Question 1: What are the functions of "product families" in the cases of Toshiba and Sony Walkman?
In the above mentioned cases, "product families" were considered as vital and important to be combined and associated with appropriate strategies in achieving business sustainability. Purposeful strategizing based upon families of products has been empirically proven to increase a company's performance over time. In large corporations such as Toshiba and Sony, the existence of a favorable "internal" environment to support the development of products families and the use of appropriate strategies to manage their markets are critical. It is learned that having both the strategic vision and conducive environment for innovation led to success of the Toshiba's laptop and notebook families in the marketplace. In addition to this, the Sony Walkman's case portrayed that having multiple product models that are backed by a strategy that focused on their "longevity", which is having longer shelf lives compared to those of similar competitors' models are significant towards its success.
Question 2: What business is e-Pay in? Explain e-Pay's revenue and cost structure?
e-Pay involves in mobile prepaid system started with the electronic mobile prepaid top-up system that used wired platform and delivered via POS terminals. Its service family's grower further followed by a second platform innovation (wireless-based system). This includes top-up values delivered via mobile phones or PDAs especially to cater the markets in remote areas in Indonesia. E-Pay's expanded its service by introducing payment software solutions in 2004. The service family then completed by its fourth platform innovation (plastics cards applications) which finally turned the company into a comprehensive electronic payment provider. E- Pay's business is now serving multiple geographical