CASE STUDY: ONECLICK TECHNOLOGIES LTD There is something reassuring about the little standby lighi on 9 TV or a pescaalcomp3: 2: 1s so small and so faint that the energy being used by the device must surely be minimal Unfortunately that is not necessarily the case. Electrical devices left on standby mode mar only consume a few watts of energy themselves, but when you add the associated peripheral devices like printers and speakers for PCs or the tuners, turntables, cassette decks and speakers that form part of a hi-fl system, the watts add up and when the system is left on standby 24 hours a day; the energy Involved is considerable It was knowledge of this that inspired Peter Robertson to develop the "OneClick Intelligent Mains Panel," a six-socket extension block that can be used to power a hi-fi or PC and up to five peripheral devices whichi, when it sonses that the main device is on standby, switches off all the peripherals, thereby ensuring that energy consumption drops to less than 5 watts an hour. The beauty of this device, which looks pretty much like an ordinary six-socket extension block, la that it is automatic, Quite literally one alick.is all that is required to put the principal device on standby end shut down all the peripherals. Peter Robertson had the Idea for an extension block of this type, when he worked for Yamaha selling hf-fi products. With the advent in the late 1980s of sophisticated audiovisuel products Incorporating Dolby" surround sound", domestic consumers were adding CD players and widescreen TVs to thelr hi-fi systems, As Peter himself say, "I was tired of switaliing off varlous things. He felt there was a need for an extension block into whiloh all these devices could be plugged, and with which with the inclusion of some sort of switching mechantem, it would be possible to switch off the peripherals along with the hi-fi. Qulte literally "one click." would do the whole thing. Peter had no formal training in electronics. Born and brought up in Nottingham where his father worked as a bus driver, he left school at 16 and had a variety of jobs. He worked first in shops and then catering, eventually becoming the catering manager of a motorway service area. In time he decided to move back to Nottingham where lie got a job as an administrator, which he himself admits he "found Immensely boring! As a result he soon switched to working as 'e coach delver for a couple of years, Peter then went into sales. To begin with he sold advertising space, then office equipment, and then hi-ff equipment. The last of these Jobs was in retailing, where Peter worked as an area manager for the lil-fl manufacturer, Yarala. It was while working for Yamaha In the late 1980s that Peter became convinced that the proliforation of peripheral devices for hi-fi systems meant there was scope for some form of switchable extension block. Havir:g had the idea he decided to try building a prototype: He bought a standard slx-socket extension block and a heavy industrial relay. Theni, using the kitchen table es his workshop, he set about building a prototype. By connecting the relay to the switched outlet fitted at the rear of virtually all hi-fi amplifiers, he was able to get the extension block to sense when the device was on standby and cause the relay to shut down the remaining five sockets. When the amplifier was switched or, It took the sensing from the back of the amplifler and fired the relay, which theri duly switched on the current going to the peripheral devices. A# Peter acknowledged, "I know there was an application there". He bad proved the concept. However, the relay made the extension block heavy and unwieldy and far too expensive to nas produce. With a well-paid job in retailing Peter decided that this was not the Hime to become a fully fledged Innovator. He stayed with Yaralla for six years. As Peter seid of his time at Yamaha, "I learnt a lot about how multiples work, buying and selling and that sort of stuff and I learnt a bit about electronics". But when Yamaha decided to re-structure their activities Peter optod for redundancy. There then followed a stint at EchoStar, a US-based manufacturer of satellite uquipinent. From there Peter spent a couple of years working as a consultant for the Franchise Centre in Manchester where he wrote franchising manuals and advised would-be franchisers and franchisees before going back into sales and marketing, working for a Danish company. When the company decided to relocate to South Wales, Peter again apted for redundancy. At this paint he decided to take a career break, opting for a year out in which he studied for an MBA at Nottingham Trent University. It was while he was at university that Peter rovisited his prototype intelligent mains panel. For part of his course he had to put together a business plen for the introduction of a new product and his idoa for an intelligent mains panel, in the form of a switchable extension block, seemed an ideal new product. For the business plan he had to investigate costings, product viability and the market for the product. By now relay technology had moved on apace. Developments in electronics liad caused relays to shrink dramatically in szo, to the point where it was feasiblo for one to be fitted inside the extension block. The technology also meant that an electronic version was foasible which would suit any application and not }ust hi-ft, but Petar felt that at this stage it was important to test the market first. He opted to develop a passive version using proprietory technology, and found an extonsion block that could be easily adapted so that a proprietory relay could be fitted inside the space taken by one of the sockets. The intelligont mains panol had become a commercial proposition, All the main components were proprietary products. The extension block was bought in while the relayg'were supplied by an electrical distributor. With a fly lead to the back of an amplifier and a similar lead to the USB socket of a computer, the intelligent malus panel could be used for either hi-fi or PC applications. By the time he came to finish the course, Peter was manufacturing 20 extension blocks a week. However, he quickly found he could not cope with makinig them this way, and begari trying to find someone who could manufacture thern for him. It did not take long but care about qulle by accident. Unhappy that he was paying full price, Peter asked the distributor from whom he was buyitig relays for a trade discount. They refused, saying the quantities bie wanted did not warrant a trade discount: However, they did suggest a firm in Hinckley that might be more interested in the sort of quanlities he needed. Not orily that, they mentioned that the firm might be able to do some manufacturing. And so it turned out. The firm in Hinckley could not only supply relays, bul were willing to manufacture the whole extension block, and Peter placed an order for 3,000 sets. With proper manufacturing facilities in place, he now turned his attention to marketing. With help from friends, he soon hed a small website in place: Using his extunsive knowledge of retailing, Peter began to target hil-fi shops. Yamaba, liis former employer, agreed to place an. order for 300 sets. To increase his exposure in the marketplece he decided to exhibit at a: national eloctronics exhibition Birmingham. However, he baulked at trying to flid the 5,000 cost of hiring an exhibition stand and the additional cost of then fitting it out and staffing it Aware that exhibition organisers often end up with unfilled stands, he approached the organisers about negotiating a discounted rate, all'essing that he was a student. They agreed to rent him a stand in one of the less attractive locations for 1,000 all-in. To staff the stand he roped in some of his fellow students and to provide some publicity he purchased a supply of T-shirts and knickers withi his "Oneclick logo printed on them. The knickers proved particularly successful. With his stand in a somawliat remote location, he needed sonething to get potential customers talking and they certainly provided a talking point. Ordors came floodliig In. They covered the cost of attending the exhibition in the first day. Several of the Targe electrical retailers ordored 1,000 or more. Having successfully developed and launched his innovation, Peter began to think about expanding the market. Initially, sales were confined to the specialist hi-fi market for which it bad been developed and wiero it had obvious applications. In the hi-fi inarket the attraction of the intelligent mairis panel was that it helped the hi-fi enthusiast control a wide range of peripherals. There were other potential markets, however, and one was the environmental- friendly, energy-conscious market. So he approached the Energy Saving Tritat, hoping that ani endorsement from their would give his product an opening in this market, They pointed out that in its present form the intelligent mains panel had some weaknesses: some consumers would not know where the USB port was; similarly the use of the switched outlet on amplifiers limited its application in the consumer electronics market. Quite litorally the intelligent mains panel was not intelligent enough. This prompted Peter to comnit to the development of the more advanced electronic version. Whereas the current product was a passive version that responded to external signals, he now set his sights on developing an active "current sensing version" actively able to manage the power supply. For active power management some form of auto-calibration was needed with the capability to read a device's power consumption, Peter undertook a detailed examination of computer power-supply systems. He found that the power being used could vary enormously. Meanwhile, a patent search revealed that a similar device had been patented in Germany but had not proved sccessful as it was relatively primitive, working with fixed value for the power being used. Peter's solution to the problem was to use some form of programmable integrated chip linked to a software program that monitored the amount of power being used and then used a formula to decide whether to switcla the slave sockets on or off. Having produced a solution was one thing; getting it to work was quite another: Developinent was not without its difficulties. On one occasion the only prototype blew up the night before a vital demonstration to the Energy Saving Trust. Over the course of several norths njore than 30 electronic prototypes of different designs either blew up or melted bafore Peter was finally able to come up with one that was stable and functioned effectively. At this point, having taken appropriate legal advice, Peter filed a patent for his intelligant switching devico. Since the development of an active version of his intelligent maina panel meant a major redesign of the product; Peter took the opportunity to explore alternative manufacturing facilities. He negotiated for production to be subcontracted to a British firm which arranged for manufacturing to be undertaken in China, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost by about one-third, togethor with a commerisurate Improvement in product quality. At the same time Peter set about marketing the new active version of his intelligent maing panel. An order from Powergen for 20,000 items quickly showed the potontial of the improved product. The original passive version had only achieved sales of 5,000 during the period of slightly less than a year that it was on the market. Significant orders froin major electrical retailers such as Maplin, Lakelands, PC World and ovon B&Q soon followed. When the active version want on the market in Octobor 2003 it was soon selling at an averagu rate of 3,000 items a month, evidence, if auch were needed, that the intelligent mains panel was a successful innovation. Not that Peter Robertson felt innovation had to stop there. He was soon planning an improved version that would combine his patented intelligent switching system with additional features such as surge protection, full range calibration and split phone and modem 'outputs. He was even beginning to explore a version for the US market that would work with power supplies ranging from 100 to 250 volts, making the intelligent maing panel a product capable of taking on global markets. Source: Personal Interview with Peter Robertson, 2 June 2005 Questions 1 To what extent was Peter Robertson helped by developments in technology? 2 What kind of technical entrepreneur would you classify Peter Robertson as and why? 3 Outline the aspects of his prior working experience that you feel helped Peter Robertson with his innovation 4 Whichi aspects do you think were most helpful? 5 Using the technology/market taxonomy derived in this chapter classify this innovation. 6 Give examples of Institutional support that contributed to the success of the venture. 7 Outline the market developments that you consider contributed the most to success. 8 What forms of intellectual property were associated with this case? g Why do you think Peter Robertson registered the patent in his own name using a separate company to manufacture and market the intelligent malns panel? 10 What does the case tell us about the value of personal networks for innovation