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    Segway comes from word segue, which is defined as, "to transition smoothly

    from one state to another." A Segway Human Transporter (HT) transforms a person

    into an empowered pedestrian, allowing him/her to go farther, move more quickly and carries

    more than could ever be achievable walking. [1]

    Renowned inventor Dean Kamen founded a new company with the vision to develop

    highly-efficient, zero-emission transportation solutions using “dynamic stabilization”

    technology. The Company’s research and development was focused on creating devices that took

    up a minimal amount of space, were extremely maneuverable, and could operate on pedestrian

    sidewalks and pathways. In 2001, Segway unveiled the Segway Personal Transporter (PT), the

    first self-balancing transportation device, to the public for the first time. In 2002, Segway PT

    went on sale for general public on Amazon. [2]

    Segway LLC developed a breakthrough technology termed as "dynamic stabilization,"

    which enables it to work seamlessly with the body's movements. The balancing act is the most

    amazing thing about the Segway, and it is the key to its operation. At its most basic, the Segway

    is a combination of a series of sensors, a control system and a motor system.

    The primary sensor system is an assembly of gyroscopes. The Segway HT has five

    gyroscopic sensors. Additionally, the Segway has two tilt sensors filled with electrolyte fluid.

    The Segway has a total of ten onboard microprocessors ‘brain’. The microprocessors run an

    advanced piece of software that monitors all of the stability information and adjusts the speed of

    several electric motors accordingly. The electric motors, which are powered by a pair of

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    rechargeable nickel metal hydride (NIMH) or Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, can turn each of the

    wheels independently at variable speeds. When the rider leans slightly forward, the Segway HT

    moves forward; when the rider leans slightly back, the Segway HT moves backward.

     

    Segway i2 - The i2 takes up about the same amount of surface area as an average adult, and has

    plenty of ground clearance for most urban and suburban settings. The i2 can take commuter 24

    miles or up to 480 city blocks on a single charge. The versatile i2 can be easily stowed in the

    trunk of a car or carried onto many modes of public transit with permission. (Refer Exhibit 1a)

    Segway x2  - The x2’s deeply treaded, all-terrain tires can master intimidating patches of dirt,

    gravel, grass, or sand. It can carry commuter up to 12 miles/19 km on a single charge. X2 is

    cargo ready. (Refer Exhibit 1b)

    Other Products: The other variations of i2 and x2 includes - i2 police, i2 commuter, i2 cargo,

    x2 police, x2 adventure and x2 golf. These models have additional accessories and minor design

    modification to meet the specific needs. (Refer Exhibit 1c)

    The Segway HT is designed to be operated by a wide range of people after receiving

    orientation—no special skills are required. The rider must be able to do the following:

    Step on and off the Segway HT without assistance, which requires physical abilities

    similar to climbing and descending stairs without assistance or use of a handrail

    Rider must weigh between 100 and 250 pounds (for the i Series) or 100 and 200

    pounds (for the x Series). Rider must be able to operate the steering control with his or her left

    hand. Segway recommends that riders be 16 years or older. It is important to note that the

    Segway HT has not been designed, tested, or approved as a medical device.

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    The Segway HT has been designed to be extremely durable. First, the motors are

    brushless servomotors are maintenance-free. Second, a modular design whereby if any part were

    to wear out or break, it could easily be replaced, ensuring a long product life. There’s no oil to

    change or clutch to replace. The Segway PT is powered by a pair of lithium-ion batteries that

    automatically recharge when commuter rides downhill or just plug Segway PT into any wall

    outlet. It takes about 15 minutes to get enough charge to travel one mile/1.6 km. A full day’s

    charge costs less than a newspaper.

    Segway PT is easy to ride and feels like a natural extension of the one’s own body.

    Segway PT can take one to places that are not accessible by a car or bicycle - including inside

    many stores, office buildings, airports, elevators, and trains. While on Segway PT, one can easily

    move easily through crowds without invading others’ personal space, travel on sidewalks and

    paths, side-by-side with friends on foot. All this is offered at zero emission and zero need for gas.

    Segway PT is very maneuverable, fast, quiet, and fun to ride. Overall, many customers perceive

    as a very enjoyable experience.

    The innovation strategy set the seeds of failure because it was not clearly specified. Three

    key components that need to be specified for any new venture:

    During product development and initial launch, the Segway team had not outlined any

    meaningful value proposition during its development. In one of the investors meetings, venture

    capitalist John Doerr raised the question of why should people be compelled to buy the Segway.

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    That question stunned the management team. They were creating a solution; however the

    problem could not be clearly concocted. It took more than 4 years after the launch (2006) to

    come up with the following: “The Segway PT is a zero-emissions, electric transportation device

    that gives people a real alternative to a car for short-distance trips that are too far to walk and too

    short to drive. The Segway PT emits no pollution and has energy efficiency equivalent to 450

    miles per gallon. The Segway PT goes 24 miles on a single battery charge and costs only pennies

    per mile to operate.”

    Kamen envisioned executives at Amazon, FedEx, US Postal Service, and US Police

    department would be the early adopters and drive initial demand and also provide legitimacy to

    Segway. FedEx could use the Segways for their urban deliveries, cut down on costs and promote

    conservation of fossil fuels. Walt Disney, another ideal market could use the Segway at theme

    parks around the world, or rent them out to visitors. However, each of these segments had

    specific use cases that required specific functionality from the product. For instance, while the

    postal workers appreciated the relief from carrying a 35 pounds satchel, they did not save any

    time using Segway since they could not sort the mail while travelling. Also, if it rained, it would

    be impossible to carry an umbrella, because both hands were required to steer. Also, Segway had

    a range of 11 miles which required postal workers to circle back to the charging trucks every 2

    hours. Similarly, the police found Segway useful for parking patrol but not much more than that.

    They found the mountain bikes cheaper and without a battery problem. [3]

    Kamen thought the market would eventually grow to include millions of fun-seeking

    consumers. However, with a price of around $4,000 and a heavy weight (80lbs), the consumer

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    market would not be as easy to enter, as most leisure devices in the Segway class (scooters) are

    far cheaper ($300-$1,000) and weigh about 40lbs less.

    Segway’s target customers include:

    Manufacturing, Distribution, and Corporate Campuses: Segway would be an invaluable tool

    in warehouses, distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, and large corporate for carrying

    light cargo or packages than expensive motorized transport, and its speed will help maintenance

    workers, messengers, and others get to their parts faster, minimizing downtime caused by any

    failure or time wasted traveling.

    Law Enforcement and Emergency Workers: Using Segway, police, fire, and rescue workers

    could arrive at the scene of an accident far faster than if they had to negotiate crowded streets in

    a vehicle. Segway would allow police officers to spend less time walking, helping them conserve

    energy. It would also make them more approachable than they were from behind a close car

    window or atop a horse, bringing them into contact with the communities they serve.

    Security Guards: For security guards, Segway’s faster speed allows them to cover greater areas

    while conserving energy. Segway can help security guards work effectively either in the building

    or in the ground.

    Postal and Delivery Service: Segway would enable couriers and postal workers to cover larger

    delivery routes. By relieving physical strain that comes with walking delivery routes, or with

    carrying heavy packages, Segway could reduce stress and injuries for workers. It also gives

    workers the strength to carry longer.

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    Parks and Recreation Areas: Segway would allow people from the park service an easier way

    without a big vehicle. Also Segway could reduce the pollution that affects the environment in the

    parks. Moreover, tourists could travel more deeply inside the park on Segway.

    Tourism, Hotel, and Amusement Parks: Segway could give many benefits to the hospitality

    and tourism industries. Segway could reduce time and space by transporting maintenance

    personal and helping food workers get to bar and restaurants. Moreover, courtesy workers and

    hosts at amusement parks would be more visible.

    Airport and Airlines: Airport workers could travel faster both inside and outside of terminals on

    Segway such as Segway can take pilots getting to a distant gate faster; baggage handlers could

    tow a trailer to and from planes. Also, all of this could be accomplished without having to rely on

    trucks to other vehicles.

    Segway had anticipated shipping 50,000 to 100,000 units annually by 2003, in which

    most sales would be made to corporate customers with larger volumes of purchase. Segway had

    an ambitious target of at least a billion dollars in sales. This was both Kamen’s expectation and a

    requirement from Venture Capitalists who had funded $100 million and were looking for a 10x

    return. This was an ambitious target that would have required a widespread institutional and

    people adoption. Segway was launched during recession when companies were wary of investing

    in new technology; given this backdrop the expectations should have been reassessed.

    The three main risks to be considered for new venture like Segway are described as follows:

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    Segway is a true engineering marvel and it required innovations ranging from dynamic

    stabilization to Electric propulsion, smart battery management, advanced sensing and intuitive

    user interfaces [4]. Kamen however, minimized the co-innovation risk by managing the

    development of all technologies in house and hence took on significant execution risk. It does

    reflect in the long time of 10 years it took him to bring Segway to market-ready state. However,

    the foundation of technology was present from his earlier innovation- IBOT, which in fact gave

    Kamen the idea to come up with Segway.

    During the development process, there was much confusion and haggling with potential

    suppliers, which did not contribute to a smooth launch. Later on, Segway enlisted numerous

    suppliers to be their partners in developing future models and manufacturing their parts.

    Being a highly complex device with extreme safety features, the Segway needed cooperation

    from different industrial partners with design, part supply and fitting to changing specifications

    of the different models. The list of suppliers includes:

    Silicon Sensing Systems: Provider of silicon Micro-Machined sensors to the automotive,

    commercial and aerospace sectors. This company worked with Segway to develop the gyros and

    tilt sensor systems of the device.

    Michelin: A tire manufacturer – provided the specialty tires, rolling resistance and unique tread

    design for superb balancing and handling

    Delphi Corporation: Manufacturer of integrated circuits, smart sensors and software algorithms

    for transportation and other industries. Delphi assisted in the development of Segway’s

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    integrated circuit boards to meet the standards used for automotive reliability levels in extreme

    environments

    Pacific Scientific: Manufacturer of high performance electric motors and drive systems for semi-

    conductor, electronic assembly, medical/fitness, packaging and other precision automation

    applications. This company designed Segway’s compact, brushless, electric servo-motor.

    Saft: A provider of self-contained energy solutions, Saft specializes in rechargeable battery-

    power solutions that can resist environmental swings for portable household appliances and hand

    tools, defense, mobility and professional electronics applications. Saft helped Segway develop

    smart-charging, self-contained NiCd and NiMH batteries that required no external charger.

    Magnetek: A manufacturer of systems that supply and control power for both home and

    industrial applications. Magnetek helped Segway create the power supply that could receive

    normal wall current and charge the batteries.

    Schafer Gear Works: A producer of high precision, custom engineered gears and machined

    parts for a wide variety of markets, Schafer helped optimize the performance of the quiet helical

    gear systems and was exclusive supplier of the Segway PT transmissions.

    GE Plastics: A manufacturer of high-performance engineering thermoplastics, GE Plastics

    provided Segway with durable and environmentally friendly materials. Segway PT was the first

    commercial application for the SOLLXTM polymer – a weather resistant film that offered an

    alternative to paint.

    Microprocessor Designs: A product design and development firm specializing in embedded

    microcomputer hardware, firmware design. This company worked closely with Segway on

    systems, hardware, firmware design, integration, test as well as transfer to key manufacturers.

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    C&J Industries: A precision injection molding company, manufactured many of the plastic

    components on the Segway. It provided engineering solutions for plastic part applications, and

    also helped Segway create a wheel assembly that could withstand the vigorous environmental

    and load requirement of the Segway PT.

    Klüber Lubrications: A provider of tribological solutions. This company provides the

    Klübersynth GH 6 series of oils for lubrication of the Segway PT gearbox.

    Valence Technology: A provider of energy storage systems, its Lithium Ion technology powers

    the high-performance Segway models (The GT, XT and i180).

    DecisionOne: A provider of tailored information technology support services, it provided

    Segway customers in-home service and orientation.

     

    Segway spent more than a million dollars in lobbying to legalize the use of the device on

    sidewalks across the USA. 41 states agreed and remarkably most did not say anything about

    minimum age of the rider, tests, safety helmets or other precautions. The trouble was, even after

    the state’s approval, county and city officials were concerned about collisions with pedestrians,

    and as a result, the Segway PT was ‘banned’ in many places, including New York City and San

    Francisco - a place known to be highly receptive to new technology.

    Another ‘side’ attack opened by health advocates who claimed that many Americans

    suffer from obesity already and if we take away walking from them, it will only get worse. In

    order to live up to all the media hype about architecting new cities around the Segway PT and

    stating that the device is as revolutionary as the PC or the Internet, it was hard to manage

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    Segway as a device that can benefit certain populations and effectively advertise and sell it to its

    real potential customers.

    The ‘arm wrestling’ with regulations was quite successful in the US, however not so

    much in the rest of the world. Segway is sold in 62 countries, but not in important markets like

    Japan and the UK.

    The company started coming out with more and more models, for different applications.

    This has created some confusion in the marketplace; on the other hand some potential buyers

    (such as law-enforcement) requested modifications of the design. Originally car companies were

    viewed as a threat, as one of the board members, Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com voiced his

    opinion to that effect.

    Segway, however, decided recently to license its patent in order to create an urban

    vehicle for two. They picked GM, to put their advertising muscle behind it and named it:

    Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility vehicle -- dubbed Project P.U.M.A.

    The pricing was also a major issue. Prior to the launch, and after the public had heard

    about Ginger (Segway was referred as Ginger), the number floating in the media was $2000.

    When it finally was up for sale, the price tag was $4,995. This sticker shock put the Segway PT

    out of reach for most Americans.

    The company anticipated Segway to cost several thousands of dollars. This was

    determined early into the development stage, when market target has not been defined yet. Not

    having a target market made it nearly impossible for the marketing manager to gauge the price

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    sensitivity of the potential customers. Also, from the small group of 36 ‘regular’ people testing

    the device, the non-technical people did not perceive the Segway PT as an expensive device.

    Kamen’s goal of making Segway a device for all, and pricing it so high were somewhat hard to

    reconcile. The high price of the Segway is considered one of the major obstacles to the

    acceptance of the device in the general market. The company decided to ignore the feedback

    from their small research group and continued to build the device to specifications that required a

    hefty price. The fact that the original price was near $5,000 and not too long later (without any

    competition yet), you could buy it for under $3,000 – indicates that perhaps the initial ambitious

    price was out of line with the target market.

    Since Kamen’s original idea was to ‘change the world’, his goal was to sell the Segway

    PT to ‘everyone’. This posed a challenge for the marketing team during the development

    process. How could they position the product in the market place, in a way that it would appeal

    to the customers and maximize sales. Over time, the Segway LLC realized that their product had

    more value for some service sectors (law enforcement, park workers) and some private

    businesses with large warehouses, airport staff and city tours.

    We believe that Segway itself is a well-designed and innovative product. The major reason why

    it did not go well is that the product and the surrounding ecosystem do not get aligned with the

    inventors’ strategy of positioning it as a daily transporter. Segway is a great product for certain

    niche markets, however, there are two important categories of weakness that caused its failure as

    a vehicle for daily transportation: engineering and ecosystem.

    1.  Engineering weakness

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    The idea of this product is a breakthrough, and the design is also brilliant. However, the

    engineering is not good enough for this product to be successfully commercialized due to the

    following three reasons:

    a.  The price of Segway is too high: consumers can purchase a regular Segway model on

    Amazon for $4,950. Perceived as a scooter, this price level is beyond most consumers’

    acceptable range. Dean Kamen should have focused more on design-to-cost.

    b.  It’s not very convenient: the vehicle weighs more than 80 pounds and can travel maybe 11

    miles on a charge, depending on terrain. Average person cannot lift it. Unfortunately, you

    have to lift it in many cases - over stairs, on the bus, into your office, etc.

    c.  It’s not cool enough: the design is cool, however, the way people ride it is not cool at all.

    It is even said that someone riding Segway looks like a dork. People don’t want to be seen

    riding them.

    2.  Ecosystem weakness

    Segway is a product that changes human behavior – it provides a new way for people to

    transport. The inventors of Segway ignored the fact that human behavior is very hard to change

    and the whole ecosystem needs to be ready if you try to change it. However, a lot of questions

    from consumers about Segway are left unanswered or not very well dealt with by the inventors.

    a.  How can I get training? Buyers of Segway need to go through a minimum of 4 hours

    hands-on coaching before riding them on the street. However, the main purchasing

    channel of Segway for consumers was Amazon. There’s no reliable customer interaction

    point for the training, not to mention teaching the subtleties of operating a vehicle.

    b.  Where do I ride it? Sidewalks or roads? Space devoted to pedestrians (sidewalk) and

    bicycles (bicycle paths or low-speed roads) is defined clearly. However, whether Segway

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    should be allowed to ride on sidewalks or bicycle lanes/low-speed roads was

    controversial. Many states still restrict the use of Segway on sidewalks because the

    presence of a Segway on a crowded sidewalk, moving outside the typical pedestrian

    velocity, is hardly welcomed.

    In addition, different states defined different laws regarding the usage of Segway, which was

    pretty confusing to consumers. For example, in Seattle, Segway is not allowed on bicycle lanes,

    public paths or roads or on shoulders of highways with a speed limit greater than 35 mph.

    Segway is also not allowed on bicycle lanes or on park paths intended for recreation, city

    officials said. People aren't allowed to ride Segway on public school playfields or public school

    playgrounds. A violation could bring a $124 municipal court fine.

    In New York, the legislation allows use on low speed roadways, bike lanes and similar areas.

    Most importantly the legislation allows New York communities and counties to further regulate

    the Segway PT if they deem necessary. Consumers have to investigate regulations of these

    communities and counties before riding it. The misalignment reduces the motivation for people

    to purchase Segway.

    c.  Where and how do I charge it? Although a standard wall outlet can charge Segway, it

    takes time. 15 minutes charging can get Segway to travel one mile. Rider have to charge

    Segway for 5 hours if you want to ride 20 miles on it. Let’s think about what will happen

    if Segway run out of battery on the way home. Rider will have to find a wall outlet

    somewhere, and then wait for at least an hour to charge. Car drivers can easily find gas

    stations to refuel in 5 minutes. But for Segway, No supporting infrastructure such as

    “Segway charging station” or a quick and efficient way of charging is available.

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    d.  How do I park it? As discussed before, Segway is too heavy for people to lift and move it

    indoor. However, as most people don’t park their bicycles outside, few people want to

    park their $5K Segway outside. In addition, there’s no company provided “Segway

    parking lots” available. All these prevent Segway from being a daily transportation tool.

    There are other questions unanswered such as “Can I take Segway on a bus/train?” and “What

    kind of insurance should I get for Segway?” Segway can only be successfully commercialized as

    a daily transporter if the inventors take care of these ecosystem questions.

    In theory, if someone could use the Segway to commute, the savings would be significant. At

    450 miles per gallon, no insurance cost, no registration, no inspection and the list goes on. But

    the big question remains whether Segway was able to identify its target customers and focus the

    product to satisfy their needs. Most of the focus, in our view needs to be shifted to the

    commercial market, proving that the Segway PT can save money for various businesses. For

    example, if a delivery person travels 15 or 20 miles during the 8 hour work-day, the Segway can

    trim the day to 2-3 hours, alternatively if a car is used for the delivery, it’s much more expensive

    to maintain the car and operate it.

    Here are some of the target segments that either Segway has not been addressed at all, or if they

    were, not much was done to put the Segway PT into their hands.

    Golfers - The Golf cart business is a $4 Billion a year industry in America. Golfers are usually

    people with significant sums of disposable income. In fact it’s hard to find a CEO who doesn’t

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    play the game. Segway LLC did not want to ‘corner’ itself into a niche market. $4 Billion is a

    corner it could have chosen to linger in for a while. Golf, this is a fancy sport, with national

    television exposure and provides an avenue to catch attention of a large audience. This segment

    should be pursued vigorously. There is already some penetration into this market, but not

    enough.

    Japan market as a “model market” and then sell its success to other countries/cities - The

    Segway was initially not allowed in Japan. Getting government approval may be tough initially,

    but perhaps with some help from some key potential customers, penetration into the Japanese

    market could be very lucrative. It’s not only the fact that Japan has the second largest economy

    in the world, its cities are overcrowded and there’s a large segment of people who are ‘gadget’

    lovers. Occasionally some American firms like IBM release certain gadgets only in Japan. Those

    would not sell in America (too expensive).

    Involve key corporate customers during the design and development phase - Getting a

    couple of top corporate customers to buy into the idea and getting them to commit to the idea

    could have been key to the initial success of the launch. Lots of the key customers that Segway

    had in mind like the US Postal Services and some of the city councils discovered late in the

    process that the device did not actually add as much value as they were expecting. For example,

    postmen could not sort their mails while riding the Segway and Water meter readers would have

    to change their route significantly if they used the Segway. Given the secretive nature of product,

    Segway did not involve these key customers early enough and significantly enough to get their

    feedback. Had it done that, it may have been able to make the product design more flexible. For

    example, it could have run a pilot with companies like USPS and Walmart and could have given

    them some initial discounts to secure pre-launch orders from them and other councils.

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    In addition, the company has a database of the purchasers and a ‘Segway Social’ community of

    users. Going forward, the company can use the group to create ‘democratizing’ of innovation

    process, in which the users decide what features are worth adding or leaving out.

    As mentioned earlier, Segway’s high price of $4,950 was considered one of the major

    obstacles to the acceptance by the general market. To be able to reach the target acceptance level

    and sales volume, Segway would have to do the following:

    Simplifying design, working on cost structure, and lowering price: The high research and

    development costs and limited demand made the Segway very expense just to break-even, if not

    making a loss. The winning strategy would have been to simplify the design to meet the

    customers’ basic needs, reduce the cost, and lower the price, so as to broaden the customer base

    and increase the sales volume. And with the larger sales volume, improved costs structure, and

    the same level of research and development investments, both Segway’s top line as well as the

    margins would have increased. And the further scale-up would have allowed Segway to

    negotiate with suppliers/vendors and further reduce the material and production costs.

    Providing financing: The high upfront price had kept potential customers away. If there was not

    much room for lowering the price, the alternative the Segway could have done earlier on was to

    offer financing options for the purchasers. Segway realized the issue and started partnering with

    General Electric in 2006 to offer a financing program to buffer the “sticker shock” of buying the

    high-end transportation device. By doing so, Segway and GE were giving customer a convenient

    way to purchase a new Segway for manageable monthly payments, while owning a Segway gave

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    them the opportunity to save money by avoiding the expense of gas, insurance, and traditional

    maintenance.

    Partner with car manufacturers - Segway is not substitute for car, make it complementary:

    By collaborating with carmakers, the Segway PT can be offered as an option in the trunk. If you

    have it in the trunk and you park a mile away, you can still make it within 5 minutes to your

    destination. Some value added services in cars costs thousands of dollars anyway, so as far as

    price goes it will not be out of line in this instance. By doing that, Segway can take the fear out

    of carmakers, and try to get them to join forces with it.

    Encourage customer trials and do not discourage product returns: One distinct point made

    over and over by everyone involved in the project is that whoever tried Segway loved it and

    could not get off of it. The company did experiment with a program in which people could try it

    for a month for free and choose whether to buy or not at the end of the trial. The program has

    been very successful and resulted with doubling the quarterly sales number. This option is an

    effective way to introduce the device. This brings us to the topic of product returns. Segway LLC

    charged 10% re-stocking fee and the product must be unused and in the original packaging. This

    policy is a huge deterrent for buyers. If most people that buy the Segway PT love it, why should

    there be such a restriction? Why not give potential customers the feeling that they are buying a

    product with high value and the Segway LLC is confident that the customer would appreciate,

    enjoy and keep it. Also, it has already made most of his fixed cost investments, so what’s the

    point in trying to restrict the product returns which may only be a small part of its cost structure 

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    Exhibit 1a - S  

    Exhibit 1b - S

    Weight Footprint Max Speed Range

    105 lbs. /47.7 kg

    19" x 25" /48.26 cm x 63.5 cm

    12.5 mph/20 kph

    Up to 24 mi/Up to 38 km

    Weight Footprint Max Speed Range

    120 lbs/54.4 kg

    21" x 33"/53.34 cm x 83.8 cm

    12.5 mph/20 kph

    Up to 12 mi/Up to 19 km

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    Exhibit 1c - Segway Others 

    S S

    Exhibit 2 

    Segway LLC’s strategy Pros Cons

    Segway LLC Get Segway to replacewalkers and cars for citytravel.

    Very highexpectations

    Retail consumers As far as distributionchannels, the company startedwith Amazon.com as anexclusive contract (due to the

    connection to Bezos). OnMarch 2003 Segway started adealership expansionprogram, recruiting dealers inmajor metropolitan areas ofthe US to distribute, marketand sell the Segway PT. OnOctober 2003, continuing its

    Easier commute • Recharge station

    • Repair

    • Lack of training

    • Cannot try it

    extensively• Too expensive

    • Obesity promoter

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    efforts of distribution, thecompany entered anagreement with Brookstone, aspecialty store chain.Customers could also order

    the Segway PT throughBrookstone’s catalog

    Corporate buyers Postponing a consumerversion for 12 months, Kamenhad decided to first focus onsales to corporate customers.In addition to initial sales tothe U.S. Postal Service,Amazon.com, and theNational Park Service, Kamenwas sure that many large

    manufacturing anddistribution corporationswould jump to purchase theHT to replace the clunkybicycles that are currentlyused to convey managersaround the cavernousfactories and warehouses.

    • Improvedproductivity

    • Energy savings

    • CSR image

    • Innovativeimage

    Redoing theirprocesses

    Retailers/Dealers They will needcritical mass to

    make initial fixedinvestmentSpace constraints

    Government Lobbying governments tolegalize use of sidewalks.Target all states, all countries.Lack of focus

    Less congestedroads

    • Sidewalks orroads Threats topedestrians.

    • Risk of accidents

    • Its compatibilityto coexist withother road usersand their safety

    Rechargers +

    Repair shops• Initial investment

    • High opportunitycost

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    Page 22 of 22

    [1] http://www.segwaysolution.com/info.html[2] http://www.segway.com/about-segway/segway-milestones.php [3] http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.03/segway.html 

    [4] http://www.segway.com/about-segway/segway-technology.php [5] http://www.bmacewen.com/blog/pdf/McKinsey.2006.January.BeatingOddsMarketEntry.pdf  [6] http://essay-writing-us.blogspot.com/2011/07/segway.html [7] http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Segway-Case-Analysis/767839 [8] http://hbr.org/2005/11/hiring-for-smarts/ar/1 [9] http://www.123helpme.com/segway-case-study-view.asp?id=167247