SITUATION:

Sy-Klone International had three new product lines that we desired to develop and introduce to both our Original Equipment Manufacturer customers and our large industry end users in the waste and agriculture industries.

TASK:

Managed the new product development cycle for all three product lines and introduced the products to both our OEM and end-user customers as the products were being developed.

ACTIONS:

Because we already had business relationships with both groups of customers our initial efforts focused on telling the story of why these new products were not only necessary but would also have a positive impact on their bottom line. For the OEMs, this impact would be manifested by making these new products first-fit, as part of the base package. For the end-users, the products would result in considerable savings in maintenance costs and supplies. Products were developed and field tested with both the OEMs and the end user’s participation giving them first-hand knowledge of the benefits we were proposing.

RESULTS:

All three products exceeded expectations during the field studies making implementation much less difficult. For OEMs, they resisted first-fit choosing instead to make them upgrade options with a higher profit margin. End users wrote the new products into their equipment specifications which ultimately led the OEMs to make them first-fit offerings for waste and agricultural packages.