The sensors your company manufactures are incorporated into the products your customers sell.

The sensors your company manufactures are incorporated into the products your customers sell.
Your customers fall into two groups which are called market segments. A market segment is a group of customers who have similar needs. The segments are named for the customer’s primary requirements and are called:
Low Tech
High Tech
Customers within each market segment employ different standards as they evaluate sensors. They consider four buying criteria:
Price
Age
MTBF (Mean Time Before Failure)
Positioning
1 Positioning
Perceptual Map
Each market segment has different positioning preferences. Over time, these preferences will shift (see Section 2.1.5 in the Team Member Guide for more information).
Perceptual Map Form: Segment circles and ideal spots for Round 0 are shown below (see Section 3.1 in the Team Member Guide for more information about segment circles and ideal spots).
1 of 6 Foundation® Industry Conditions Report For F119909_041
Drift Rates
Each year, the segments drift the length of the hypotenuse of the triangle formed by customers’ desire for smaller and faster products.
Table 1 Segment Circle Drift Rates: Every year, customers
demand increased performance (Pfmn) and decreased size.
Note that the drift rates vary for each segment.
Segment Pfmn Size
Low Tech +0.5 -0.5
High Tech +0.7 -0.7
2 of 6
Foundation® Industry Conditions Report For F119909_041
Segment Centers
Table 2 Segment Centers at the End of Each Round:
Size is on the vertical axis and performance
(Pfmn) is on the horizontal axis.
Round
Low Tech Hi Tech
Pfmn Size Pfmn Size
0 4.8 15.2 6.0 14.0
1 5.3 14.7 6.7 13.3
2 5.8 14.2 7.4 12.6
3 6.3 13.7 8.1 11.9
4 6.8 13.2 8.8 11.2
5 7.3 12.7 9.5 10.5
6 7.8 12.2 10.2 9.8
7 8.3 11.7 10.9 9.1
8 8.8 11.2 11.6 8.4
The information in Table 2 reflects the segment centers at the end of the round. Therefore, the Round 0 positions can be seen as the Round 1 starting positions, Round 2 positions can be seen as
the Round 3 starting position, etc. Each month during the simulation year, the segment drifts 1/12th of the distance from the starting position to the ending position.
Ideal Spots
Table 3 Ideal Spot Offsets:
Customers prefer products
located this distance from
the center of the segment circle.
Segment Pfmn Size
Low Tech -0.0 +0.0
High Tech +1.4 -1.4
The information in Table 3 shows the Ideal Spot “offsets” or distances from the segment center. The ideal spot is that point where, all other things being equal, demand is highest. It is different from the segment center. Why are some ideal spots ahead of the segment centers? The segments are moving.
From a customer’s perspective, if they buy a product at the ideal spot, it will still be a cutting edge product when it wears out.
2 Segment Sizes and Growth Rates
3 of 6
Foundation® Industry Conditions Report For F119909_041
At the beginning of the simulation, Low Tech sells more units than High Tech. Page 7 of the Foundation FastTrack, the Market Segment Report, displays total industry sales.
The market segments grow at different rates. Table 4 lists the beginning segment growth rates for your industry. The growth rates might change from year to year. Check the Segment Analysis reports in the Foundation FastTrack each round for the upcoming year’s growth rates.
Table 4 Beginning Segment Growth Rates
Segment Growth Rate
Low Tech 10.0%
High Tech 20.0%
3 Buying Criteria By Segment
The buying criteria for each segment, in order of importance, are displayed below. See Chapter 3 of the Team Member Guide for explanations of Positioning, Age, Price and MTBF scores.
3.1 Low Tech Segment Buying Criteria (Round 0)
Low Tech customers seek proven products, are indifferent to technological sophistication and are price motivated.
Price, $15.00-$35.00 – importance: 41%
Age, 3 years – importance: 29%
MTBF, 14,000-20,000 – importance: 21%
Ideal Position, performance 4.8 size 15.2 – importance: 9%
Industry Conditions: Low Tech Buying Criteria
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Low Tech customers give higher position scores to sensors located in the center of the segment 4 of 6
Foundation® Industry Conditions Report For F119909_041
circle. The quality rating decreases the further away from the center you get.
Click image to enlarge
Low Tech customers give higher scores to sensors in the 3 year range.
3.2 High Tech Segment Buying Criteria (Round 0)
High Tech customers seek cutting-edge technology in size/performance and new designs.
Ideal Position, performance 7.4 size 12.6 – importance: 33%
Age, 0 years – importance: 29%
Price, $25.00-$45.00 – importance: 25%
MTBF, 17,000-23,000 – importance: 13%
Industry Conditions: High Tech Buying Criteria
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
High Tech customers demand cutting edge sensors with high performance and small size.
5 of 6
Foundation® Industry Conditions Report For F119909_041
Click image to enlarge
High Tech customers give higher scores to newer sensors.
4 Projected Interest Rates
Prime Interest Rate Round 1: 7.0%
6 of 6
Foundation® Industry Conditions Report For F119909_041