Curled Metal

When it comes to pricing we always strived to provide one of the lowest prices in the market. We decreased product prices by $0.50 on each product each year to appeal to consumers. Since providing a low cost product was one of our strategic goals we did not stray from decreasing prices. Looking back, perhaps we shouldn’t have been so loyal to our strategy when we were unable to turn a profit. While a strategy is important to stick to, being a profitable company is the ultimate goal.

cheaper product and giving some of it away, it would be necessary to make sure stockholders are satisfied

For instance, there are generic principles of pricing of desired net income, competitive position, and market structure. According to (Cleverly, Song, & Cleverly, 2011), every business must generate enough revenue through its sales of products and services to sustain its operations and provide for the replacement of its physical assets as well as provide a return to its investors. Partners Healthcare System and among other organizations must recognize levels of pricing, so inadequate pricing doesn’t accumulate to lead to business disaster.

Thirdly, option is to strategically adjust the prices of their products because consumers are often very price sensitive. By doing so the company can either create more value that defines the quality and quantity of the product.

Introduction Curled Metal Inc. originally sold metal as a finished good but has later developed its business concept to transforming metals into high value added manufactured products. Early in 2008, the company was about to launch a new product, which could revolutionize its business, setting a new standard in the pile-driving market: CMI cushion pads. However, this product launch poses key strategic issues to the company, ranging from assessing manufacturing capacity to defining the product value proposition. In the roadmap to the launch CMI has also to consider how to approach the market, identifying key customers or/and influencers, positioning its new product, assessing distribution alternatives and

Ethical, policy and commercial considerations had to be taken care of significantly while making the decision.

Situation analysis: CMI is looking to diversify its portfolio. It wants to introduce a new high performing cushion pad into the pile-driving market. CMI will initially target small engineering/construction and independent pile-driving contractors. CMI will have the first-to-market advantage, as there are currently no direct competitors for metal pads. In terms of channels, CMI would distribute its pads through manufacturing representative.

The potential market for this product could represent between $263M and $350M (see Table F). Comparing to CMI’s 2007 net sales of $55M is a big potential market and as Joseph Fernandez said “A successful market introduction could double the sales of this company, as well as compensate for the decline of some existing products”.

In determining our initial strategy, we knew that we wanted to focus on the product that would be most profitable and key in on features that are important to the customer. Looking at product sales in 2008, the NiMH sold 28.0 M units and the Ultracapacitor sold only 4.3 M units. Based on these sales, the NiMH generated $280.3 M and the Ultracapacitor generated $86.2 M. In addition, when reviewing the Income Statement, the NiMH produced a profitable contribution in the years 2006 through 2008. The Ultracapacitor, on the otherhand, produced an unprofitable contribution during the same timeframe. Based on these figures, we decided to focus on the NiMH.

Cumberland Metal Industries (CMI) was a company which sold metal as raw material in other products. After the company had developed the product – Slip Seal that could meet the demanding specification of the automakers, it had grown rapidly over the past decade. The sales increased from $750,000 in 1991 to over $55 million in 2007. However, the sales decreased from 61 million in 2006 to 55 million in 2007, a net decrease of 9.5%, the net profit decreased from 5.7 million in 2006 to 3.5 million in 2007, a net decrease of 38.7%. The company was under the pressure to diversity its products in order to increase the sales and the net profit. CMI had developed new product, curled metal

When trying to determine the correct price, a number of factors must be considered: the market and its segments, the size of each segment, the ability to reach each segment, what distribution channels to target, whether to vary price by segment, the usefulness of promotional offerings, and whether the goal is to skim or penetrate each market.

Curled Metal Inc. (CMI) specializes in selling metal-based products to various markets. With over $55 million in annual sales (FY 2007, Exhibit A), they’ve managed to capture 80% of the automobile industry’s market share by developing and selling a highly specialized product, Slip Seal, designed just for auto manufacturers. They’ve seen a recent slip in sales (a loss of nearly 10% from 2006 to 2007, Exhibit 2), and the pressure is on them to diversify their product line and decrease dependence on the auto industry. They’ve recently developed a new product that aims to revolutionize the pile-driving industry. The introduction of the CMI Cushion

2.22 0.54 69.91 7.39 99.07 54.00 116.51 113.84 3.01 1.03 0.63 0.54 6.32 1.49 38.21% 15.70% 8.59% 10.50% 23.85%

The goal here is to keep the prices down, keep the people buying and keep the materials flowing. A key strategy business use to keep prices down is to externalize costs. That means that the price tags on consumer products don’t capture the true costs of producing and distributing all these stuff.

If the price too low then could be impacted to profitability and risk having the credibility of the product questioned