The failure of big companies to adapt to changing circumstances is one of the fundamental puzzles in the world of business.
Image source: Zanyjaney
Occasionally, a genuinely “disruptive” technology, such as digital imaging, comes along and wipes out an entire industry.
But usually the sources of failure are more prosaic and avoidable – a failure to implement technologies that have already been developed, an arrogant disregard for changing customer demands, a complacent attitude towards new competitors.
To cope with the ever-changing business environment, define your relevant market as widely as possible, so that your market share is as low as possible.
And measure customer behavior very carefully — are they defecting? To whom? And why?
Many times, big corporate giants don’t see the customer taste, ignore the future trends and fall prey in ever-changing market demands.
Technology, corporate world, or professionals, who don’t change in time, disappear from the market within no time.
In 1996, Kodak Camera could click on the company’s revenue of $16 billion with around 65% of the total world market for the camera.
With 145,000 employees, it was the world’s top five well-known brands. When it launched a digital camera with a 0.2 megapixel in 1996, then the world’s technocrat and citizens experienced the thrill of reaching the 21st century.
But at that time, they did the most foolish thing that in the next 10 years, the idea of what the camera fate and format will be, and didn’t change their vision of product portfolios in-line with changing technology trends.
Articles of mobile phones and smartphones had started publishing in the context of the future world, but Kodak and other camera companies remained in the dark. If the futuristic world was flashed, the company’s picture would also be clearer.
The technology revolution of Smartphone cameras was totaled changed the landscape as with its attractive features like pixels, photo sending, editing that obsolete the need for roll and processing.
It resulted in a reduction of Kodak 47,000 employees, 13 plants and 130 processing lab of Kodak by 2011.
In 2012, the company declared bankruptcy and was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange!
Infosys co-chairman Ravi Venkatesani, in an article, said about Kodak’s deteriorating moment, not in the context of Kodak Company, but the technology, IT, all corporate and professionals, have warned that if you do not know what the world will be the product and service in the next 10 years. If so, you too will be called like ‘Kodak Moment’.
Kodak ruled for decades, but the ‘Nokia’ company, who was a main contributor in the mobile revolution, wouldn’t have thought it would be imprisoned in ‘archives’.
Remember that different consumer brands such as Kodak and Nokia, who had been stuck in the market, had to stay in waiting for the product.
The time has come for those companies who stick to the ideological framework of their basic years. Kodak’s rival, Fuji, brought a change in the traditional product with technology but also spread wings in cosmetics, optical films, and chemicals.
Today the IT companies and their staff are threatened to be outdated, the most important reason is that foreign companies working in these companies say that they don’t have updated staff who can work with the product and service of the changing future world.
Today, the South Korea’s LG and Samsung along with some premium Chinese companies have captured the major market share for TV and devices. Sony, Panasonic, are not going to lose its premium image but is losing money. See the magnificent past, present, and future of Canon, Sanyo, Mitsubishi, Casio, Nintendo, Konica, Nikon, Nippon, Olympus, Rico, Saco, Sharp, and Toshiba.
Estimate you where these companies are in electronics Consumer Products and Appliances.
The Smartphones market has been captured by the US giant Apple, South Korea’s Samsung, and the rest of the remaining Chinese companies.
In the automobile sector, four-wheeler segment – there was a major market share captured by the companies like Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and Suzuki. While in two-wheeler segment, it was Suzuki and Yamaha.
Today, due to the changing business environment and customer taste, many newcomers are riding on the roads, such as Hyundai from the South Korea, Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Volkswagen are all four from Germany and Skoda of Czech Republic, Jaguar, Chrysler, Ford from America, Volvo from Sweden, Tata and Mahindra from India!
Now there is no sector monopoly in India. The market share must also be technologically sound to be superior or sustainable than other companies. The Research and Development (R & D) Department is very strong.
Now the change in the 100 years has changed in just 10 years and 10 years will change in a year! Not because we like to have a new look, but our product gets outdated in two to five years.
We are also required to adopt this system to live with the current world. With the rest of the product, we also get outdated.
Not only the company or the product, all the professionals will have to remain a lifelong student but also have to acquire new equipment and technology regularly at regular intervals. Yes, and in the same way as a man, we must also change!