NuView Case

While completing their third year of science at university, Erika and Kurtis invented
a new contact-lens colouring process they named NuView. They did routine market
studies which found that 80% of those surveyed wanted to try NuView. Erika and Kurtis
developed a business plan, obtained several new business start-up grants, and had
their product medically tested, approved and registered.

One bottle of NuView contained enough solution for three months of normal contact
lens use. As a result of consumer suggestions, NuView kept adding new colours and
buyers could now choose from five different ones (red, green, blue, orange, and brown).
To change eye colour a person would simply add two drops of NuView to each contact
lens, wait five seconds, and the colour would last for 20 hours.

With their $200,000 start-up grants, Erika and Kurtis had sufficient capital to lease a
small plant, do some preliminary newspaper advertising, purchase the required
manufacturing equipment, and hire a full-time production supervisor and a part-time
office assistant. They also paid to have a company Web site built from which products
could be ordered and the company marketed.

To date, about 10 percent of sales occurred on NuView's Web site. However, in the
most recent company survey, Kurtis found that 95% of the students contacted said they
would prefer ordering NuView over the Internet.

With their equipment and staff, they estimated they could produce up to 1000 bottles
of NuView per eight-hour production shift. Production output ranged between 250 - 550
bottles and these targets were set by Erika during monthly production meetings
regardless of actual sales or marketing research results. Recently, the production
supervisor mentioned that there were increasing amounts of unshipped retailer returned
NuView stacked in cartons throughout the plant and that he had now rearranged the
production equipment several times to make room.

Each bottle cost $4.00 to produce and was sold to retailers for $10.00 who in turn
sold it to consumers for $20.00, which was also the price someone would by NuView for
from the company Web site. During a routine Internet search, Erika discovered a news
item about contact lens coloring tablets being developed by a leading contact lens
manufacturer that was planning to give away the new tablets as a promotion when the
product was launched next year.

With this new information, the staff decided they needed to make some decisions as
how to best manage, market and manufacture NuView.

I. BEGIN THE SWOT ANALYSIS

a) STRENGHT
(Write down all 8 positive issues or strength stated in the case)

1. While completing their third year of science at university, Erika and Kurtis
invented a new contact-lens colouring process they named NuView.

2. They did routine market studies which found that 80% of those surveyed wanted
to try NuView.

3. Erika and Kurtis developed a business plan, obtained several new business start-up
grants, and had their product medically tested, approved and registered.

4. As a result of consumer suggestions, NuView kept adding new colours and buyers
could now choose from five different ones (red, green, blue, orange, and brown).

5. With their $200,000 start-up grants, Erika and Kurtis had sufficient capital to lease
a small plant, do some preliminary newspaper advertising, purchase the required
manufacturing equipment, and hire a full-time production supervisor and a part-
time office assistant.

6. They also paid to have a company Web site built from which products could be
ordered and the company marketed.
7. Each bottle cost $4.00 to produce and was sold to retailers for $10.00 who in turn
sold it to consumers for $20.00, which was also the price someone would buy
NuView for from the company Web site.

8. With the new information about the lens colouring tablets being developed by a
leading contact lens manufacturer, the staff decided they needed to make some
decisions as how to best manage, market and manufacture NuView.

b) WEAKNESSES
(Write down 2 negative issues or weaknesses stated in the case.)

1. Production output ranged between 250 - 550 bottles and these targets were set by
Erika during monthly production meetings regardless of actual sales or marketing
research results.

2. Recently, the production supervisor mentioned that there were increasing amounts
of unshipped retailer returned NuView stacked in cartons throughout the plant and
that he had now rearranged the production equipment several times to make room.
 c) OPPORTUNITIES
(Write down 1 opportunity stated in the case.)

1. In the most recent company survey, Kurtis found that 95% of the students
contacted said they would prefer ordering NuView over the Internet.

d) THREATS
(Write down 1 threat sated in the case)

1. During a routine Internet search, Erika discovered a news item about contact lens
colouring tablets being developed by a leading contact lens manufacturer that was
planning to give away the new tablets as a promotion when the product was
launched next year.

e) Disregard the neutral statements or facts

II. Issue or problem Identification ( usually found in weaknesses & threats )

1. Consumer demand for the products is fluctuating.

2. Valuable marketing and sales data are being ignored when setting plans

3. The company's sales information is missing.

4. NuView is not meeting the requirements of retailers.

5. The company's product return policy is confusing.

6. A new competitive product will enter the market soon.

7. Market share is decreasing.

 8. Internet marketing expenses are over budget.

9. Product shipping delays are increasing expenses.

10. Strong potential customer demand has been identified.

III. Issue or problem Ranking (short term or long term)

a. Short-Term (i.e. something that the company must do quickly in the near future)

1. Erika must meet with the staff to quickly solve NuView's inventory and retailer
return issues, and also to develop a plan for improving Internet marketing.

2. NuView must quickly deal with the potential competitor that will launch a new
product shortly while also ensuring it increases Internet sales so that it can finance
the changes needed to improve operations.

b. Long-Term (i.e. something the company should complete after it deals first with the
shorter-term issues.)

1. NuView lacks a plan addressing how best to deal with product returns, to integrate
sales and market data into production scheduling, and to increase Internet sales.

2. The company lacks strategy to decide which of its five colors need to be dropped
or enhanced while also keeping the interests of the retailers in mind.

IV. Problem statement ( construct your problem statement )

Erika and Curtis must meet with the team to rapidly resolve NuView's inventory
and supplier return problems, as well as devise a strategy for strengthening Internet
marketing. Their company lacks a plan for determining which of its five colors should be
dropped or improved while also considering the needs of retailers. Thus, NuView must
quickly deal with a potential rival who is about to release a new product, as well as boost
Internet revenues so that it can fund the necessary improvements to improve operations.
Nuview also lacks a strategy for dealing with inventory returns, incorporating revenue
and market data into production planning, and increasing online sales.

V. Recommendation ( Justify your solution to the problem )

1. The staff should devise a strategy to address their manufacturing issues, as they
are plagued by product returns, and they need to work more closely with their
retailers to balance their operational costs.

2. The company should always be on the cutting edge of what's hot, new, and next.
Changing the product's structure or appearance to make it more innovative (e.g.
Product design)

3. They should choose a range of outputs based on actual sales or market research
results.

4. Customers must be loyal to Nuview. (They need to segment and target their
audience more precisely.)

5. Offering discounts on online purchases. People should see the advantages of

shopping online.

6. Nuview must have loyal customers (They must segment and target their end-users
more precisely so that they can easily define and explain them.)

7. Market changes force many businesses to change their strategies. Nuview's

greatest shift will be in the industry in this situation.