The Business Environment: Product Discontinuation

Product Discontinuation
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Introduction
The business environment is quite dynamic and in some of the case it tends to be unpredictable. This therefore requires that companies have strategies to make sure that they are able to survive the different seasons associated with the business environment. When developing a product, there are a number of stages that are associated with the lifecycle of the same. From the time, the product is conceptualized to the time it is pulled off the market. for each of the stage, the company has to develop strategies where the product cycle is managed to the benefit of the stakeholders. While the rest of the stages also have significance to the stake holders, one of the most difficult decisions that the management has to make is the discontinuation. This is relative to the fact that, the product in question is an extension of the company and values that it represents in the market. Every other product is an extension of the company (Gaynor, 2010). As such, they are a representation of the objectives, culture and concepts of the company. There are a lot of investments that go into introducing a product in the market and even maintain it relative to the competition. As such, discontinuation of a product is a difficult decision not just for the company but also in reference to the fact that, the customers have gotten used to the same. All the parties have to be given enough time to adjust and let go off the products. This involves the end of life cycle management strategies, which are crucial to make sure that, even after the phase out, the company is also going to capitalize on the same. At the same time, the process should help the company to better focus on the remaining products (Saaksvuori & Immonen, 2004). The amount of resources that go into a product are immense, and this should be directed towards the establishment of competitive advantage for the company. The end of the life process of a product is one that requires the managers to have the right skills to establish the start and the end. The paper establishes the elements of the decision making in reference to the management when it comes to phasing out a product (Bartels, 2012).
Product Cycle
Like a child, products also happen to have cycles where they grow over time and at one point they are mature enough within the market and the company products. They shift from being needy to being the revenue generators for the company. After which they then shift back to being the needy products at the company and they need the support of the rest of the company products. As such, managers have to be in a position to develop and follow through with any products as they come to their level of maturity, after which they have to keep supporting the products in the market with strategic interventions. There are four stages of a product cycle along which the managers have to work with the rest of the team at the company to see through the product (Stark, 2011). These steps include the, conception, growth, maturity and decline. In the earlier stages of the product the estimates on the costs of the various aspects of the product may be overly bigger than what is then implemented within the cycle of the produc...