Inventing a Wheelchair company (electronic one)
Introduction
The venture into production of an electric wheelchair is a unique business with tremendous opportunities. The name of the company will be "Everyone Walks" and will be owned by Don White hence will be a sole business. The company seeks to design devices that will make living easier and affordable for all as it aims adequately to meet the needs of the physically challenged in society. The business will target larger areas such as airports, parks and hotels where they can be hired through an online platform referred to as the e-wheelchair (Škraba et al., 2015). The business will start up in the US but will later on spread to other countries based on the market demand for the services and products.
Everyone Walks seeks to produce affordable and durable electronic wheelchairs for all and make its name be recognized in the market. The company objective is to enhance consumer satisfaction and experience repeat business among loyal customers. The uniqueness of the company is that it seeks to understand the diverse needs of their customers and satisfy them in the most efficient way possible. However, for sustainability of the business, the e-wheelchair will be designed in a manner that they will be affordable to consumers and profitable to the business.
SWOT Analysis
The analysis plays a vital role in the business as it provides a comprehensive insight into the firm stating its corporate strategy, the nature of the business and its financial status. Moreover, the analysis can provide stakeholders with adequate information on the current management and operation status. Therefore, the tool will offer the business with a list of the existing competitors in the market, key products, and relevant information to the business. Different scholars have expressed their concerns that SWOT is a vital tool that is often used by business for purposes of understanding and making informed decisions (Jang et al., 2016).
Strengths
Everyone Walks company has diverse strengths including reduced barriers to market entry and ability to experience enhanced profitability and revenue. Moreover, the company’s products have several unique features that make them experience brand recognition in the market. The e-wheelchair designed by Everyone Walks has an adaptable arm that is made of a steel rod attached to the back of the wheelchair. Besides, the wheelchair is powered, and the arm is attached on the back side of the left armrest which is then hooked on the right arm rest. By releasing the hook, the arm swings the backpack rack to the left side to enable the customers to retrieve their belongings, an invention that is yet to be embraced by most companies.
The invention seeks to make individuals using wheelchairs to be independent and comfortable. Moreover, the business has an efficient distribution and sales network that will allow it to experience significant growth prospects (Jang et al., 2016). The mere fact advantages everyone Walks that competition is limited, and their products meet a very high standard. Competitors in the market are yet to invent a backpack rack on the wheelchair that can swing to the side to allow customers to retrieve their belongings. The adaptable arm makes the wheelchair convenient to use and more independent.
Weaknesses
The business may experience competition from new entrants and by the mere fact that it is starting a company; it will require a lot of funding which is a challenge. The company will need a lot of cash to invest in research and development to adequately understand the market.
Opportunities
The US market has a lot of possibilities based on the fact that most people are experiencing huge income level hence a chance for the business to experience increased sales and more revenue. Moreover, there are many emerging markets which offer the business opportunity to grow. Besides, the US economy is stable hence it is sustainable for business growth, which is vital for a starting business like Everyone Walks. Besides, the company seeks to go global in future, an aspect that will impact positively on the business growth (Global Electric Wheelchair, 2016).
Threats
The business is subject to a lot of business risks, and change in tax rates will significantly influence its revenue. The industry is, however, experiencing an escalation in the cost of raw materials, an aspect that will make the cost of e-wheelchairs rise. The increase in labor cost is also a threat that will negatively influence the profitability rate of the business.
Economic environment
The electric wheelchairs have gained popularity in the recent past and are renowned for their utilization without any human assistance for mobility purposes. Innovation has helped companies to come with e-wheelchairs which are more friendly and convenient to be used by handicapped individuals. Besides, they are relevant to people who cannot use the manual wheelchairs or engage in long distance movement (Škraba et al., 2015).
There are many aspects which are contributing to the introduction of electric wheelchair which includes the increasing population of the elderly in society. Besides, most the handicapped individuals are turning towards the use of automated wheelchairs and the fact that most people in the developed countries experience huge disposable income hence can afford e-wheelchairs. Another aspect that has enhanced the need for an electric wheelchair includes the demand for the products in the sports industry to cater for the needs of the disabled persons (Gebrosky et al., 2013). However, the industry is not without challenges such as increased costs of the electric wheelchairs. Moreover, most people lack information on the availability of the products and adequate infrastructure to use the same.
Globally, the e-wheelchair market is further segmented into different classes based on some factors. However, it is worth acknowledging that despite the approach used in the segmentation, the industry is yet to be fully exploited and has huge potential if well exploited. Some of the key players in the sector include OttoBock Healthcare GmbH, Sunrise Medical Limited, Permobil AB, Pride Mobility Products Corp., among others. Moreover, the different players in the industry seek to meet their consumer needs in the most efficient ways possible. Besides, the companies offer a broad range of varieties and sizes so as adequately to meet the varying demands of their customers in the market.
Based on statistics from the US economy, there are over 9 million individuals who rely on personal assistance every day and 1.6 million out of the figure are bound to use wheelchairs permanently (Stenberg et al., 2016). Apparently, only 48% of the above individuals can purchase wheelchairs on their own without assistance with the remaining portion being assisted by donors or through government funding.
One of the features that make e-wheelchair unique in the market is the adaptable arm that is attached to the backside of the powered wheelchair. However, with more growth, the company seeks to introduce more features in future such as turntable that will also be attached to the adaptable arm and can be flipped over to be used as a desk. The company's products seek to make their users comfortable and independent, an aspect that will improve their self-confidence. As mentioned earlier, the products will be available in the main hotels, parks and airports in the US. Customers can request for the services online, an aspect that makes it easy and more convenient to most individuals.
Everyone Walks e-wheelchairs are specifically designed for persons in need of wheelchair use. The products benefit people who are handicapped either from illness, birth defect, injury or even from accidents. Based on the market analysis, it is evident that only 1.6 million individuals in the US are permanently bound to the use of Wheelchairs. However, with further growth of the company, it intends to produce products and services that will meet the needs of temporarily disabled individuals. The company has no major competitors in the industry as most of the company produce wheelchairs backpacks that cannot be directly accessed by the users. Therefore, the invention to swing the backpack rack to the side gives the company's products an added advantage in the market.
The Roles of business in society
Business has a major role to play in society and all seek towards creating wealth for their shareholders, employees, consumers and the community as a whole. Business brings a large group of people together to utilize the available capital and resources in the production of different kind of merchandise which is an efficient way of impacting positively to society (Howaidy, 2015). The objective of the various types of business has therefore made most organization to set in place effective values and principles for purposes of meeting its set goals.
According to Krstović et al., (2016), the role of business in society is to enhance development, while adequately meeting efficient production and supply of merchandise to meet consumer needs. However, the process has to be accomplished in a manner that it can meet the stakeholder objective which is profit making. Therefore, for the different organizations to achieve their set goals, they ought to develop effective relations amid the consumers, suppliers, and other concerned stakeholders.
Businesses experience an improvement of their resources through the employment of innovative ways of accomplishing tasks. It is the mandate of the company to ensure that it adequately meets the demands of the market by responding to customer needs. Companies realize profits when they encourage consumers to pay more than the cost incurred in production. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the concerned stakeholders to create value on their products as sustainability is achieved through enhanced profitability.
In summary, business benefits the society by supplying them with necessary goods and services which consumers cannot produce on their own. Moreover, they contribute towards job creation to the people who can sum up as suppliers, distributors or company workers. The money generated from the respective jobs is used by the people to support their families and in meeting their concerned obligations. Another role of business to society is the fact that they help in enhancing innovation hence help introduce new products and services into the market (Sastry, 2011). Moreover, in the recent past, companies have been forced to embrace good practices as efficient strategies of meeting their desired goals.
References
Gebrosky, B., Pearlman, J., Cooper, R. A., Cooper, R., & Kelleher, A. (2013). Evaluation of lightweight wheelchairs using ANSI/RESNA testing standards. Journal of rehabilitation research and development, 50(10), 1373-1390.
Global Electric Wheelchair, (2016). Global Electric Wheelchair Market to Surpass US$4.48 bn by 2020, Need for Tech-enabled Mobility Drives Growth: Transparency Market Research. PR Newswire.
Howaidy, G. (2015). The role of business in society : creating space to live the question within the paradox of change.
Jang, G., Kim, J., Lee, S., & Choi, Y. (2016). EMG-Based continuous control scheme with simple Classifier for electric-powered wheelchair. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 63(6), 3695–3705.
Krstović, J., Bakić, T. V., & Kostić, S. (2012). The role of business in the society. Management - Journal for theory and practice of management, 17(62), 75–82.
Sastry, T. (2011). Exploring the role of business in society. IIMB Management Review, 23(4), 195–196.
Škraba, A., Stojanović, R., Zupan, A., Koložvari, A., & Kofjač, D. (2015). Speech-controlled cloud-based wheelchair platform for disabled persons. Microprocessors and Microsystems, 39(8), 819-828.
