Savic -Innovative producer of modern cages

Introduction

Savic develops, produces and distributes plastic pet accessories and wire cages on a worldwide basis. Savic offers an extensive range, which has been developed and modernized during the company's 50 years in the pet business. During the last few years, it has noticed that the life of a product is getting shorter and shorter. Also, once a product has been on the market for a few years, price erosion sets in due to the presence on the market of similar (often nearly identical) products being offered by other companies.

For these reasons, it is crucial to develop and launch new products continuously. It is precisely in this way that Savic has been able to distinguish itself from its competitors. Indeed, as was forecast several years ago, each manufacturer's core range today looks identical to the next; they have all the same basic product range, the only difference being slight alterations in design, colour and price. So what is it then that makes the difference in the end: the complimentary products, product innovation, quality and service? Savic is of the opinion that it is the attention to the detail that sets it apart from others.

Savic therefore works with a "pipeline" of new products continuously. This product innovation process is discussed in meetings which are held at regular intervals. The production managers of the several departments as well as the sales and marketing managers and the designer are all in attendance at these meetings.

The Innovation process

It should be obvious that as a professional and innovative company Savic does run through several stages of product development before the product can be launched on the market.

What are these stages?

Analysis

First, it is very important for Savic to listen to its customers, to talk to pet shop owners and breeders at pet shows. But of course it also listens carefully to the ideas presented by its designers and other internal employees; every idea, even those which might appear nonsensical, is considered. Based on these ideas, it will be determined if there is a potential need for the product within the market. Do similar products already exist? Or is there room for improvement in the existing products? This brainstorming leads to all sorts of results, and sometimes even very surprising ideas are born out of this process. It is very important that it is not only the sales staff who are involved in the development of the products, but also those individuals without any real pet experience out in the field who must be allowed to provide their input, input which is often very valid.

Concept Styling

Which specific needs must the new product fulfil ? which characteristics should be built into the product? Is a patent being infringed upon? Our designers create a product analysis: characteristics of the raw materials to be used, special product requirements, etc.

Design Tuning

The designers produce several drafts of the new product idea, several rough sketches, keeping the product specifications in mind which were formulated in the initial stages of development. Finally the product development group will select one of the drafts as the basis for the final product. At this point, the designer will create 3D drawings of the product, which = as one would expect – will be the basis of new discussions, comments and improvements. Decisions will be made as to which raw materials will be used in the production so that the product performs as it is intended to as well as possessing at attractive appearance.

Prototyping

Once the development committee has more or less agreed on the final design, a physical prototype is produced on a 1:1 scale. This prototype is then evaluated by the "pipeline group" and shown to several qualified experts and/ or tested with pets, usually by unbiased consumers who are not affiliated with the company. Their feedback is very important. This is also the time when a simple feasibility study is prepared: what is the necessary investment, what will the final product cost, and will the market be open to this new product?

Go-ahead

After all of the design and marketing questions have received a positive response, moulds are built for the plastic products and precise, accurate drawings are made for cages, which form the basis for the computer programs driving our welding machines.

Market Preparation

First, samples are produced and tested. Weak points will be strengthened, fitting points will be made more accurate, and minor final modifications will be made to the moulds. The marketing department at Savic will use the first samples to develop the packaging and labeling to determine the colours to be used for the initial launch of the product.

And finally, after all of the work that has gone into the product, Savic must still cross its fingers! Will the market react positively?

It is obvious that a lot of projects are stopped at some point along this process, projects which never result in a final product – if they did, this would all be far too easy. Sometimes a great deal of effort and money is invested in projects which will never even make it to the pet shop or the consumer. But over the years, Savic has learned that these investments are all part of the process and worthwhile enough to accept.

The philosophy behind the design

Many years ago, the entire team at Savic were facing a new challenge: the company had acquired one of Europe's lodest cage manufacturers located in Belgium.

The reason for this take-over was not the company's turnover or its modern machines but instead it was the know=how of its staff which was the driving force behind the decision. Of course, Savic first had to adapt the old infrastructure of the existing company to contemporary needs; the production process had to be automated with new modern machinery. This meant that a new plant had to be built to be able to handle the growing turnover efficiently. And, last but not least, this take-over meant that Savic had entered the international cage market, which at that point was experiencing slow growth, and was one where all of the existing players had already divided the market amongst themselves. Of course, Savic could have chosen to pursue an aggressive pricing oplidy to try to sell more cages but this would never have been enough to cover the high investments it had made in the new machinery and premise. Ultimately, assuming an aggressive position with regard to price is a short-term policy; there will always be someone who will charge less for their products and this becomes a never-ending story and an ongoing battle without a winner. However, Savic decided to pursue the policy of product differentiation to create a strong competitive edge that set its' products apart from the rest. The company's philosophy has been very simple: Savic aims to develop a range of cages which are truly different, to add a dynamic quality to the business, particularly the bird cage market, a segment which has always been too static.

Savic discovered that many current manufacturers were offering ranges of cages which were more or less very similar to one another. Together with its designers, Savic investigated the key points of its competitors and noted all of the positive and negative features of its most important products, such as the basic hamster, rabbit and bird cages. With the addition of the new, more experienced staff at Savic, they discussed if they would be able to add advantages or special details to the cages in order to produce modern, high-quality cages which would fit perfectly into consumers' interiors.

In conjunction with the employees at the Savic factory, and – especially when it came to products for small animals and parrots – with local (and even foreign ) breeders, these designers described the technical aspects of the new cage. Based on these specifications, the designers added a few striking "landmarks" to the cage in order to give it a "modern" appeal. Many of even the more eccentric ideas make their way past the drawing board and are presented for discussion before a decision is made.

Savic would also like to attract young people who have other requirements with regard to style and fashion than other age groups. To do this, Savic must offers them a product which belongs in their environment. With this approach plus Savic's service-minded attitude, the company is sure to create a competitive edge for its products.

So now more than ever, developing new products is of prime importance for the long-term future of any company. Though it may always be easy for other companies to launch cheaper copies, launching new and innovative products on a regular basis is not always easy to do. It requires thorough market knowledge, a tremendous amount of work and patience, and finally it remains a risky investment, because of the high investment tools.