Introduction
The last decade has experienced enormous innovations that have led to a swift revolution of the mobile and wearable devices industry. As a result, the mobile device market has significantly expanded.
The development of telecommunication technology has compelled many firms such as Lenovo to manufacture high-tech mobile and wearable devices such as Bluetooth headsets, blood pressure monitors, and smart watches among others.
The mobile industry consists of manufacturers and distributors of smart phones, mobile accessories, and tablets among other electronics. Nonetheless, the industry has been faced with a variety of issues that affect its operations.
This report provides an analysis of the key trends and industry issues that affect the mobile and wearable devices industry.
Key Trends and Industry Issues
Consumer Services
The trend of consumer services has significantly shaped the mobile and wearable devices industry. According to Taylor, the key players in the industry have significantly increased consumer services over the past decade (par. 4). Dramatic development of mobile device technologies has also affected the roles of operators and vendors.
In the wake of the expanding mobile and wearable devices industry, some companies such as the Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. have failed to meet the needs of consumers. As a result, Google has sold a unit of the US based mobile company to Lenovo, a Chinese computer company, for approximately 3 billion dollars (Kelion par.1).
This acquisition is one of Lenovo’s strategic plans to become a global icon in the consumer market through delivery of smartphones and Think-Pads. According to Kelion, this purchase will make Lenovo the third largest smart device manufacturer in the international arena (par. 6).
Scott advances that operators in the mobile industry need to re-evaluate the effects of producer environment on consumer services (par. 2). In addition, manufacturers such as Lenovo have to capitalize on espousal of smartphones to maximize profitability.
Moreover, the consumer market has experienced dramatic price structures. The current pricing structures have been confined to certain customer segments. Therefore, operators in the mobile industry should re-examine the existing pricing models to determine their validity in a vibrant technology environment.
The consumer market requires pricing strategies that cover wide-ranging customer segments. For instance, Lenovo’s acquisition will lead to establishment of new markets in areas such as North America, Latin America, and Western Europe (Kelion par. 8).
As a result, Lenovo’s pricing strategies should favour diversification of mobile devices to offer consumers a vast range of choices (Scott par. 3).
Lastly, the emergence of new devices has enormously affected consumer services. Consequently, there is a need for Lenovo to assess both the purchasing power and usage patterns to improve the experiences of consumers.
Digitisation of the Employee
Mobile and wearable devices manufacturers such as Lenovo should target digitisation of employees to increase motivation and maximize profits. This plan will also increase profitability for the producer companies through the sale of high-end technology devices.
For instance, improved healthcare technology will enhance the health of employees through reinforcement of health insurance plans. The health of an employee is important for alleviation of retrogressive work behaviours such as absenteeism.
This situation enhances production at employee level; hence, it elevates the production level of a company. Although employee healthcare plans have existed for some years, they have been less efficient.
However, the availability of high-tech mobile gadgets that have powerful wireless capabilities has led to implementation of integrated technologies that enable management of health.
According to Leung, various software technologies have been used in sophisticated gadgets such as the Apple’s iPhone to monitor health conditions such as hypertension and blood oxygenation (par. 7).
Similarly, Lenovo should aim at development of smart gadgets that have the capability to monitor numerous events whilst maintaining a high degree of efficiency and accuracy to improve productivity at both employee and organizational levels.
Benefits to Production Department
Introduction of wearable technology in the retail business has continued to intensify productivity. Google’s Motorola unit has been a chief manufacturer of various wireless connectivity enabled devices that ease communication between employees, employers, and customers.
Consequently, Lenovo’s acquisition of the Motorola unit is expected to turn the company into a chief manufacturer and distributor of smart wireless mobile and wearable devices. This situation will improve the experiences of both vendors and consumers in the retail industry (Kelion par. 5).
Today’s smartphones have exceptional capabilities to support sophisticated internet functions that have enhanced access to information and communication. According to Leung, continued use of wearable technology in the retail industry is expected to increase the output efficiency by approximately 8.5-percent in the next 2 to 3 years (par. 1).
Various studies have indicated that wearable technology can also improve the level of employee contentment by over 3.6-percent.
On a different perspective, wearable technology has enhanced productivity by it scrupulous payment capabilities. This situation has elevated the transactional levels between producers, retailers, and consumers (Leung par. 4).
PEST Analysis
Political, Economic, Social, and Technological (PEST) factors determine a firm’s volume of production and distribution capacity based on the prevailing market conditions, interest rates, and consumer behaviour.
Song reveals that the PEST factors have a greatly influenced manufacturing and distribution of various products in the mobile and wearable industry (9). Politically, governments worldwide require mobile and wearable devices to meet some desired standards that are set to control product quality, manufacturing, and distribution.
Global economic landscapes have intensely affected the operations of the mobile industry. Therefore, Lenovo’s prospective business in areas such as North America, Latin America, and Western Europe will raise a need for normalization of prices based on the prevailing market conditions and interest rates.
In addition, the company should also maintain a constant focus on the social aspects of target consumers. Fashion has become a key driver for consumer preferences. Consumers have developed a high affinity for new mobile phone models.
Therefore, companies such as Lenovo should design and improve the models of their mobile and wearable devices to suit the demands of consumers (Song 11). Lastly, the ever-changing technological landscape has significantly shaped the mobile and wearable devices industry.
Devices that have a wider range of features and accessories are more attractive to consumers; hence, they dominate the market due to their versatility.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The report has provided an analysis of the key issues that affect the mobile and wearable devices industry based on a recent acquisition by Lenovo. The availability of mobile and wearable devices in both production and distribution channels will lead to increased output efficiency.
Constant innovation has rendered the future of technology indeterminate. Therefore, Lenovo has an impending potential to exploit mobile and wearable device capabilities.
Works Cited
Kelion, Leo. Google sells Motorola Mobility unit to Lenovo for $3bn, 2014. Web.
Leung, Stuart. How Wearable Technology Can (And Will) Change Your Business, 2014. Web.
Scott, Martin. Consumer services, 2014. Web.
Song, Hee-Carlie. Analysis of the global Smartphone market and the strategies of its major players, 2010. Web.
Taylor, Marcus. 19 Implications of Google Glass & Wearable Tech on Marketing, 2014. Web.