Trans RINA, Vol 156, Part C1, Intl J Marine Design, Jan –Dec 2014
2.5 THE OVERALL MARKET PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE.
Before any design activity is undertaken it is important that the proposed design be positioned into the market with a clear strategy of the unique selling points of that vessel. The WFSV has grown very quickly and whilst growing is effectively still in the R and D phase with new designs coming onto the global market on a weekly basis. At the beginning of any market there is normally one or two innovators and as the market grows there are new entrants. As the competition grows and starts to mature the market consolidates with boat builders or operators exiting the market or being taken over by stronger competitors. For all stakeholders it is important
to know exactly where your positioned with the rest of product is the market to create a
strategic advantage. For example; you might have an existing product, and choose to readdress the design for manufacturability and cost reduction, but if the design does not meet the future state requirements then it is probably
not worth the investment but rather
concentrating on a new design. Yet this older design if cost reduced to a market break point on the price may extend the life of the product [21, 24, 27, 6, 7 & 11].
comfort or safety. Many of these vessels are being laid up or converted for different use, albeit they have not paid of the finance and many have negative equity. This being the case a solid Specification and Future state process needs to be undertaken before any design activity can take place or deemed viable.
3. THE IMPORTANCE OF SPECIFICATION FOR STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE
Before any design or manufacture can start on any product there needs to be a robust process for determination of
the specification. As with the
examples from history there were a distinct set of requirements that had to be met and these have a profound effect on the
design and manufacturing
process. The wind farm industry is a good example of how the specifications have changed over a short period of time and increased the number of stakeholder interests. To the point that vessels less than 6 years old are technically redundant and being laid up. At the core of the KPM model is the Design Value Proposition (DVP) for the charter company [8, 11, 12, 24, 23 & 21].
the
Figure 2.3 Market product life cycle and competition
Whilst the latter would ordinarily be a viable strategy where a hull engine combination proves to be a winning combination and the vessel evolved on this proven platform, it has been complicated by the round requirements. Traditionally the round 1 vessels could range from 14-19meters , with round 2 larger and round three from 24 meters and upwards and having a multi role use. In a market that is considered to be a capital purchase the life cycle turns and evolutions are very short of around 2 years which was last seen during WWII. In a commercially driven market this life cycle turn creates a great deal of financial risk.
In addition
the market is learning and the demands on the vessel capability and comfort are increasing, putting pressure on the designers and boat builders and owners. Many vessels that were produced less than 6 years ago are now technically obsolete and no longer suitable for the purpose that they were intended, due to performance,
C-124 Figure 3 KPM model for vessel strategic advantage
Whilst the vessel owner is the initial customer they still have a series of stakeholders that must be satisfied for the design to be viable in the market who are the charter companies. For example; consideration and importance of the criteria need to be determined for the following: the boat owner, the boat funder, the naval architects, the class societies the TEC’s and the boat yard. The second tier of the model includes the OE suppliers and most importantly the legacy use of the vessel. The importance of having a methodology is vital since if any one of these criteria are ignored then the vessel design will be impaired and as a consequence the financial success of the project. For example; the boat owner may choose not to class the vessel which
©2014: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects
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