Financing new ventures Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financing new ventures - Assignment Example This product solution allowed large scale manufacturers of state-of-the-art very large scale integrated circuit (VLSI) manufacturers to monitor, test, and validate the mechanical and structural integrity of their production as part of essential manufacturing quality control procedures. Maintaining a leadership position in the ATE industry was management's main strategic vision. As a company, STC's primary mission and goal of management was to grow and be known as the global leader in designing innovative new testing technologies and providing integrated quality management systems for electronic equipment and components manufacturers (Missionstatements, 2013). As a direct consequence of their objectives the company required to invest heavily in research and development in order to stay ahead of the competition (Nash-Hoff, 2011). As an internal strategy and in order to remain financially feasible and minimize the impact of research and development costs in the company's bottom line, ST C aimed to spread their large R&D expenses across a large amount of sales by pursuing participation in most major segments of the industry and market their products and services globally throughout Europe, North America and Asia. As an industry during the period of 1975-1984 the ATE's and computer related technologies were going to a period of constant flux and dramatic shifts in available technologies. The advent of the new technological breakthroughs exponentially expanded the consumer and industrial electronics market, from personal computers to household electronic equipment such as cordless telephones and microprocessor based home appliances to automated teller machines, mainframe computers, and industrial automation equipment (Wordinfo). At the time just like in today's computer market new technological breakthroughs such as the introduction of a new computer chip can change the course of the whole industry and make previous silicone chip products practicably obsolete almost o vernight. The traditional product development life cycle of design, building a prototype, redesigning and making a new prototype had become obsolete due to time constraints and the fact that computer chips had become too complex and prohibitively expensive to follow the old industrial design model (Ulrich, Eppinger). The rapid and evolving nature of the industry meant that in order to stay competitive and deliver innovative products that the consumer wanted the firm relied heavily on speed to bring products from initial design to market readiness. The process involved having reliable testing processes and costs considerations that were always paramount in the viability of any new product introduction. High quality, reliable, and cost effective ATE solutions became an essential part of the industry in order for manufacturers to survive and remain competitive. Additionally, with the growth and advent of ever more complex semiconductor components manufacturers found it too complex and cost prohibitive to design and build their own testing equipment in-house. During the period of 1978 to 1984, the industrial ATE market grew at an average of 28% per year and sales increased from $359 million in 1978 to $1.6 billion by 1984. 2) During the period of 1980-1984 STC possessed the broadest testing product lines in the market and reaped the financial benefits in