外文翻译--市场分化.doc

中英文翻译1.MarketFragmentation(1)Marketsofallkindsarefragmentingatwhatseemslikeanacceleratingpace.Magazines,beer,softdrinks,andsnackfoods；radiostationsandcableTVchannels；audioandVideoequipment；cameras,faxmachinesandcopiers,printers,andscanners；appliances,clothing,andfinancial,shopping,andbusinessservicesallcomeinabewilderingarray.Thesanebanking,credit,andinvestmentservicesmaybepriceddifferentlydependingonage,credit,history,numberofaccounts,levelofaccountactivity,orsizeofbalance.(2)Companiesare“sneakerizing”theirproducts,transformingthemfromrelativelylow-pricedcommoditiestorelativelyhigh-pricedspecialtyitems.Sneakersusedtobegeneral-purpose,inexpensivemass-marketcommodities.Butsneakersare,astheysay,historyandthuscandidatesforresurrectionashigher-priced,nostalgiaproductsinanichemarket!Sneakershavebeenreplacedby“sportshoes”special-purpose,expensive,occupyingnichemarketsandyetproducedinlargevolume.Supportedbyaggressiveandboleadvertisingappealingtotheemotions,whathadbeenaninexpensive,practical,low-margincommodityhasbeentransformedintoaspecialtyproduct,associatedwith“image”andproducedinlargevolumefornumerousnichemarkets,thesellingpricedeterminedbytheextenttowhichtheindividualcustomerfeelsenrichedbythepurchase.Becausemanufacturingandinformationtechnologiesaremakingitpossibletodiversifybothproductsandservicesatlittleadditionalcostovermassproduction,theprofitabilityofcustomer-enrichmentpricingstrategiescanbeveryhighforawhile.Atthesametime,however,andforthesamereasons,imitationofhighlysuccessfulproductsandservicesisinevitable,becausethetechnologiesfordesigning,producing,anddeliveringgoodsandservicesarealmostuniversallyavailable,Andwiththeimitationcomesgreatdownwardpressureonpricesandprofitspreciselybecauseofthewidegapbetweenproductioncostsandsellingprice.WhenMotorolasMicroTaccellulartelephonewasintroducedin1989,itcarriedaretailpricedof$2500.Inmid-1994itwasreadilyavailableforlittlemorethan$100,andcellulartelephonecompaniesfrequentlyoffereditfreetomewsubscribers,reflectingashiftvaluefromphysicalproductstoservices.Thelessonisclear.Intheemergingagilecompetitiveenvironment,sustainedsuccessgoestocompaniesthatarecapableofcontinuallyaddingnewvaluetoexistingproductsandservices,aswellascreatingasteadystreamofmewones.(3)Companiesaresegmentingmarketsaccordingtofunction,exploitingeconomiesofscopemadepossibleprimarilybythegeneralizabilityofmicroelectronicstechnologies.Inasense,theextraordinaryrangeofcomputerchip-basedconsumer,commercial,andindustrialproductsisanexpressionofthepackagabilityofthistechnology.Increasingly,workstations,desktopcomputers,portables,laptops,andnotebookandsubnotebookeven“palm”computersutilizenotonlythesameunderlyingtechnologybuttheverysameprocessingchips,forexample,theIntel386,486andPentiumCPUs,andthepowerPCchipscreatedyointlybyIBM,Motorola,andApple.Pagersandbeepershaveevolvedintoabroadrangeoflightweight,wirelesspersonalcommunicationdeviceswithconstantlyexpandingcomputingandinformationexchangeanddisplaycapabilities,rangingfromsendingandreceivingfaxestouploadinganddownloadingdataremotelytoandfromon-linedataservicesthatliterallyspantheglobe.2.ProductiontoOrderinArbitraryLotSizesItisalreadypossibleforeachofthemanyproductsmadeonahigh-volumeproductionlinetobemadedifferentlyfromeachoftheotherswithlittleornoincreaseinproductioncosts.Thiscapability,whichresultedfromthecollapseoftraditionalinformationcosts,hasrevolutionarymarketingconsequences.Individualizedproductionincreasescompetitioninexistingmarkets,opensnewmarketsandcreatescompetitiveasclosetomass-productionpricesasacompanychoosestopricethem.Inaddition,moreandmorecompaniesarediscoveringthattheycanproducecustomer-configuredproductstoorderinsteadoftoforecast.Doingsogeneratesbenefitsfarbeyondsavingsfromtheeliminationofinventories.Theknowledge,aseveryproductismade,thatithasalreadybeensoleto,andthusisbeingmadefor,aparticularcustomercanhaveadramaticimpactoncompanyoperations.Itcertainlytransformsthenatureofsales,frompushinginventorytopullingproduction.Finally,productionequipmentinnovationscontinuetoprovidegreaterandgreaterfunctionalityatsmallerscalesandatsignificantlylowercosts.Forlargeandmedium-sizebusinesses,thisdevelopmentmakesiteasierandmorecost-effectivetotargetnichemarkets,producinggoodsandservicesefficientlyforsmallerclustersofcustomers.Atthesametime,itisalsocausinga“democratization”ofproductionopportunitiesbymakingentryintonichemarketsforlow-volume,individualizedproductsaccessibletobusinessesofallsizes.Justafewillustrationsofthisdemocratizationaredesktoppublishinghardwareandsoftware；digitalvideo,audio,andaudio-videostudio-qualityproduction；equipment；printcopying,graphics,anddigitalimagereproductionandmanipulationservices,informationsearchingandpackagingservices,electronicmusicplayingandrecordingwithincreasinglysophisticatedsynthesizer,ovensthatmakeminibakeryandminirestaurantoperationspracticalasbothstand-alonebusinessesandwithinlargerenterprise,forexample,departmentstoresandsupermarkets.Traditionally,economicorderquantity(EOQ)calculationsdeterminedthesmallestlotsizethatcouldbeprofitablyproduced.Thesecalculationsinvolveamixoftechnology-dependentvariablesandaccountingandfinancialmetricsinwhichassignmentoflabor,materials,andsetupcostsplaysamajorrole.Inacompetitiveenvironmentcharacterizedbypricingbasedoncustomerenrichment,anddrivenbyademandforcustomizableproductsthatincreasingnumbersofcompaniesarealreadycapableofsatisfying,theconceptofEOQneedstobereexamined.Withthespreadofindividualizableproductionequipment,theEOQshouldbewhateverthecustomerwantstheimportantfigurebecomestheratioofproductionleadtimetocustomertolerancetime.Iftheratioislessthan1,acom