Summarize each chapter using your own word

Chapter 1

Company: Sensors Solar.

The name of the company for this research is Sensors Solar. It is one of the biggest solar textile harvesting company located in Japan, and it came up with a new way of integrating solar energy capability into textiles for wearable application through their new product called Solar E-Textile. Textile energy harvesting is an alternative or complimentary solution to energy storage systems for powering wearables and e-textiles.

For applications such as on-body sensing, solar e-textile offer a distinct advantage over many other wearable and mobile devices as they are comfortable to wear close to the skin. With the help of photovoltaic technology, solar e-textile can continuously powered without the need for frequent recharging or bulky energy storage due to the abundance of solar energy. Ideally, an e-textile will possess all of the properties of a normal textile including heat and moisture transfer characteristics, shear deformability, flexibility, drape, and breathability. In addition, an e-textile should be able to survive repeated mechanical deformations, and be wash durable. Surprisingly, most solar textile product in the market did not have these qualities in them which is one of the competitive advantage possess by solar e-textile.

In today's solar energy industry, careful planning and a good product strategy are essential to help succeed in the market. Companies everywhere are competing more than ever to develop new and unique products or services and gain a higher position in the market. Companies develop a high number of new products every year and most of these products fail to secure competitive advantages and end up being just another high cost for the company. (G.Cooper, 2001,1-10)

Mission Statement

By providing unparalleled value, we will greatly accelerate the adoption of solar energy systems. This will give our customers, our communities, and our nation clean, abundant, low-cost, distributed, and renewable energy, and will allow us to provide financial security for all shareholders while giving back to the community.

Vision

" To provide the most compelling value in the solar energy industry. Value, as defined by our customers, means designing and installing the highest quality solar energy systems, on time, safely, with high customer satisfaction, at a low cost."

Competitive analysis is an important factor to look at in this project. In order to be successful, a company should provide greater customer value and satisfaction than its competitors do (Kotler et al. 2013, p.76). A detailed look of the competition should be conducted determine who are the competitor, what are their strengths and weakness, pricing and business model. Furthermore, market analysis determining the market size, trends, segmentation and buyers behavior are some of the concept to also consider.

Chapter 2

Sensors Solar is one of the topmost solar energy providers in Japan and hence there is no doubt that the strength and opportunities are far more than the weaknesses and threats. Let us take a look at the SWOT analysis of the company.

Internal Analysis

No plan - big or small, strategic or tactical can succeed if it is made without reference to the context in which it is going to operate. Context reveals the need to plan, the factors that help or harm a plan, the factors that need manipulation, and the wherewithal required to operate it. Internal analysis is an exercise to list a firm's resources, strength, and weaknesses.

Strength

Endowed with one of the best textile energy harvesting systems in the region, Sensors Solar can profit from delivery of top notch service to both rural areas and the city due to the availability of photovoltaic technology, triboelectric generators, piezoelectric generators, electromagnetic induction based energy harvesters, and other modern technologies used in harvesting energy for powering our devices. Sensors Solar is blessed with a fantastic brand loyalty due to its marketing and strong branding over the years, the brand equity is also high and hence Sensors is comfortable charging a premium for its product because of the high brand equity.

Weaknesses

One of our weaknesses is limited coverage and expansion. We are working on a global marketing strategy through exhibition, trade fair, conferences, etc whereby our product will penetrate the world and become known in Africa, America, Europe, and entire Asian countries. With great strengths of Strictly Solar come one weakness that can derail the company for ever. Marketing, the company has no specific strategy to aid in sails. They are sailing their products based on their reputation. With proper marketing Strictly Solar could become a major mogul, with their patented solar fabric, among the renewable energy industry.

Opportunities

From cold climates to manufactures and commercial buildings, Strictly Solar has a great chance to improve sales and overall bottom line of the company while supplying customers and consumer abroad with products that are technologically advances and aid in the decrease in the carbon footprint of companies around the world. Penetrating the rural markets and cities in Japan can be a tremendous opportunity for our product, and closeness to raw materials and local sourcing of materials is an added advantage.

Threats

All industries have threats and regardless of Strictly Solar's strengths and weaknesses they too will have threats some seen and unforeseen. One of the factors that greatly affect companies is competitors. Although Strictly Solar has a steady customer base, which is being tested regularly in the solar energy realm, the new SBU will have some time to itself on the market but inventors and scientist will challenge the products of the solar fabric shortly after its entry to the market. The unseen elements are the economy. The economy could be great one quarter and horrible the next, creating a slinky effect on the manufacture and sales of the solar fabric. Even if there are outstanding strategic plans in place, there is now way to plan for the economic environment. Government regulation in terms of local taxes, levies, export restriction, and non-availability of financial assistance for expansion are some of the threats we face in the industry. However, deliberation is ongoing with government officials to reduce some of these threats. Finally, it is noted that the solar energy initiatives in Japan have been directed only to rural areas. Expanding this focus to the national grid should be the next viable step.

Risk Management

The company must be attuned to risks and opportunities, for example, "What is likely to happen that will inhibit the success of the product, and what opportunities are created when the company overcomes those risks? And will it cost to implement various contingencies in case of high-risk events?

PESTEL Analysis

PESTEL analysis is a fundamental tool of market planning and strategizing that must be carried out to comprehend market trends and the systemic risks involved. PESTEL analysis gives an overview of the whole situation your business might be in. Precisely, it is a bird's eye view of the stimulus and the scenarios that surround your trade and business

Political Factor

Government have a say in what industries can do, build, where they can build at, and a number of other elements that can and will affect the manufacture and sale of renewable energy sources. Not all are on board when it comes to climate change. This affects sales and manufacture of Strictly Solar fabric. If manufactures are allowed to stay in their archaic ways and continue to use non-renewable resources they will eventually be diminished and the overall environment will be at a worsened state. Applying political pressure to manufactures will passively force them to make better choices when it comes to producing products. There is an upside for all when it comes to politics in the matter of renewable energy; there have been incentives to manufactures and individuals that have invested in renewable energy, promoting this and or making better deals for those that participate in renewable energy sources will have a greater effect on the sales of Strictly Solar products and fabric.

Economical Factor

The economics of the solar power globally have been changing with time, a deeper look at the environment, and advancement in technologies. More and more countries are yielding to the potentials and benefits of using solar energy which overall helps the economic system. Because solar business have been around for some time now, manufactures and commercial buildings have benefited more from the use of solar power vice consumers using this for their homes. The solar industry has created thousands of jobs globally. Although the buying power of the manufacture industry increases, unemployment rate decrease, and carbon footprint of those companies decrease, there is still a needs for more companies that think like this and participate in this renewable energy source. Strictly Solar's new product will further improve on the affects that using solar power due to manufacturing the new product, installation, sale, and management of the offerings.

Social Factor

These factors focus on the social environment and identify emerging trends. This helps a marketer to further understand their customers' needs and wants. Factors include changing family demographics, education levels, cultural trends, attitude changes and changes in lifestyles.

Technological Factor

Technology has and will continue to evolve throughout time. Passive solar energy has been used as a form of light and heat since early mankind. In the 5th century B.C., the ancient Greeks designed their homes to capture the sun's heat during the winter (Jones, 2012). Although this this type of technology has been around for some time, the continuous advancement in technologies have not affected this product because it is new and has yet to reach the market for industrial, commercial, or consumers usage. Like all advancements, the use of solar power for energy is no different from any other type of technology with time there comes change. Strictly Solar has made a name for themselves and have created a slight advantage on the competition when it comes to the offering that they are presenting (solar fabrics).

Economic Factor

The economics of the solar power globally have been changing with time, a deeper look at the environment, and advancement in technologies. More and more countries are yielding to the potentials and benefits of using solar energy which overall helps the economic system. Because solar panels have been around for some time now, manufactures and commercial buildings have benefited more from the use of solar power vice consumers using this for their homes. The solar industry has created thousands of jobs globally; the United States have employed more than 150,000 people in 2014 which is a fifty-four percent increase over 2009 (Mozayeni, Pillai, Wang, 2019). Although the buying power of the manufacture industry increases, unemployment rate decrease, and carbon footprint of those companies decrease, there is still a needs for more companies that think like this and participate in this renewable energy source. Strictly Solar's new product will further improve on the affects that using solar power due to manufacturing the new product, installation, sale, and management of the offerings.

Legal Factors

Creating new products to be released to the public is never an easy task and companies must be aware of the laws, regulations, and or policies that their products will fall under. In the case of Strictly Solar and its new SBU, the solar fabric will definitely have some regulations that it must abide by. For the clothing articles that they plan to use, they must comply with the Federal Trade Act Rules and Regulations Under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act; Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. This is a sample of a regulation that could impact the manufacture of the solar fabric products (outer garment: coveralls, pants, jackets, hats, foot covers, blankets).As for the use of solar fabrics in the manufacturing and commercial industry; they will have to abide by the same regulations as solar panels.

Chapter 3

Defining the marketing Strategy

In a product launch process, the goal of Marketing is to create value for the customers and ensure a profitable relationship with the customers. To accomplish this, a marketing strategy is necessary. The marketing strategy defines which is the group of the customers company will be served and how will it be served.

Defining the Marketing mix

After defining the marketing strategy, the company should prepare the marketing mix which is the most important set of marketing tools which companies can use to influence the demand of the customers for its products. This set of tools is collected into a group called the four P's of marketing (Kotler, et al. 2013, p.53)

Launching the product into the market

The final stage of a new product development and launch process is the introduction of the product into the market. At this stage, the role of marketing and sales is crucial. For instance, developing a marketing plan is very essential activity (Cooper 2001, pp.278-279).

Media Channels for product launch

Finding the right mix of channels is crucial to our value proposition. An organization can choose between it's owned and operated channels, partner channels or a mix of both. After reviewing the theory on common marketing activities that are recommended for a successful B2B product launch, several advertisement and awareness will be created through several media channels like trade shows, print advertising, social media, trade speech, road show, sales visit, etc. The research result from the existing marketing plan found out that print media has been a continuously active source of marketing.

Customer Segment and Target Market

Some of the questions we need to address here are: For whom are we creating value? Who are our most important customers? Are we focused on niche market or mass market? Does our business model have the potential to reach different segments or to be segmented differently? All these variables will be put together to be able to create a lasting relationship with our target market.

Buyer Utility / Pricing / Cost

Sensor Solar is going to start with offer that buyers cannot refuse and then work hard to keep it that way. When we get our price right, buyers will not only want our offer but they will also be able to afford it. This will be a long term pricing strategy we are going to adopt in order to build customer loyalty and penetrate the market for a very long time.

Operations / Value Chain

"The idea of the value chain is based on the idea of seeing an organization as a system, made up of subsystems each with inputs, transformation processes and outputs. Inputs, transformation processes, and outputs involve the acquisition and consumption of resources - money, labour, materials, equipment, buildings, land, administration and management. How value chain activities are carried out determines costs and affects profits." The new SBU must consider the idea of having an integrated and viable supply chain system that can cater for our target market.