Precor's product development strategy in the competitive fitness equipment market

Product Development

Company Background

Precor is a subsidiary of Amer Group Plc, a leading global sports equipment company. Apart from Precor the company has other brands Wilson, Atomic and Suunto under its umbrella. Precor was founded in 1980 with it's headquarter near Seattle in Woodinville, Washington. It has expanded over the years with offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, Benelux, Austria, Japan and China. As opposed to other companies in the business Precor stands out because it has set the global standard for fluid, natural, low-impact workout experience.

Product Development

Many organizations have new product development methodologies that provide a standard framework for planning and managing development efforts. Precor has a strategic plan to put into operation a collaborative manufacturing infrastructure to manage new product introductions and product changes. To keep pace with changing demands for exercise equipment, Precor has sound plans of concentrating on product development. "Tom Moran, Precor's Vice President of Engineering says, 'The fitness equipment business is extremely competitive. In order to stay in the running, manufacturers have to keep pace with the market - not only delivering new products, but delivering equipment with superior designs, ahead of the competition and at lower prices'" (Precor)

The Product Idea

The product development process starts with the big idea. Considering the changing dynamic of the target market Precor plans to make comprehensive offers. As apart of its product development Precor is offering entertainment and value-added services to fitness aficionados. The new comprehensive values added programs in the development stage will not only emphasize on the product but will also look at aspects of diet and fitness via an interactive program that tracks foods, exercises, weight and goals, and possibly provide users a summary of calories, nutrition, and weight loss as a complete exercise program. "The equipment itself isn't the only thing that will be different this century; the way it's used is changing, too. Companies are coming up with inventive ways of luring the country's 22.5 million health club members to their products. Taking a page from the Spinning handbook, equipment makers such as StairMaster and Precor have choreographed group exercise programs that work hand-in-hand with their stair climbers and elliptical trainers, respectively" (Rackl, 2000).

Aids in Product Development Process

Today Precor is staying ahead of the competition by different strategic policy decisions. Some of the key strategies include outsourcing many of its manufacturing processes, collaborating with suppliers to implement design changes quickly and efficiently, and communicating these changes across the entire supply chain to support Just-In-Time (JIT) parts supply. Initially, Precor had its focus on integrated manufacturing strategies, performing every aspect of manufacturing from assembling own circuit boards to printing product labels and manuals in house. With the expansion and growth the need for rapid product development and quick response arose. Outsourcing turned out to be one big aid as a result of which manufacturing processes could be outsourced, freeing sparse corporate resources to hustle the introduction of new products.

Industrial Design is a major component of the product development process at all stages particularly related to fitness equipments from the initial idea to the production line. The design team has to look at the minutest details such as certain buttons and use of colors on any fitness product. All the four elements of industrial design that is color, form, details and graphic are looked into by the industrial design experts for the purpose of new product development. It's a process that considers the wants and needs of the community of exercisers and fitness freaks to deliver a product not just to meet but to exceed their expectations.

The product development team comprising engineers, biomechanics, manufacturing, assembly, nutritionists, fitness experts and gurus etc. At Precor stay together as a group that eats, drinks, and sleeps fitness product ideas for testing and reliability. They all work to implement regulations, and other pre-established standards. The whole product development team works day and night for reshaping the future of fitness.

Competitive Scenario

In order to understand the brand's worth and its activities one must also analyze what competitors are doing in the fitness business. Stairmaster is one such competitor whose standing is well-known. With products designed to meet the demands of customers, every product they make has passed rigorous testing for performance and functionality and meets the highest quality standards in the industry. Stairmaster's product development strategies are also famous for introducing new elements in the whole package. Innovative, biomechanically-engineered technology, space-efficient cordless designs, ease-of-use features, state-of-the-art consoles and integrated heart rate functions are just a few examples of Stairmaster's value-added product development. Schwinn is another American icon and a world leader in technology and fabrication on the forefront of advances in fitness equipment. Schwinn has been an indispensable player effectively making high-quality Schwinn products available where Americans shop most. They carved their niche by revolutionizing bicycling around the world. There are other players like Reebok that have also entered the market of fitness equipments and solutions. In the light of these different and dynamic players in the market a proactive product development strategy is must for companies like Precor.

The final product

With the aid of smooth processes in place Precor is working to give life to a final product that becomes a one stop shop for fitness. The product is not just about a machine rather it also includes nutritional solutions to aerobic lessons. The outsourcing strategy and the industrial design team at Precor help realize the mechanical part while other team member, marketers, nutritionists and fitness experts help add more value in the form of new ideas like weight monitoring and other needs. In a way Precor is finally moving towards mass customization and this big product idea is a move in that direction.