Technology Management

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 Technology Management

1. Pros and cons of attempting to develop refrigerator in India’s rural poor.

When trying to develop the refrigerator for the rural Indian population major pros and cons were

encountered. The major pros for developing a refrigerator in India rural poor included; majority

of the rural population had no access to refrigerator implying that they had no mean of

preserving perishable food. Providing then with a fridge would improve the quality of their life

enhancing food security. This implied a sizeable market to Godrej. They were also accepted by

the target market. As mentioned in the case study, competitors like Samsung and Heir were

infiltrating the market taking up Godrej shares. They were unable to get to rural population due

to unstable electrical supply. The project was also run in line with the just right philosophy, one

that was designed to need the daily needs of poor users in the rural areas. The refrigerators were

made to be portable to meet the migratory nature of rural residents. They settled to using thermo-

cooling that has low voltage compared to the conventional compressor.

The cons for this project include: most of the families I. The rural areas could not afford

electricity or appliance for that matter. This meant that the target market had a hypothesized

demand. Inability of the rural residents to afford appliances mad Godrej to develop small

unreliable cooling appliance. This was not adequate to solve the existing food preservation

problem. Furthermore, since the refrigeration was not readily available to a vast populace, they

were used to cooking food that is just enough for the day meaning that there was no need for

cooling appliance. This was contrary to the assumption made while launching the Chotukool

project.
 2. What products and process innovation did the Chotukool entail? Would you consider

these incremental or radical? Architectural or Components competence enhancing or

competence destroying?

On product innovation, Chotukool opted to design a portable cooling appliance that was in line

with the nomadic lifestyle of majority of Indians residing in the rural areas. The fridge was small

in size making it easy to carry around. In place of conventional compressor technology that

would make the fridge heavier to carry around, thermoelectric cooler was used. On process

innovation to minimize the final price of the product and make it affordable, cheap distribution

process was paramount. In addition, distribution channel would reach a majority of rural

residents at a low cost was essential. They adopted the Indian postal office service as their

channel of distribution as it had a vast network across the country. The changes made to design

id the product were radical as they were not in line with the current technology used in cooling

appliances. The durability and capacity of the appliance was greatly reduced. The cooling

capabilities of the appliance could not match the market standards as uses of compressor was

considered more effective at the time.

3. Did the Chotukool pose a threat of distrusting the traditional refrigerator market? Why or

why not?

Chotukool did not pose a threat of disrupting the traditional refrigerator market. The appliance

was tailored to cater to the peoe living in the rural areas where electricity was unreliable and

unavailable to some places. The traditional refrigerator is highly dependent on electricity and as

such had no market in the rural India where 90% of the population had no access to electricity

reside. Besides, Chotukool was small compared to the traditional refrigerator. It is a small battery
powered gadget which could be used to store small amount of products at a time. The Chotukool

cannot be used for the daily household purposes implying that the traditional refrigerator market

is still needed for people who have reliable electricity. Instead of being a threat to traditional

refrigerator, the Chotukool has been embraced and viewed as a compliment the former. It’s size

is small making it suitable for people wishing to travel for long distance with perishable goods

and products. Its affordability had also briged the gap between the rich and the poor. The price if

the traditional refrigerator limits those who do not have much money whereas Chotukool has

helped small business and poor families to have a cooling appliance. This shows that Chotukool

invention did not pose a threat to the traditional refrigerator market instead it came in to give an

alternative to those who needed cooling appliance but limited to affordability.

4. Is there anything you think Godrej should have done differently to penetrate the market

of rural families in India?

Yes to penetrate the market of rural poor families in India, Godrej could have approached this

project from a different perspective. Conducting adequate research of the target market. It would

have been vital to launch a campaign that would establish need and requirement of poor people

in the rural areas. This would entail information such as amount of money a household would be

willing to give up for a cooling system. Godjer would have also benefited if he sought partners

accustomed to distribution and logistics of products in the rur areas and are trusted by the

prospective customers. It would have been essential to learn on the trusted distributors with in

the rural areas., This would also be a sales and marketing strategy for Godrej to exploit the

consumers loyalty. The project would be a more success if Godjer had tried to market the

product using rural empowerment programs social groups. Some of these groups are used by
members of rural area to pool their finds offered as loans to the needy individuals. This would

mean that more poornpeole I. The rural area coils have access to financing of the appliances.

5. What other products might the lessons Godrej learned which chotukool apply to?

The primary lesson learned by Godrej with Chotukool was that regardless of price, customers

who are used to lack technology might not readily adopt it (Schilling & Shankar, 2019). Another

product which this lesson applies to are the solar powered lamps that have gained popularity in

the rural areas as distributors seek to solve the electricity problem in these areas. Rechargeable

batteries, solar home systems, diesel generator, and mini grid are more affordable options for

rural electricity. (The Rockefeller foundation, 2020). However, their affordability has not

translated to 100% connection to power. It is therefore important that companies targeting rural

areas to not only focus on lowering the price of products making it accessible to the poor people

but also check to see the reception level of the market and find the needs of their prospective

customers. Another lesson learned with Chotukool is that manufacturers hod not underestimate

the value of making a product fit the needs of multiple market segment ( Schilling & Shankar,

2019) Chotukool is seen being adopted more by people living in the urban areas than the people

whom it was primarily tailored for. The solar powered lamps can learn from this too.
 Reference
Schilling, M., & SHANKAR, R. (2019). Strategic Management Of Technological
Innovation (6th ed.). McGraw Hill.
The Rockefeller Foundation. The Rockefeller Foundation. (2019). Retrieved 23 June 2021, from
https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/report/rural-electrification-india-customer-
behaviour-demand/.