A case study of positioning and support of an engineering product in an industrial environment

M.Ing.Change is an every day occurrence in any environment, especially in the technology market, where technology doubles approximately every 10 years [1]. Therefore it is of utmost importance that this change should be managed for any organization to maintain its respective market position. For most industrial products that are introduced into the market it is essential for those products to be able to change to fit the expected technical changes that will transpire. These changes take place because of the demand those consumers that use the technology place on the market. Thus the value of customer service is irrefutable, and it should be addressed accordingly. In the development phase it is thus important to design the product with future change in mind to cope with the demands that consumers place on one's product. Placement of a control system in the industrial market should be done ingeniously to be able to stay in the specified market and cope with change. The Delta V, an advanced control system, is one such product that is positioned in the market in an intelligent manner [21]. To be able to do the right positioning one needs expert engineering management skills to be able to remain in the market and not sta~ate in this constantly changing technical environment. Engineering management should take a holistic interest in the global markets since most technical products are active in these global markets. Support is seen as a global competitive aspect of a product's success or failure. Management skills in this market place are thus one of the strongest advantages an engineering organization can have which in return can prove a significant difference in the organizations survival. Thus securing the edge that any organization wants and strives for to be one step in front of its competitors. As such the purpose of this research is then to present aspects of positioning and support of an engineering product via a case study in an integrated fashion