Testing with Arduino
Companies, individuals, & platforms
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Manufacturing as a service
Manufacturing as a Service Providing manufacturing as a service is what many companies are currently doing and basing their business on the Arduino board. An example of this is for instance Adafruit and Makie Makie*. If Arduino was to go into manufacturing as a service it would require drastic changes in their business model. An online store would have to be set up where customers could easily browse through and customize their products. Arduino would then have to have dedicated manufactures able to provide customized products, and Arduino would have to hire people for assembling, packaging and sending of the products. Being inspired by Anderson’s Long Tail business approach (2004) Arduino might benefit from their current market segments by selling a large number of niche items in small quantities, as opposed to larger competitors which provide a few selected ‘hit’ products in bulks.
* http://makie.me/
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It must be noted that after we had done our analysis of Arduino we were pleased to see that Arduino had actually put up an online store on their website. However, the online store is outsourced to an independent company which pays Arduino 10% of each sale that is made, irrelevant whether it is an Arduino based product, or accessories and complementary products from other brands. When asked, David mentions that they are considering buying the store in the next few years. David was particularly interested in the consultancy revenue stream and manufacturing as a service. He mentioned that they have actually been looking into it and were trying to establish a framework for it to work. He added that due to the strength of their platform and community this could have a considerable impact on their revenue. In regards to consulting he liked the idea of creating a package for educational purpose and providing this service to the government or to private institutions. This would be a huge task and something they might consider at a later point in time.
Going through the 6-Step Guide with an established company has shown us that the method can provide a good framework for mapping the situation and the environment in which the company resides. Using Arduino has provided an important first step in testing this method and a foundation for further testing. For Arduino, it gave them a clear guide and a stepby-step process towards new business model generation which they found helpful in dealing with complex issues and decisions.