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“The product life cycle (plc) is based upon the biological life cycle”

MAYURESH CHAUDHARI 1026 NINAD BHAVSAR 1011 ASHISH JOSHI 1039 KALPESH JARU 1013 NARESH PATEL 1020 YOGESH PATIL 1009

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MEANING:-  (Product life cycle) has to do with the life of a product in the market with respect to business costs and sales variables, whereas product life cycle management (PLM) has more to do with managing a product through its development and useful life.To say that a product has a life cycle is to assert four things:1) Products have a limited life,2) Product sales pass through distinct stages, each posing different challenges, opportunities, and problems to the seller,3) Profits rise and fall at different stages of product life cycle, and4) Products require different marketing, financial, manufacturing, purchasing, and human resource strategies in each life cycle stage.Let us discuss the different stages in product life cycle

Concept:-The product life cycle (plc) is based upon the biological life cycle. For example, a seed is planted (introduction); it begins to sprout (growth); it shoots out leaves and puts down roots as it becomes an adult (maturity); after a long period as an adult the plant begins to shrink and die out (decline). In theory it's the same for a product. After a period of development it is introduced or launched into the market; it gains more and more customers as it grows; eventually the market stabilizes and the product becomes mature; then after a period of time the product is overtaken by development and the introduction of superior competitors, it goes into decline and is eventually withdrawn. The product life cycle (plc) is based upon the biological life cycle. For example, a seed is planted (introduction); it begins to sprout (growth); it shoots out leaves and puts down roots as it becomes an adult (maturity); after a long period as an adult the plant begins to shrink and die out (decline). In theory it's the same for a product. After a period of development it is introduced or launched into the market; it gains more and more customers as it grows; eventually the market stabilizes and the product becomes mature; then after a period of time the product is overtaken by development and the introduction of superior competitors, it goes into decline and is eventually withdrawn.

Introduction Growth Maturity DeclinePostMortem

Loss/profit

Time

SalesSales

ProfitProfit

Strategies for the differing stages of the product life cycle.

IntroductionIntroduction

GrowthGrowth

MaturityMaturity

DeclineDecline

PostmortemPostmortem

The term "life cycle" implies a well-defined life cycle as observed in living organisms, but products do not have such a predictable life and the specific life cycle curves followed by different products vary substantially. Consequently, the life cycle concept is not well-suited for the forecasting of product sales. Furthermore, critics have argued that the product life cycle may become self-fulfilling. For example, if sales peak and then decline, managers may conclude that the product is in the decline phase and therefore cut the advertising budget, thus precipitating a further decline. Nonetheless, the product life cycle concept helps marketing managers to plan alternate marketing strategies to address the challenges that their products are likely to face. It also is useful for monitoring sales results over time and comparing them to those of products having a similar life cycle.

Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) was established in February 1981,             though the actual production commenced in 1983 with the 

        Maruti 800, based on the Suzuki Alto key car which at the time                        was the only modern car available in India, its only competitors- 

the Hindustan Ambassador and Premier Padmini were both around 25 years out of date at that point. Through 2004, Maruti Suzuki has produced over 5 Million vehicles. Maruti Suzuki are sold in India and various several other countries, depending upon export orders. Models similar to Maruti Suzuki’s (but not manufactured by Maruti Udyog) are sold by Suzuki Motor Corporation and manufactured in Pakistan and other South Asian countries.             The company annually exports more than 50,000 cars and has an extremely large domestic market in India selling over 730,000 cars annually. Maruti 800, till 2004, was the India's largest selling compact car ever since it was launched in 1983. More than a million units of this car have been sold worldwide so far. Currently, Maruti Suzuki Alto tops the sales charts and Maruti Suzuki Swift is the largest selling in A2 segment. Due to the large number of Maruti 800s sold in the Indian market, the term "Maruti" is commonly used to refer to this compact car model (in India, Hinduism's Hanuman is known as "Maruti").Maruti Suzuki has been the leader of the Indian car market for over.  

two decades

        Pricing is the process of determining what a company will receive in exchange for its products. Pricing factors are manufacturing cost, market place, competition, market condition, and quality of product. Pricing is also a key variable in microeconomic price allocation theory. Pricing is a fundamental aspect of financial modeling and is one of the four Ps of the marketing mix. The other three aspects are product, promotion, and place. Price is the only revenue generating element amongst the four Ps, the rest being centers. Pricing is the manual or automatic process of applying prices to purchase and sales orders, based on factors such as: a fixed amount, quantity break, promotion or sales campaign, specific vendor quote, price prevailing on entry, shipment or invoice date, combination of multiple orders or lines, and many others. Automated systems require more setup and maintenance but may prevent pricing errors. The needs of the consumer can be converted into demand only if the consumer has the willingness and capacity to buy the product. Thus pricing is very important in marketing.

Due to the fierce competition in the Indian passenger car industry, price emerged as an important factor affecting the purchasing decisions of customers. Since it had been in the industry for more than two decades, and as a market leader, MUL adopted aggressive pricing strategies. The company had products at various products. In early 2000, in spite of increased sales tax and higher costs due to new technology inputs, MUL opted for price cuts. In May 2000, the price of M800 STD MPI version was reduced to Rs. 212,446. The Euro IM800 model was priced at Rs. 198,979, M800 EX at Rs. 241,796 andM800 DX at Rs. 259569. The prices of M800 were further slashed by Rs.15,000 and Rs. 18,000 for some variants in 2002.

Pricing of maruti 800 (from 1984 to 2008) In 1984 Rs. 32000 /- In 1990 (A/c model) Rs.55000/- In 1995 Rs.109600/- In 2001 Rs.1, 60,000/- In 2008 Rs. 2, 50,000/-

In the early 2000s, MUL also focused on promotion and distribution to face intense competition. The company devised various innovative promotional strategies. With interest rates declining from 12% to as low as 8% in automobile finance, MUL used financing as a major tool to drive up its car sales. The overall percentage of cars being financed through automobile loans increased from 65% in1998 to over 85% in 2003. Moreover, car loans which were earlier approved in two weeks or more were cleared within 48 hours. In early 2004, MUL tied-up with State Bank of India to offer an attractive car financing scheme to MUL’s customer Under this scheme MUL offered easy finance options for M800, SBI offered a loan of Rs. 160,000 for tenure of seven years at equated monthly installments of Rs. 2,599. This was a unique offer in the industry at the time since car loans were usually offered for five years. The finance scheme had an interest rate of 9.5%, which was much lower than what SBI charged for two wheeler loans. To promote M800, MUL had also entered into a tie-up with State Bank of Patiala, to offer tailor-made schemes for rural farmers. Under this scheme, installments were payable every six months after the “Rabi” and “Khariff” harvests in Punjab.MUL also participated in rural functions like “Kisan Mela” (in Ludhiana), the“Kila Raipur Sports Mela” (in Punjab), “Sonpur Mela” (in Bihar) and “PushkarMela” (in Rajasthan). These initiative helped MUL create awareness about its products, primarily M800, among its rural customers.

Maruti Udyog’s 800, the oldest vehicle in the company’s small car portfolio recorded exports of close to 17,000 units in the last fiscal due to demand for left-hand drive models in countries like Egypt, Chile and Algeria and in right-hand markets closer to India such as Nepal and Sri Lanka.  The company exported just over 11,000 in the previous fiscal, as per estimates put out by the Society for Indian Automobile Manufacturers. Domestic sales in the last fiscal have dropped from 89,223 units in 2005-06 to 79,245 units, as per SIAM data. In the first quarter, sales are down to 6,214 units; from 7,796 units in the year-earlier period. Exports in the first quarter of this fiscal were 2,220 units just under that of the Indica for the same period.  According to a company spokesperson, MUL expects to maintain the growth rate of exports of the 800, which has been selling alongside its popular small car Alto in some of the overseas markets. In the A2 segment comprising models such as Alto, Wagon, Zen and the Swift, exports in the first quarter were 6,598 units as against 4029 units last year  Traditionally the Alto has been largest export model for MUL over the last few years. The vehicle has been for both left and right-hand drive markets and is now a manufacturing hub for international markets as well. The company exported as many as 40,000 units of the Alto to European markets till mid-2005 when the imposition of stringent safety and emission regulations led to the drying up of demand for the model. Maruti has made a concerted effort at marketing and distribution of the 800 in African and Latin American countries. 

Maruti Suzuki India has announced that they are aiming to increase headcount in its R&D division to 1,000 by the end of March 2010.This would be a step forward in their goal to make India their global hub for small car development. Maruti Suzuki said in a statement: “Currently our R&D strength is 720 people and it will be increased to 1,000 by March, 2010. We are now looking out for more experienced people.”The company added that they are working on enhancing their current models including Maruti 800 to meet Bharat Stage-IV emission norms. Maruti spoke about M800 and Omni models: “From an engineering point of view, M800 and Omni will qualify for BS-IV norms. If these two were to be phased out, it will be a marketing decision.”     India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) is not planning to modify the engine of its oldest model – the Maruti 800 -- to meet Bharat Stage IV emission norms that would be applicable in the country from April next year. A top Maruti official said that the car would be phased out from 11 metro cities, while continuing to be available for sale in rest of the cities.     “We are not thinking of modifying the engine of the 800 (Maruti) to satisfy new emission norms. It will be phased out from 11 cities where the norms are applicable post-April 2010,” said Shinzo Nakinishi, managing director and & CEO, MSIL.     The company’s new KB series engine satisfies the new emission norms applicable to cars running on the country’s roads from April 1 next year, Nakinishi added. Maruti’s new KB series engine comes in cars like the A-star, Ritz and new Estilo.