Product Life Cycle

Product life cycle (PLC) describes the various stages in a product's / service's life. Slack, N. & Lewis, M. (2011, p. 59) states that there are 4 different stages in a PLC - Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. A through understanding of these stages will help in implementing a successful operations strategy to maximize profits and maintain customer satisfaction.

The Product Life Cycle is directly proportional to the Operations strategy. In addition, understanding the PLC will help incorporate the 5 generic strategies - price, speed, quality flexibility and dependability (Slack, N. & Lewis, M., 2011) to form a well implemented operations strategy. I hope to establish these facts through the below stated points.

The introduction stage of a PLC is when the product is just launched into the market. PLC here helps in forming the best suitable pricing strategy to catch the customer's attention; either a penetration strategy or a skimming strategy (NetMBA, 2010). The upcoming 3D television is a perfect example to illustrate the above.

The growth stage of a PLC is the most important stage when the company see the growth of the product. Operations strategy should focus on quality of the product to ensure that it meets the customer expectations. Speed and dependability also plays an important part to enable timely delivery and efficient responsiveness. In addition, this stage of the PLC will help in proper outsourcing to the appropriate suppliers and help keep a correct inventory check. This is a good time to maximize on profits and generate exponential revenue. The apple products (iPod, iPad and iPhone) are perfect examples to illustrate this.

The maturity stage of the PLC is when the product has grown and stabilized within the market. The product has gained acceptance and customers are happy. Here the operations strategy should focus on product differentiation and pricing. They should try to improvise on their existing products such that it stays ahead in the market in all terms. Prices should also reflect accordingly. Eg. Nokia Phones.

The decline stage is when the product has become outdated in terms of technology and innovation. Customers no longer buy the product for the availability of better products in the market. PLC here will help Operations strategy to keep a check on the inventory levels and get rid of the products. Accordingly, it will also help to stop with outsourcing of raw materials and other necessities from suppliers. Eg. floppy drives

To summarize, extensive outsourcing plays an important part in the Product life cycle, from its Introduction stage to its Decline stage. In order to compete in today's highly competitive marketplace supply chains must be engineered to match product characteristics and customer requirements. As products proceed through their life cycles these requirements dramatically change. Consequently supply chain