Case Assignment – PV Technologies

1. What could be the reasons for the unfavorable evaluation of PV technologies by Greg
Morgan?

a. The bid prices of the rival companies' goods, particularly BJ Solar's, were much
cheaper than PVT's.
b. Solengery was dedicated to redoubling its efforts to cut costs, and the upfront price
difference was substantial.
c. An improved maintenance schedule and a proactive quality control programme
should make up for the lower performance traits of the less expensive inverters.
These measures were designed to identify potential performance issues before they
happened.
d. The expanded maintenance schedule and improved oversight would increase
operating expenses, but the lower net ownership costs spoke in favour of choosing
the least expensive product.

Evaluate alternative course of actions available to PVT to gain favorable evaluation by

Solenergy for the Barstow Project?

PVT is already a market leader, and its goods outperform those of their rivals by a wide
margin. They should definitely not choose Alternatives 1 or 2, as doing so would
seriously damage their reputation in the marketplace. But, they should set up a task
force right once to investigate the present manufacturing costs and look for every
opportunity to reduce expenses in order to obtain a competitive edge. I advise PVT to
choose Options 3 and 4 and to carry them out concurrently. They should approach
Morgan without holding back as the main suppliers to Solenergy, explain the evaluation
process, and take Morgan's comments into consideration. Also, they ought to speed up
Option 3 and launch the 1.25MW advanced technology/cheap inverter earlier than
expected. To support the 1.25MW inverter's reduced test cycle and provide adequate
assistance for other top clients, they should make an investment in more personnel.

2. What short term and long term policies and processes should PV Technologies develop
and implement to effectively improve its marketing programs?

The majority of PV Technologies executives opined that a press release must be

released, but they were unsure of the impact on the short-term sale of central inverters
or the company's reputation. On the other side, some people believed that PV
Technologies' response to the RFP would probably be rejected if management did not
challenge and refute the conclusions in the Morgan's review before the vendor selection
process was over. A small number of the executives thought PV Technologies should
reevaluate its existing practice of comparing equipment performance and specifications
to those of competitors. Also, they recommended PV Technologies to constantly and
more frequently reevaluate the needs of its important clients and business segments in
order to lessen the likelihood that a similar circumstance would arise in the future.
Supporters of this approach thought that this effort should be seen as a long-term
investment in PV Technology and its potential future market position. Yet, company
engineers were already overworked, so a programme like this might include outsourcing
or more employment. If resources were moved to support the new product, PV
Technologies would incur the risk of a decline in service quality for its present customers
without an increase in service personnel.