Maybe that is a bit strong, but could Toyota’s recall of 2.3 million vehicles be an indicator of bigger internal problem. If you think this is the first sign of trouble, check out this comment in the WSJ:

[...] Toyota recalled 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. affected by the accelerator assembly problem. That was on top of an earlier recall of 4.2 million vehicles to fix the floor mat issue. About 1.7 million vehicles are subject to both recalls.

Signs of significant quality problems surfaced as early as late 2004 and through 2005.  The Y axis is missing, but for reference, in 2005 Toyota recalled some 550,000 Camry’s due to door lock issues.

What happened? I tend to agree with those that suggest that they took their eye off the ball. Perhaps they were too focused on rapid growth and overtaking GM. Maybe they just wanted to dominate the US market and lost site of the quality that was the base for their success.

(By the way, there is another interesting article in the WSJ that discusses the risk a company assumes when they use Lean Manufacturing techniques. I may blog about this later … interesting discussion)

Another note: Prior to this debacle, I believe the largest recall in history was in 1978 when Ford issued a recall for some 1.5 million Pintos. For those of you that are too young to remember, the Pinto had a major design flaw.  How bad? Well, a rear-end collision would often result in an explosion and/or a fire. Interestingly enough, Ford rushed the Pinto design to market to compete with imports from Japan.

What next? Well Toyota needs to deal with this PR issue. They started when they stopped selling eight model. This is clearly a difficult decision, but owning the problem is one of the 1st steps in dealing with the PR issues. According to the WSJ, an unnamed Toyota executive said:

“after weighing possible consequences of not suspending sales and production of those models and coming up with the ultimate remedy for the problem quickly,” said a senior Toyota executive who did not want to
be identified.”We were fully aware that short of this action we could be accused of selling lethal products [...]“

The CEO, Mr. Toyoda, issued the following apology:

I feel very sorry that we have caused our customers unease. We are now working to grasp the facts so that we can deliver an explanation as quickly as possible that will remove our customers’ unease

We will have to watch to see how this turns out. Since he took over the company, the CEO has ‘taken an extremely low media profile’. He may continue his ‘low-profile’ ways but I believe someone in the company, a ranking officer, needs to step up and become the face of the company during this PR remake.

What do you think?

Rick

Tomorrow is the ‘big day’, at least for gadget lovers, and especially for Apple fans. So many, me included, will be monitoring twitter or watching via the web (unfortunately I have a meeting and will have to disconnect early). Yes, rumors are that this will be some sort of tablet or slate.  

Regardless of what is introduced, look at the strategy Apple employed. For a small investment, they have totally captivated the market for four weeks and dominated tech news. I am sure this was not an accident – it has been a display of brilliant marketing. The timing was impeccable. Recall that just prior to CES, word ‘hits’ the street of an Apple event in late January. You know the rest of the story, at least you to this point. 

For me, tomorrow is as much about what is said and how they deliver the product. It will be interesting!

(Fox News report)

Rick

I listened to a live web broadcast of Fox Strategy Room originating from from CES2010 today. At one point, the panelist were discussing the new Sony Dash.  This is an interesting device. I am not going to list all of the specifications here. You can read more here and here.  Generally speaking, the DASH is a ‘personal internet viewer’.  They suggest that it can serve as an alarm clock, you can listen to streaming audio, and even watch videos. It sports a 7″ touch screen.  A cool little device that cost about $200. 

During the discussion, one of the panelist made a disturbing comment when he said, “What do you do with it”.  At that point, all of the panelist seem to agree, “what exactly do you do with this device”. It is certainly an expensive alarm clock if that is the only reason for purchasing one.  Frankly, I can’t see myself using it for browsing the web at home, and certainly not in the bedroom. What about other locations? Well, apparently the device requires ‘wall power’, so it’s not really mobile. Perhaps there is a use for streaming video in the kitchen. Call me slow; I don’t get it.

Far to often companies large and small overlook the customers. Yes, we all like to sell to customers, but do we listen to them? Sometimes we just do not take the time (i.e., make the investment) to ask the right questions or observe customer in action. Perhaps it is hubris; maybe laziness. Let’s call it occasional myopia. I am not suggesting this is what happened with the Dash. Heck, I hope it is successful.

What I am suggesting is that developers, marketers and those involved in product (and service) development invest in understanding the customer. Understand how they ‘do it’ today and where the value is for the customer. I do not suggest adding technology just because you can.

What do you think?

Rick

Photo Credit: Sony
 

The International Consumer Electronics Show is this week in Las Vegas. There will be many new product announcements, flashy demos, and a lot of buzz.  The week starts with the announcement of the new Google Phone, Nexus and is sure to be followed by many cool product and service announcements.

Who is NOT at CES again this year? Apple and Steve Jobs. Apple does an amazing job of controlling leaks so it is no accident that details regarding the new tablet started appearing in the news a few days ago. The latest reports in the Wall Street Journal speculate on the price and availability of the device. So, Apple does not need a presence at CES to generate buzz. 

Apple does an amazing job of managing their brand, the investment community, and the media. There is a long list of benefits that flow to Apple from this investment, including the ability to command higher margins than many in the category.  A recent Forbes article ask, “How to you compete with that?”.  The entire tech industry will be doing that this week. It will be interesting! Apple is a brand machine! 

Note: If you are not able to attend CES, but would like to keep up with major announcements, you may want to follow Cali Lewis of GeekBrief.tv on ustream. She will be broadcasting CES news and announcements.  You can also follow the CES Twitter Feed, or on Facebook.  Clayton Morris of Fox and Friends will also be providing live updates. There are a number of other resources .. to many to list.

Have a great geek-week!

Rick

Photo credit: Wahaha_wu