement proposals.
Three main gaps in current literature were found: (1) measurement and evaluation of the process, (2) the sales function’s part in the process, and (3) the influence of overall strategy on the process. The empirical study and analysis revealed the main problems at the case company. These problems were divided into the categories: communication, responsibility & overall goals, customer interface, tasks & tools, measurement, demand, and external disruption. To solve, or reduce the impact of, the found problems, eight improvement proposals were developed. The four most important improvement proposals are:
- Determine overall strategy and goals
- Appoint a process owner
- Increase cross-functional integration
- Introduce performance measurements
A theoretical model of the process was also developed through combining the findings in literature with the empirical findings.
This study raises the awareness of the topic of product removal and connects it to process management. From the results it could be concluded that product removal hasn’t been treated as a process. It is clear that key concepts from process management have been overlooked by both academics and practitioners. The product removal process is a cross-functional process and it must be managed according to the principles of process management. A product removal must, to be successful, be as well planned and thought out as the company’s plans for launching a new product. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8627012
- author
- Carlson, Mattias LU and Hansson, Hampus LU
- supervisor
-
- Dag Näslund LU
- organization
- course
- MTT820 20152
- year
- 2016
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Product Removal
- report number
- 5798
- language
- English
- id
- 8627012
- date added to LUP
- 2016-02-15 12:58:41
- date last changed
- 2016-04-01 15:22:05
@misc{8627012,
abstract = {{Faster development of new products and shorter product life cycles increases the frequency of product removals. Despite its increasing presence, product removal tends to be neglected both in theory and in practice. When the product removal process is overlooked, it might induce customer dissatisfaction and unnecessary costs.
The product removal process is the implementation of the product elimination decision. It usually involves the planning of when and how a product should be removed from the market, and the execution of these plans. Since this important topic has been neglected, it needs to be examined further. The study uses a single case company, Axis Communications, as the empirical basis for research. Axis’ products have a relatively short life time. Hence, the process of product removal is quite present. Personal at Axis describe that they experience increased difficulties in balancing supply and demand at the end of a product’s life cycle. The purpose of this study is to add on to the body of knowledge regarding the product removal process and to help Axis improve its process.
The study includes a review of literature regarding product removal and process management. The two are linked together to create a theoretical framework. This framework is used to assess the empirical findings. The empirical data collection consisted mainly of semi-structured interviews and observations at Axis. Pattern matching and content analysis were used to investigate the found main issues, and to generate improvement proposals.
Three main gaps in current literature were found: (1) measurement and evaluation of the process, (2) the sales function’s part in the process, and (3) the influence of overall strategy on the process. The empirical study and analysis revealed the main problems at the case company. These problems were divided into the categories: communication, responsibility & overall goals, customer interface, tasks & tools, measurement, demand, and external disruption. To solve, or reduce the impact of, the found problems, eight improvement proposals were developed. The four most important improvement proposals are:
- Determine overall strategy and goals
- Appoint a process owner
- Increase cross-functional integration
- Introduce performance measurements
A theoretical model of the process was also developed through combining the findings in literature with the empirical findings.
This study raises the awareness of the topic of product removal and connects it to process management. From the results it could be concluded that product removal hasn’t been treated as a process. It is clear that key concepts from process management have been overlooked by both academics and practitioners. The product removal process is a cross-functional process and it must be managed according to the principles of process management. A product removal must, to be successful, be as well planned and thought out as the company’s plans for launching a new product.}},
author = {{Carlson, Mattias and Hansson, Hampus}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The Product Removal Process - A Case Study at Axis Communications}},
year = {{2016}},
}