Outsourced Demo/Eval Program Management

©2009 Extron Logstics. All Rights reserved

The case for

Outsourced Demo/Eval

Program ManagementAn Extron Whitepaper

No part of this publication may be reproduced without priorwritten permission from Extron Logistics

I Executive Summary

1. Introduction

2. Widespread Use of Demo/Eval Programs

2.1 Examples of Demo/Eval Programs

2.2 Major Industries that use Demo/Eval Programs

3.1 Asset Loss

4.1 Finding a Packaged Demo/Eval Program Management Solution

4.2 Benefits of a Packaged Solution

5. Conclusion

II About Extron

3. Challenges with Demo/Eval Programs

4. Finding a Solution

Table of Contents

The Case for Outsourced Demo/Eval Program Management 2

The Case for Outsourced Demo/Eval Program Management 3

Executive Summary

As new products are developed and introduced in the market, it becomes important for manufacturers to know

the saleability of these products to further explore the marketing possibilities in the niche user segment.

This white paper attempts to look at the various aspects of Demo/Eval programs that are commonly used by

manufacturers to test the usability of their product and also understand some of the basic user requirements

that should be offered to enhance saleability.

The white paper covers certain specific examples of these programs, the challenges posed by these programs

and how a packaged Demo/Eval program offered by an external provider can enhance its effectiveness.

Read on to know how experienced players in the supply chain space can offer their expertise in increasing

your product's visibility and reach.

The Case for Outsourced Demo/Eval Program Management

Evaluation Programs (also known as Demo or simply, “Try

Before You Buy” Programs) are one such way since statistics

show that people would rather opt to try something at no cost

rather than buy products as soon as they are released. These

Demo units are offered for trial for a limited period and

sometimes with limited functionality. This way companies can

ensure that more potential customers can experience their

products. Similarly, demonstrating products at various consumer

forums can also help companies to market their products in the

best possible light. One very visible success story, for example,

was the launch of the Wii Fit from Nintendo, which was

promoted at retail outlets, shopping malls, County fairs and

umpteen other sites. This revolutionary product line's

significant consumer adoption was enhanced by many 'try

before you buy' programs. Another example, in the technology

sector, has been Barracuda Networks' “free eval unit” program.

By all indications, this program has been wildly successful and

helped supercharge Barracuda's sales effort.

Similar programs are being used in video conferencing, storage,

graphics, email archiving and many other sectors. This reflects

the true breadth of the convergence of communications,

computing and multimedia.

1. Introduction

Today's product choices reflect increasing

sophistication and integration of varied technologies -

networking, audio/video integration, computing, and

more. The long-stated “convergence” of computers

and communication is actually happening all around us,

only it is going further than many expected. To deal

with this, and to familiarize buyers, both individuals

and corporate, with these new products, Sales and

Marketing organizations today are devising new and

innovative ways to put spotlight on their products and

its benefits. This is especially true of revolutionary

products where users might not understand the true

value of the product until they actually experience it.

4

1. Introduction

Demo/Eval programs are not new concepts to the consumer. Just

like a trial ride on a bike or a test drive on a new car, these

programs target the end-user directly, encouraging her to gain

familiarity with the product even if she is not considering buying

the product. This experience-based sale enhances the 'trust

factor' in the potential customers mind. These programs are used

by world's most successful OEMs (Original Equipment

Manufacturers) to promote and showcase their products.

Figure 1 below shows typical workflow of a well architected

Demo/Eval program. Figure 2 below shows approximate percentage of industries

actively using these programs.

5

2. Widespread use of Demo/Eval Programs


Marketers of Revolutionary Products

ignore the Demo/Eval Channel at

their peril.

Figure 1

Demo/Eval Program Management

What started off as a simple 'try before you buy' program by

Diba, a set-top software manufacturer for the set-top Internet

access boxes, has now become a stepping stone for building

deals with the top three Internet Service Providers in the US.

Similarly the IBM PSSC Center had allowed scientists, to test

and benchmark their high-performing applications over mixed

hardware and software environments, before they purchase these

expensive solutions. Here, the strategy adopted was to offer the

products to potential customers for evaluation before they

purchase it.

Even Cisco, one of the largest IT hardware producers offered a

'trial offer buy' for some of their products through TechData, a

couple of years ago. Cisco still offers such programs. Another

classes evaluation program is the one offered by Intel

Corporation. Intel offers registered customers with debug and

validation tools for certain platforms, on a 30 day trial. In both

these cases, the companies offered to choose only their existing

customers or partners for their trial run.

2.1 Examples of Demo/Eval Programs

6The Case for Outsourced Demo/Eval Program Management

Others

10%

LaboratoryEquipment

30%

Percentage Users

AssistiveTechnology

20%

IT ProductCompanies

40%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Perc

enta

ge

Use

rs

Figure 2

Assistive technology products for people with certain

hearing/vision or learning needs are also offered as Demo kits.

Even educational kits and programs are sent as samples to test

drive classroom products in schools and colleges. Products like

calculators, equipments like overhead projectors, lab equipment

etc., are offered this way to different user segments.

2.2 Other Major Industries that use Demo/ Eval Programs

There are, however, many OEMs that have not adopted

Demo/Eval programs. In many cases this is largely because there

are certain inherent pitfalls in Demo/Eval programs that need to

be addressed with industry specific parameters . Sectors like

medical, test and measurement, computing, audio-visual assets,

data management, etc. are still lagging behind in the Demo/Eval

programs because they lack certain logistics infrastructure

capabilities and product tracking capabilities.

Demo/Eval programs can offer large selling advantage to

manufacturer's by providing them a first mover advantage over

less visionary marketers. However, in order to effectively utilize

Demo/Eval programs, there are several prerequisites. Most

important among these is the effective management of the

program. Thus, the need for a reliable operation to manage this

program is paramount.

3. Challenges with Demo/Eval Programs


The evaluation program created by Motorola was a unique case,

where, mobile application developers were allowed to test

application compatibility and performance on Motorola handsets.

This has helped Motorola identify high speed, compatible and

user friendly applications that can be used with their models.

Or, some of them simply offered to get a feedback on their new

product line - like how EVGA did. They choose a selected few

from their registered members to try out their new systems for a

two week period.

Poorly executed Demo/Eval programs

can showcase your product in a

negative shade while a well executed

Demo/Eval program can showcase

your products in a positive light.

Demo/Eval programs however have certain in-built deficiencies

that need to be tackled to fully utilize them as an effective

market penetrating strategy.

8

3.1 Asset Loss


12%

5%

29%

7%

47%

Software CustomizationsRequired

Hardware Alterations Required

Both Required

None

No response

Figure 2

Figure 3 below shows how users responded to the demo of an

SCM software (taken from a study conducted on the automotive

industry).A large number of people have collectively stated that

major software and hardware customizations are required for the

SCM software.

Demo/Eval program management is

not part of the core skill set of most

operations of the organizations.

a) Asset Loss & Product Availability Issues

Asset loss is touted as the biggest drawback for OEMs. This is a

common problem even when the software or hardware is shipped

to the chosen group of registered users. This is because most

OEMs transfer the return shipment responsibility to the test user.

Additionally, some customers may forget or otherwise neglect to

return Demo units because it is a hassle.

Pitfalls of Demo/Eval program

- Asset Loss

- Poor Asset Utilization

- Sales Person's mobility/data loss

- No Data Management Platform

- Lack of operational infrastructure

- Insufficient Testing/Evaluation in simulated Environment

When the new product line is manufactured in limited volumes,

the cost of the asset loss can be significant, reducing the

incentive for the OEM to adopt this very worthwhile sales

channel.


b) Measuring Asset Utilization

Most companies, due to sufficient asset management

measurement tools/mechanism, under utilize their assets leading

to poor financial results that may threaten the existence of the

business. Well managed asset utilization avoids additional capital

expenditures and still maintain current or better levels of

production and quality.

c) Salesperson mobility

While Eval programs are aimed at procuring valuable feedback

from probable clients, most organizations have failed to address

the problem of salesperson availability/mobility for sudden

problems or issues that crop up with product usage. There is no

well-managed infrastructure that could possibly manage these

programs and attend to service issues during the trial period.

What happens in such scenarios is that most test users abandon

their programs half-way, thereby causing an investment loss and

time-loss for the OEMs.

Salesperson mobility is a significant issue because many

Demo/Eval program are actually managed as 'trunk stock'

programs. The problem with this approach is that when a

salesperson leaves an organization, they may not return this

Demo 'trunk stock' (further increasing asset loss) or simply

neglect to pass on details as to which customers have Demo

units. This makes it very difficult for the replacement

salesperson to follow up on.

Intel offers a wide range of tools for its Demo/Eval programs.

Every tool is accompanied with a detailed user guide, ensuring

that there are no hiccups during the testing/evaluation phase.

d) Insufficient Testing/Evaluation in simulated environment A common problem with hardware and software trial buys is the

lack of testing simulation in customer environment. The demo

programs, software updates or testing solutions need to be

customized to individual needs of the user or user organizations

10

Logistics and Asset Management organizations have responded

with solutions, but typically these solutions fall short and do not

offer a transparent asset management platform as a starting

point. This is where organizations owe it to themselves to find

solid providers with the tools, processes and proven experience

to manage Demo/Eval programs.

Some of the key aspects that OEMs need to look for in a

Demo/Eval Solution Provider include prior Demo/Eval Program

Management experience, logistics experience, technical

resources (capable to testing and refurbishing assets), a well-

developed software platform (software is indispensible in

managing eval programs), “light” manufacturing expertise,

Engineering Data controls (BOMs).

This boils down to selecting a provider with the appropriate

'Experience and Infrastructure'.

4. Finding a Solution


to ensure they are successfully tested or evaluated to avoid poor

out-of-box quality of the product that could be embarrassing and

also to save Field Sales Engineers time who would demo the

product.

When EVGA offered their motherboards for trial usages, many

users faced problems with installation and other usage

procedures. Although the product quality was very high it went

unnoticed by the customers because it was “masked” by

installation issues. Many customers made note of this in their in

their online response to the manufacturer.

e) Lack of Operational Infrastructure

Underlying almost all the above pitfalls is the overarching truth

that most organizations are simply not set up to manage

Demo/Eval programs. They lack tracking tools, processes, flexible technical resources,

ability to distinguish between Demo/Eval and Brand New Units

and more….. The result is that all the above pitfalls: asset

management, loss of customer data, poor out-of-box

performance may actually serve as operational negatives to what

might be a positive product experience, if the operational

aspects of Demo/Eval deployment had been handled properly.


This infrastructure consists of:

- Program Management software infrastructure (Preferably web-based)

- Test labs with trained technicians

- Call center support

- Solid Business Processes Reporting

The ideal provider will combine multiple disciplines and

provide solid infrastructure and experience: - Process discipline and control

- Software skills

- Technical skill

- Logistics expertise

Since an Eval program or a Demo program relies on factors such

as product excellence, device demonstration, customer intimacy

and short-term effectiveness, as well as high asset utilization, it

is important to select a provider with the expertise and

infrastructure required to support all these needs. For example,

the ability to move goods alone is not enough, nor is technical

expertise.

4.1 Finding a “Packaged” Demo/Eval Program Management Solution

9The Case for Outsourced Demo/Eval Program Management 12The Case for Outsourced Demo/Eval Program Management

Allows business to focus on core

competency/ reduces assets loss/

and increases rapid time to market

significantly.

A packaged solution that an ideal provider provides

combines many benefits:

a) Prevention of Asset Loss

b) Leveraging Logistics Skills

c) Customized Programs to Suit Client Needs

d) Speed

e) Cost (Absolute and variable)

f) Capacity

g) Data Management

h) Performance

Benefits of a “Packaged” Solution

Demo/Eval programs can be much more beneficial by

partnering with a qualified provider. The experience and

efficiency in managing the supply chain process will ensure that

these programs lay a strong foundation in building the much

needed market segment for your product.

5. Conclusion

Choose a sophisticated vendor to

manage your Demo/Eval program

and experience the value it can bring

to your organization.


Extron has been a pioneer in providing supply chain and retail

chain solutions for many of its clients across the globe. Being an

Extron client gives the unique advantage of efficiently

managing the complete supply chain process of the complex

Demo/Eval programs offered by your organization. Extron's

state-of-the-art Demo/Eval capabilities are aimed at providing

the best service to safeguard your valued assets and

investments, eventually. Extron has developed a multi-million

dollar infrastructure to manage Demo/Eval programs for

technology companies (medical, test and measurement,

computing, audio-visual assets, data management, etc).

For more details on Extron's Demo/Eval programs, click Or email us at

This whitepaper has been written by Extron: http://www.extronlogistics.com/

[email protected]

About Extron

http://www.extronlogistics.com/demo-loaner-program.html

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