Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SPRAYDECO (Developing Wireless Application-based Spray Printer Device for Wall Decoration)
Période du rapport: 2016-06-01 au 2016-11-30
Phase 1 activities were designed for verifying the market, technological and commercial feasibility of the innovative device, gathering input for specifying the business model and preparing for market launch. This translated into three main activity lines:
1. Market research – market, customer and competition analysis;
2. Technical planning – product development planning, preparing for advanced prototyp-ing and testing;
3. Business planning – product positioning, business model, unique selling points, commer-cialization planning.
Proceeding from the results of the feasibility study and the progress made, SprayPrinter has decided to continue with the innovation project by proposing a Phase 2 project plan in 2017. Based on the feasibility study findings and main needs SprayPrinter currently has in terms of developing its company, product and brand, the Phase 2 project will focus on advanced product and service development, prototyping, testing and scale-up.
• Identify key market opportunities and threats for positioning the SP device - Desk research confirmed that SP has the most potential in the DIY art, power tool and consumer electronics segments.
• Analyze technology-based competitive solutions and overlap with SP - Desk research verified that SP has currently no credible alternatives and can thus enjoy technological leadership.
• Explore customer opinions and perceptions of the SP device - The average SP user is a 25-34 year old male interested in tech gadgets and would like to see the price of the device drop.
• Explore expert opinions and perceptions of the SP device - Many experts find it crucial to focus on gaining traction and then considering additional areas like spray printing as a service.
• Specify a technical product roadmap as a basis for Phase 2 development/testing activities - Further development efforts will go into completing the superior SP2 device and building up the digital marketplace.
• Fine-tune the business plan based on SME-1 results - The company decided to focus efforts on developing a new SP2 device and building up a digital marketplace for spray printing services.
• Update financial estimates based on the advanced business plan - Based on the improved strategy, new financial estimates were made and serve as important input to Phase 2 planning.
• Specify SME-2 activities based on the advanced business plan - Besides the technical activity lines, attention will to be paid to replication and scale-up.
According to the GA, “by the end of the sixth month of project implementation, the SprayPrinter team will have a clear understanding and overview of the relevant market opportunities, customer needs and competitive solutions and will be able to specify a plan for managing all the potential (technical and commercial) barriers and opportunities in taking the device to the commercialization phase”. Most importantly, the device has now been launched on the market thanks to successful Indiegogo and Kickstarter campaigns and further efforts will focus on scale-up and service development. As such, the company exceeded the initial expectations and proved the market, technical and commercial feasibility of the product by delivering the first devices to 42 countries all over the world. Now, the aim is to achieve stable revenue, secure additional investments and develop strategic partnerships in order to prepare for mass production.
• Strengthening the market position (entering initial markets)
• Increase in turnover (product was launched in October 2016)
• Cost savings (product optimization)
• Job creation (new communication and IT staff)
• Profitability (new private investors attracted)
As the next step, SprayPrinter will prepare an SME Instrument Phase 2 proposal (due in January 2017) that focuses on scaling up the superior SP2 device, prototyping in other potential application areas and building up a digital marketplace for mediating spray printing services. The ultimate aim is to mass produce superior commercial prototypes and build up a digital marketplace that successfully brings together professional spray printers, clients interested in decorating their walls and a large number of images to choose from.