The Galaxy Toy Company and the Toy Industry
The company Galaxy is well-known throughout the world for producing toys. To inspire kids of all ages around the globe, it produces toys. Toys are really important because they help kids dream. The toy industry has undergone significant change as a result of technological development. To fit the needs of the contemporary market, the toy sector has also undergone a dramatic change in trends. The worth and attributes of the toys are quite beneficial to kids. As a result, toy companies put a lot of effort into producing expensive and high-quality toys, like Galaxy. Whereas the price of various products plays essential role in the generation of revenues, the majority of the firms usually prefer to sell products at relatively high price. The high price strategy usually targets prospective customers that choose quality products regardless of the cost.
Technological innovation is essential in the toy sector since it improves the manufacturing of quality products that provide sustainable competitive advantages in the market. The toy industry concentrates mainly on guardians and parents as their main clients. It is the main aim of many parents and guardians to ensure that their children are happy hence they work hard to offer quality toys sold in the market. It is essential for toy firms to assess market demands prior to launching new products in the market as it will help them establish the kind of response they might get. In the Galaxy case, the management team offered new ideas that were mainly based on its long-term goals (Korsvold, 2010). In order to effectively implement the new ideas, it is important for the management of Galaxy to analyze them so as to improve the production quality of its proposed toy products in a relatively inexpensive way. Besides, the implementation of the ideas needs to results in the accomplishment of the goals and objectives of Galaxy.
SWOT Analysis of Galaxy
Strengths
- Galaxy is extremely innovative and manufactures safe and quality products
- Its products are electronically featured and very unique
- It has dedicated and committed management team
Weaknesses
- Galaxy does not have focus on its customers
- Restricted availability to the international markets
- Unstable financial stoke of Galaxy
Opportunities
- Technological advancement
- Partnership with the well-established toy firms
- Online market offers additional opportunities
Threats
- Less professional labor and low technological development
- Low standardization of products
- Stiff competition from other toys related to NASA
- Market saturation associated with the toy industry
Strengths and Weakness of Galaxy
Strengths
Technological innovation has played a major role in the toy industry because of the evolving market. Therefore, it is vital to implement technological innovation in the toy company. For instance, in the case of Galaxy, it has incorporated innovation that has led to the invention of new concepts that will assist it to enhance its performance in the market. It has used technological innovation in order to manufacture valuable and quality galaxy toys. Besides, the toy products produced by Galaxy are relatively affordable. The long-term goals of Galaxy have also defined the use of technological and enhanced innovations. As a result, it is vital for Galaxy to acknowledge the value of technological approaches and innovations in their operations (Schroth, Pond, Campbell, Cizek, Bohus, & Sheppard, 2011).
Galaxy has a very supportive and responsible management team. According to the case scenario, it is very evident how the management team of Galaxy is dedicated and committed towards the accomplishment of its short-term and long-term goals. For instance, the case outlines how the planning team carries out follow up on some new innovative concepts and examines the prospective risk that each idea might have. The final conclusion of the planning team on each of the ideas is also demonstrated in the case scenario. This demonstrates the willingness of the planning team to adopt the new innovative ideas and accomplish the prospective goals and objectives (Schroth et al, 2011).
Besides, Galaxy manufactures electronically featured unique products. The goal of Galaxy to derive its toy products from new product lines of the company supports the argument in the case of producing electronically featured products. In addition, the main goal of Galaxy is to manufacture high-quality products using a cost-effective technique. Galaxy has also employed the narrowed alternatives of new innovative concepts to show its commitment and dedication to manufacturing valuable, unique, and quality products. This is evident in the inclusion of video games in its production. The toy company also practices environmental conservation. It has long-term objectives of reducing the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere (Schroth et al, 2011).
Weaknesses
Whereas Galaxy has numerous strengths, it also has some weaknesses. One of the weaknesses of Galaxy is that it does not concentrate much on its customers. The customers are very vital to any business since they contribute to the success or failure of the business. Therefore, it is vital for any company to put much attention on the customers' demands. For instance, prior to the adoption of any new idea by a company, it is vital to assess the customers' responses so as to establish their experiences about the prospective change in the product. Nevertheless, it is something that is missing in the case scenario. Besides, the firm should identify the preferences and tastes of the customers so as to decide on the best product design that will achieve customers' demands. This will thus offer a competitive advantage for the company in the market (Matam & Jain, 2017).
Besides, in the case scenario, Galaxy does not have a stable financial stock hence it would be very hard to implement the new ideas that demand additional capital for production. It thus shows that the expansion of the market would be very hard. For instance, it is stated in the case that it would be hard to adopt the concept of "Moon Mission to Jupiter's Europa 1 (MMTJE1)" due to the fact that its manufacturing is unfriendly. This is attributed to the fact that Galaxy would need additional professionals and buy other computers and electronics. It would, therefore, need extra budget compared to the proposed budget within a particular duration (Matam & Jain, 2017).
Galaxy also has restricted access to international market thus resulting in a decline in the sale of its toy products. The technological development requires companies to enhance their accessibility to the international markets so as to enjoy unrestricted opportunities. Galaxy anticipates that the new designs of its products would help to increase its sales. Therefore, accessing the international markets might provide additional benefits to the firms than altering the designs (Matam & Jain, 2017).
Recommendations
One of the appropriate decisions for planning by the planning team of Galaxy for Christmas of 2018 would be to manufacture 1.5 million MMTJE1. Nevertheless, such planning decision is based on different options. It is important to consider Galaxy's financial status that is really unstable. As a result, it is not easy to manufacture MMTJE1 in 2017. Therefore, Christmas 2018 would be the most appropriate time to manufacture the MMTJE1 products (Schroth et al, 2011). Whereas Payload Nine is considered too financially friendly to Galaxy, its value does not correlate with the anticipated long-run returns since there will be other changes that will be needed in the manufacturing department. It would be vital for Galaxy to plan properly instead of taking other risky options to complete the product. Besides, the anticipated returns from the MMTJE1 project are higher than the production of alternative toy products. The main aim of the product is to manufacture quality products and enhance innovation. Therefore, it illustrates the desire to enhance technological innovations in the company (Matam & Jain, 2017).
Secondly, based on the rarity and product value, the MMTJE1 project is much profitable and very rare in comparison to the optional type of toy. Besides, MMTJE1 provides other advantages to customers such as the video games. Since the tastes and preferences of the modern children on toy products have greatly changed because of technological innovations, it is essential for the toy company to use modern technological techniques to manufacture their products. The introduction of unique features to the toy products will offer a competitive advantage to Galaxy in the market hence it would not be easy for competitors in the industry to imitate the concept (Matam & Jain, 2017).
Short-Term Production Goals and Objectives of Galaxy
Appropriate Short-term Goals
- Production materials have to be of high quality
- Quality production of MMTJE1
Appropriate Objectives
- Develop a timeline for commencing the manufacturing
- First toys should be assessed by QC on 31st December 2017
- Manufacturing date of the first MMTJE1 need to be 1st December 2017
- Manufacturing of quality MMTJE1 have to begin by 28th February 2018
- The 3D printers have to be bought by 20th February 2018
- QC needs to establish the quality standards by 1st May 2017
- Manufacturing of quality MMTJE1 has to begin by 1st July 2018.
The definition of goals and objectives is an extremely sensitive task that needs proper skills so as to develop realistic goals and objectives that can be accomplished. Besides, the time frame is a vital factor that needs to be examined during the identification of objectives. The objectives need to be achievable, time-bound, measurable, and realistic (Matam & Jain, 2017).
Finally, it is essential to observe that the trends within the toy industry are currently evolving in the modern market in a drastic manner. Nevertheless, there are several firms that generate revenues of approximately billions of dollars. The technological innovations have created a critical path for prosperity for the toy industry such as the digitalized world. The SWOT analysis and recommendations given in the paper facilitate market expansion and an increase in the number of sales. Therefore, it leads to the increased performance level of Galaxy. It also helps to increase the generation of revenues in the company.
References
Korsvold, T. (2010). Proper Toys for Proper Children: A Case Study of the Norwegian Company A/S Riktige Leker (Proper Toys). Childhood and Consumer Culture, 31-45. doi:10.1057/9780230281844_3
Matam, S., & Jain, J. (2017). Case Study: Digital Toys Inc. Pro Apache JMeter, 243-302. doi:10.1007/978-1-4842-2961-3_11
Schroth, O., Pond, E., Campbell, C., Cizek, P., Bohus, S., & Sheppard, S. R. (2011). Tool or Toy? Virtual Globes in Landscape Planning. Future Internet, 3(4), 204-227. doi:10.3390/fi3040204
