Sunpowers go-to-market strategy sunpower corporation, a silicon valleybased manufacturer of solar cells and solar panels, is emerging
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- Sunpower’s go-to-market strategy sunpower corporation, a silicon valley–based manufacturer of solar cells and solar panels, is emerging as a potential leader in the rapidly growing, but still immature, solar industry. the firm is the leader in cell conversion efficiency, which means that its solar cells generate more electricity at a given size than its rivals. so, when space constraints and aesthetics are important considerations, this attribute makes sunpower an ideal choice for business as well as home installations. to boost energy savings, the company has also developed its own tracking systems that allow its solar panels to follow the sun throughout the day. while costing only 5 percent more to install, this proprietary feature allows for 30 percent more energy generation than traditional solar systems. sunpower serves all sectors of the business market and its customer list includes johnson & johnson, fedex, toyota, the u.s. postal service, and microsoft. the company has signed agreements with macy’s, target, and walmart to install solar systems at all of their california locations, and this may develop into a much larger opportunity, spreading to those customers’ operations across the country. in serving large corporate customers, like macy’s, sunpower uses a direct channel that controls the complete value chain from the manufacturing of the solar panels to the installation of the system. however, the firm also sees a huge opportunity in selling its solar systems to small and medium-sized businesses (smbs). for smaller commercial installations (less than 500 kw of peak power), sunpower is developing an indirect channel—a network of commercial dealers that will serve those smb customers. for customers in this market segment, sunpower emphasizes these benefits:lowering the monthly electric bills for your business; installing fewer panels that provide more power, thereby reducing your costs; taking advantage of government incentives for solar installations; supporting the environment and your community. discussion questions
- 1. channel design begins with an assessment of customer needs. what benefits or special services should a sunpower commercial dealer provide in order to meet the unique requirements of an smb customer?
- 2. describe the process that sunpower might follow to (a) evaluate potential dealers and (b) select those that will represent them in a particular city or geographical area
- 3. to effectively implement channel strategy, what programs or strategies might sunpower take to better prepare and equip commercial dealers to serve smb customers?
Related Book For
Operations Management Managing Global Supply Chains
ISBN: 978-1506302935
1st edition
Authors: Ray R. Venkataraman, Jeffrey K. Pinto
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