Table of Contents

Introduction - Why Portakabin is my chosen product/service to Critique for innovation and

design.........................................................................................................................................1
The benefits and value derived by the customers or..............................................................3
Uniqueness of Portakabin.......................................................................................................4
Brand appeal in relation to competitors and Contemporary markets.....................................6
Factors affecting the PORTAKABIN design and innovative marketing planning............8
The Macro Environment....................................................................................................9
Porters five forces...........................................................................................................10
In Summary......................................................................................................................11
Reflective commentary............................................................................................................12
Reflective Essay...................................................................................................................14
Conclusion................................................................................................................................16
References................................................................................................................................16
Web References........................................................................................................................19

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Introduction - Why Portakabin is my chosen product/service to Critique

for innovation and design
We have been asked to identify and critically evaluate the main characteristics of product and
service design and innovation from the marketing perspective, at both a practical and
theoretical level, in order to demonstrate this I have chosen to write about Portakabin.
Portakabin provide facilities to the working environment business and organizations that
some other courtiers dont have them, for example one of my fellow students said that does
not have them. My colleague said that they had been to many poor places in small towns in
Brazil that they cant afford to build schools or hospitals, even nurses. Because it cost a lot,
most of the business only use concretes in their constructions, therefore some other areas are
not very well populated and will stay apart from those benefices and facilities. And the people
who live there cant afford or is forgotten by the government. So what happens is that an
organisation looking for investment has found a big opportunity. (P., 2005)

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Educational schools in those areas that dont have school or the childrens have to travels
hours to go to the closest one. So by offering that modular construction to those places it will
grow the company profit and better known worldwide helping others that need at the same
time. Classrooms and nurseries demand reliable, high quality accommodation. Buildings
provide healthy and inspiring learning environments, and are suitable for a wide range of
uses. As the marketing perspective are based in costumer experience were this company has
being built through those years, it will be easier to make deals with international trades.

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The benefits and value derived by the customers or

For an organisation to get benefits for its customers they must ensure that the marketing,
design and innovation is efficient , this can prove to be a very tough process for organisations
and today they will face a very tough challenge than ever before, with the fast growing
market and technology, follow by giant competitors all around. They can use examples of an
excellence in creativity and innovation to help them furnish their design and innovation. (P.,
2005)
Higher performance organisations are clearly observed to be marketing, leaders and managers
must identify the key practice that will eventually accelerate the growth in their organisations.
The market capabilities available to business including Portakabin performance if they want
to ensure their clients receive benefit are:

Product development. (which applying to the PORTAKABIN organisation could be

implementation of Wi-Fi to those modular build, Implement those in vans that could

be easily removed to better locations. More natural lighting for better financial saving.
Pricing- The capability to extract the optimal revenue from the firms costumers, sales

promotions and so on.

Channel management- Ability to maintain the channels of distribution, delivering

value to the consumer, on a good time, condition and price.

Marketing communication- Evaluating costumers perceptions
Selling- process that firm obtain costumer order, in a quicker away, also trough

website.
Marketing information management- Using market knowledge to achieve the process

which firms will learn about their marketing

Marketing Planning- The ability to understand the market strategies that improve the
competition between the organization resources and the marketplace. Also evaluating

international areas as I have mentioned above.

Marketing Implementation- The process that market strategies is transformed into

resources deployment.
Todas fast-changing marketplace, organisations must seize opportunities to quickly
focus attention on those capabilities enable strategies, strengths and weakness to drive
growth and consumer value.

In todays fast-changing marketplace, organisations must seize opportunities to quickly focus

attention on those capabilities and thus enable strategies, strengths and weakness to drive
growth and consumer value.
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Uniqueness of Portakabin
To really understand the design elements of Portakabin buildings I have gone unto their
website and used the literature presented there. (http://www.portakabin.co.uk/specificationsolus.html, 2014).
Portakabin combine advanced architectural design with innovative office solutions. The result
is a unique fusion of quality, comfort and executive style that creates a high-quality building
that is second-to-none. This is because of several components:

Walls
Floor
Roof
Doors
Windows
Building Layout
Foundations

Walls
External walls are of a durable one-piece construction. High-performance, low-maintenance,
plastisol-coated, galvanized steel cladding offers protection against fire, extreme weather and
accidental damage. Internally, the walls are of a polyester-coated galvanized steel, providing
an impact resistant, wipe clean finish.
Floor
The floor has a rigid galvanized steel frame and an aluminum-zinc coated steel sheet
underdrawings, which offers a sturdy and robust feel. The design also prevents infestation as
the thermal insulation material is laid on top of the underdrawings. The suspended floor is
completely integrated into the structure of the building. This enables the building to be sited
close to the ground for one-step easy access. A variety of floor coverings is also available
including hard-wearing vinyl or carpeting, depending on the application of the building.
Roof
Outstanding insulation is provided by the construction of the roof. The roof deck is of onepiece construction and is impact resistant. It is covered with solar-reflective, profiled
plastisol-coated, galvanized steel to reduce heat gain. Internally, the ceiling is designed to

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prevent condensation problems. It is covered with the same polyester steel as the walls for a
low-maintenance finish.
Doors
Steel-faced doors have an insulating core that minimizes heat loss. The anodized aluminum
frame also incorporates draught proof weather seals. Protection against theft and vandalism is
given by a cylinder mortise lock, which has escape override on the inside. A low-level
threshold improves access and can help you to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act
(DDA).
Windows
Both the fixed and opening have distinctive square cornered aluminum frames and polyester
powder coated paint finish. Opening windows have lockable handles with keys. The windows
are fully double-glazed for excellent thermal and acoustic performance. Tinted glazing
reduces solar glare and a thermal break prevents condensation problems.
Building layout
A variety of room layouts can be achieved by the installation of partition walls, with a
matching polyester steel finish. Solus buildings can be linked to form larger complexes or
stacked to form two or three-story buildings.
Foundations
Portakabin Solus buildings are quickly and easily sited. The need for pad foundations is
dependent on site conditions, total weight of the building and the imposed loads. Advice on
foundation loads and positions will be given by Portakabin staff. (Jolly A.) (Mullin, 2002).

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Brand appeal in relation to competitors and Contemporary markets

New Competitors- Have to be watched at all time, because this barrier is also one of the most
important barriers that organisations can face. Companies like PORTAKABIN have to
increasingly watch the barriers to new competitors entry, by forming strategic alliances with
suppliers, and also build up a customer loyalty strategy by rewards customers for
maintaining, or given special offer to those. However the best way to ensure they are always
above the competition they should implement an audit to assess the factors which will
identify the threats.
Marketing audit is an independent analysis of a company marketing environment, to evaluate
and improve the effectiveness of risk management.

With the objective, strategies and

knowledge that determined a problem or a solution situation for the marketing performance,
and advise a plan of action to better help the organisation performance. Marketers operations
need therefore to review those performances in a period of time in order to success.
There are some factors that influence the marketing planning, many examples of techniques
can be accepted in order to resolve, or come up with strategies to analyse external factor that
affect the marketing plan.
Some of those are;

Pest- (Political, economic, social and technological)

Pestle- (Political Economic Social Technological Legal And Environmental)
Slept- (Adds in legal forces to those to be examined)
Steeple- (Social, technological, economic, environmental, political, legal, educational)

The process of analysing the factors as part of the planning process involves both an external
audit and an internal audit. As it can be seen in the picture bellows the diagram that shows the
environment around the company,

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Figure: Five forces analysis

Advantages of scanning the environment include:

Contribute to development of corporate image

Opportunities can be spotted
Increases sensitivity to changing needs of situation
Offers objective material which can be analysed
Provides stimulation for strategy-making

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Factors affecting the PORTAKABIN design and innovative marketing planning

Political

-Having an impact on the freedom given by government, the interest rates

Economic

-The general economic condition will determine demand for its services; the recent financial
crisis slowed the market growth in major markets, The UK government is using taxation as
resources to boost improvements.

Social

-Consumer Tastes
-Research shows that the highest number of disagreements amongst neighbours in UK is due
to car parking. Therefore it could be an Idea of implement some car park modular, in some
areas.

Technological

-New construction technologies affect working practices in the building industry.

Manufacturing techniques- robots, advanced simulation and scenario samples been planned
ahead. When implemented prudently, these technologies can importantly improve the
construction industry. In other words houses can be built in as little as eight weeks.

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The Macro Environment

The Macro Environment is a major external and uncontrollable factor that affects the business
decisions making, performance and strategies. It will impact on all organisations. Those are
forces acting on the organisations making them without control on their environment, include
the nature of; (Dussauge)
Markets- Covering market size, growth, and market segments, which the company must
understood.
Competitors-Be aware of competitors products and services, and try to know their present
and future direction.
Customers- remain central to the marketers view of the environment, their requirements have
to be analysed in detail.
Suppliers- If they have too much power over the company they can decide the changes of
price and agreements, bringing some competitors disadvantages.
Distributors- Sometimes affect the timing of the launch of a new product.
Publics- Include any group that can have an impact on the marketing environment such as
pressure groups, the government, stakeholders and so on.
Very well known as MCCSDP, There is a source competitive advantages that companies can
use, if the organisations is capable to predict changes in the microenvironment, and take
action before it hits, it can reduce the chance of failure.
Economic forces are also one of the strongest impacts in the organisations, such as;

Unemployment
Inflation- Rise of the prices on the products and services.
Interest rates

Business cycle- are the ups and down in the economic activity- Defined by periods of
expansion or recession.
Expansion- The economy indicates Jobs, Production and Sales. (Growth)
Recessions- Are periods when the economy is decrease or narrowing.

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Porters five forces

It outline how organisations can strive for competitive advantage, having the view that
strategy plan is essential technique for creating a supported profitable position in a target
market. Those forces affect the profitability of an organisation; (Porter., January 2008)

Threat of new entrants

Lucrative markets that profit high earnings will attract new firms= many new entrants,
which eventually will decrease profitability. Because the new entrances bring- (Government
policy, Economies of product differences, Product differentiation). Company that makes a
high profit it also attract new competitors.

Threat of substitute products or services

Existence of products outside the box increases the tendency of clienteles to switch
to alternatives. Ex: Burger King is competitor with McDonalds, selling fresh fruits and juices
could be an alternative that might substitute those other fast food.

Bargaining power of customers (buyers)

Bargaining power of customers is also described as the market of outputs.

The
ability that some customers have to put the firm under pressure, which also affect the price
changes

Bargaining power of suppliers

The market of inputs, suppliers of raw resources can be a source of power over the
organisations when there are few alternatives. Sometimes they can choose to charge the firms
excessively high prices for some product or services.

Intensity of competitive rivalry

Sometimes can be the major determinant of the competitiveness of the industry. (Powerful
competitive strategy, Sustainable competitive advantage through innovation)
(http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/porter.shtml)

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In Summary
There are some factors that create barriers to implement successfully the design and
innovation of a companys product/service, anyhow I have been analysing them and created
some strategies to overcome those, and other that might come across.

Factors that affecting; and how to overcome them:

a) Cultural factors- Basically by culture of the individual could refer to income, status,
religion, very good to know how this product will be seen to that country before put in the
market, so before we come with all advertisement in that different area research must to
be taken in order to well implement the new plan. For example some of the developing
nations may see a Portakabin as cheap and not useful, because their culture says a good
business has a posh office etc. But here in Europe Portakabin are very useful.
b) Social and Personal- Social have to take in consideration how that product will affect the
consumer dividing by social groups (family, friends and so on). And personal is according
to the buyer behaviour, including (age, personality, style).
c) Physiological factors- Physiological factors will include: (motivation, observation), its
important that we know this characteristic of consumer are expecting the higher quality of
the product and service, as they believe on that, or have had a good experience of it.
Allow the company to increase the chance to make loyalty costumer if well sold. And also
is good, if the company needs to up sell their products, because that type of behaviour
buyer are the one who goes to the shop to buy face-to-face, allowing the seller to use the
selling conception, and motivating them to buy. In this case it will be the books and
journals.
d) New Competitors- Have to be watched at all time, because this barrier is also one of the
most important barriers that organisations can face.
e) Teamwork The leadership of the team has to identify the potential conflicts inherent in
achieving the top goals and resolve them.
f) Budget and Price competitors- After the research we need to aggressively invest in
advertisement and to protect our market share against competitors we need to offer lower
prices, developing a strategy based on our cost or product strengths. (Subramaniam,
1996)
Therefore we need to always regularly check the above strategy. By these regular check-ins
we are providing a framework for ensuring that staff accomplishes their designated tasks.
And also to control how well the Focus, communication and the planning against those
barriers mentioned above has been done. Portakabin is already available in many countries
but with the aid of the internet and internet marketing I honestly believe that they can make a
difference to the lives of many people in many countries. When I started writing this
assignment I was looking for an amazing product to write about, but in doing research and

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remembering what my classmate told me about Brazil I felt that this would be a good
product/service to write about as it is truly an innovation.

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Reflective commentary
We are asked in this task to critically examine compelling organisational theories and
alternative theoretical frameworks around the study of organisations. To achieve this I will
use the organisation I have chosen and the academic literature read to highlight this answer.
Portakabin must ensure that their product/service are in a strategic position to ensure that the
organisations position through marketing and other processes remain on top. To do this they
can do the following:
1. The product must to have the right structuresIn this case is the website that will be developed to better results, need to have a new good
look, with easy access to the links, and working well, and again very advertised.
2. The price must be rightHas to be cheaper than its competitors or at least a better design and better quality as some
customers do not only consider the actual design, many customers in the case of Portakabin
wont buy in large quantities, but if we analyse their target market a good one is construction
so these consumers will buy in a larger number, therefore increase the profit.
3. The goods must be in the right place at the right timeThe goods must arrive when they are wanted is an important situation, for instance when
there are lots of job available in the market then we are there to give information to them.
Or when some organisations start to talk about save the world for instance, reducing the
waste and so on, we are also there to give the support, with our new ideas and market
developed to the right time.
The target group needs to be made aware of the existence and availability of the product
through promotion- If the promotion has been done well it will spread the costs over a much
larger output.
4. PriceEverything cost, and of course it cost money to make money. And it costs to produce, design
a product; it costs to distribute a product and costs to promote it.
It also should be taken in consideration;

Fixed and variable costs

Competition
Company objectives
Proposed positioning strategies
Target group and willingness to pay

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Price is there to create sales revenue. The price of this product is clearly an important
determinant of the value of sales made. It is determined from the discovery of what costumers
think about it, and they opinion is really important to let us know what value are they putting
on
it.
(http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1184004/understanding-britainsupmarket-ethical-consumers )
Therefore the pricing policy will vary according to time and circumstances, from place to
place.
5. DistributionDistribution is one of the keys to attract customers needs in a convenience time and
facilities, having an easy accessible to costumers, increasing the company sales. Making part
of one of the four elements of the market mix (4ps), distribution is the process that makes the
product available to the consumer.

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Reflective Essay
As an undergraduate who are learning this module I have learned many aspects regarding to
learn many aspects regarding how innovation and its powerfulness can increase the strength
of a company as well theoretical knowledge and practical aspects regarding it. By completing
this assignments I have learned for a company to be effective in the industry it operates
design and innovation capability is very much important. When a company is making
decisions regarding its operational structure as well as commercial function, I have learned
that innovation acts a huge role. In my early days of college life I didnt have much idea
about how a companys design process will enhance a companys competitiveness. But after
completing this assignment regarding Portakabin I understood that design process contains
different characteristics which are important in individual terms known as stylistic change,
fashion and consumer taste. These will further collaborate with the nature of design
management and the importance of design and innovation. As Portakabin features in the
market with low cost and a superior product compared to its competitors taught me that it is
always important to identify what are the trends in the market, how the customer will want a
product, from its look, from its features, etc. will role play the success of the company.
I have now realised with the understanding of how Portakabin introduced their features, that
the customers will ultimately get benefited from firms investment in an innovative system to
produce products which will add a greater value to its customers. I have always been thinking
that competitiveness will merely depend on the marketing campaigns carried out by
companies. Now I have learned that organisational design and innovation operations are what
will run companies to its success where marketing strategies will depend on how the
innovation of the company becomes successful. From Portakabin products and through
learning outcomes I understood that management techniques are considered as backbone of
the innovative and design process. Where these management techniques will now decide
what is good for the company and how to achieve it. From this module I gained a good
knowledge on how a practical problem regarding these innovation abilities and also regarding
other aspects can be effectively solved.
During the course in this semester another thing I learned from this module is how important
it is to have sound communication and branding of companys new product development to
its success. This was made clearer to me when I went through how Portakabin applied its
knowledge in achieving this. How Portakabin differentiated themselves and how well

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Portakabin introduced to the market when such a product was really needed by the market
even though competitors were providing substitute products.
For a newly innovated product, I learned that how important it is to obtain relevant patents
and trademarks because to sustain the competitive advantage they got through these
innovation processes they must obtain these patents. Also I learned that global trends are also
applied to innovation process where it has to adopt and follow these global trends in order to
make this innovation successful because ultimately what domestic markets accept will be
what offered in internationally by competitors. As is company operating globally it is really
important to focus on global trends when launching products such as Portakabin.
From the point of product which I chose, I learned that different products that are available in
the market to provide internet access and how good Portakabin is compared to other
substitutes in the market. Also how products in this sector use their innovation functions and
how competitive they are in the market. Also one another thing I learned from this market is
product getting out dated very quickly compared to any other industry so innovation is
something that needs to be up and running all the time. Neediness to focus on customer
requirements is much critical compared to any other firm operating in any other industry.
One main advantage I enjoyed following this module is that I got a great chance to enhance
my knowledge on critical analysis skills instead of focusing on theory knowledge only.
Where evaluating a products features is challengeable and to achieve that target I had to
perform well in my analytical skills. In a company combining practical application of
companys design, innovation, management and organisation practice with the theory
knowledge was seen as a hardcore object. But with utter determination to achieve this success
in my education criteria I learned many things with the completion of this assignment.
In completing this assignment one another important thing I learned is apart from theory
knowledge is to apply my theory knowledge and topics using literature in the best way
possible. Integrating literature was very much challenging even though writing had always
been my strength. I have learned how to sustain a logical argument with valid points in terms
of applying literature properly. As it is very much clear theory knowledge only itself will not
add a value finding a product and analysing its features, merits and demerits to the customer
enabled us to enjoy the practical application of theories we have used so far. Analysis does
not come by just describing, therefore I had to improve on how to prove a point with valid
argument which drove me to find better arguments by improving my knowledge. It was
difficult to identify gaps in my knowledge with applying theory to our questions where

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practical exposure was very much needed. By following a product in the market to identify
these factors I made my doubts regarding my knowledge level.

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Conclusion
In todays world, for products and services with innovative features, which also gives a closer
look on what customer wants tends to have a much wider demand than other products such
Portakabin. Also considering that the market Portakabin is operating there is a huge
competition among companies to be more innovative to attract customers in a wider scale by
satisfying customers wants than others. Also it is clear that the product design, its features
and design process is really critical in find the best product to satisfy customers demands.
This was fulfilled by innovative centers own by each of these companies. After launching
even with being an innovative product we can see the competition that Portakabin is facing
and the best solution we can see is that having a good strong marketing to go to each and
every customer segment.

References
Abbing, E. (2010), Brand-driven innovation. Lausanne, Switzerland: AVA Pub.
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B., V. S. (2003). Managing Innovation, Design and Creativity.

Davila, T., Epstein, M. and Shelton, R. (2007) The creative enterprise. Westport, CT.:
Praeger.
Dussauge, P. and Garette, B. (1999) Cooperative Strategy: Competing successfully through
strategic alliances. Chichester: Wiley
Gaynor, G. (2002), Innovation by design. New York: AMACOM.
Jerrard R., Hands D., Ingham J., (2002) Design Management Case Studies, Routledge,
London
Jolly A., (2005) From Idea to Profit, Kogan Page
Jordan P W, (2000), Designing pleasurable products: an introduction to the new human
factors, Taylor & Francis, London
Kelley T, (2001), the art of innovation, Harper Collins Business, London
Klenke, K. (2008), Qualitative Research In The Study Of Leadership, Emerald Group
Publishing, p 160
Korenberg, M.J. (2007), Microarray Data Analysis: Methods and Applications, Illustrated,
Springer, p 180
Kothari, C.R. (2009), Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques, 2nd Edition, New Age
International, p 95
Le Masson, P., Weil, B. and Hatchuel, A. 2010. Strategic management of innovation and
design. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mullin, R. (2002), Direct Marketing: A Step-By-Step Guide to Effective Planning and
Targeting, Illustrated, Kogan Page Publishers, p 140
Michael, E. P. (2008), Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior
Performance, Simon and Schuster publishers, p 33.
Porter. M. E. (January 2008). "The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy". Harvard
Business Review, p.86-104.
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Subramaniam, K. P. (1996). "Bringing discipline to strategy". In The McKinsey Quarterly

(pp. pp. 14-25).
Trott, P. 2008. Innovation Management and New Product Development. 4th ed. Pearson
Education India.
Verganti, R. 2009. Design-driven innovation. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business Press.
Von Stamm, B. 2008. Managing innovation, design and creativity. Chichester, UK: John
Wiley & Sons.
Werner Felt, B. ((1984), Vol. 5, (April-June)). A resource-based view of the firm. Strategic
Management Journal, pp. pp. 171-180

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Web References
Understanding-Britains-upmarket-ethical-consumers,

(Online),

Available

from:

http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1184004/understanding-britains-upmarketethical-consumers. [Accessed on: 30-08-2014]

Specification Solus, (Online), Available from: http://www.portakabin.co.uk/specificationsolus.html. [Accessed on: 30-08-2014]
Porters

five

forces,

(Online),

Available

form:

http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/porter.shtml. [Accessed on: 30-08-2014]

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