PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT IN THE NIGERIAN CAPITAL GOODS INDUSTRY (Published)
Authorities and specialists in marketing and product management have submitted variously on the theme of the study, Product Life Cycle (PLC). This, the researcher builds on so as to add to the body of knowledge by investigating problems such as low sales, consumer dissonance, early product withdrawal, and others, which all culminate into financial losses for organizations within the capital goods manufacturing/assemblage and sales segment of the Nigerian manufacturing industry. The study provides up to date information on the life cycle trends of capital goods, which will help in their manufacturing and stock holding decisions. Also, a construct depicting the relationship between Sales and PLC with reference to capital goods was developed. The data for this study was collected from both primary (four companies) and secondary sources. Questionnaire was adopted as a data collection instrument. The data was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Amongst other recommendations, the study recommended that Management of Product Life cycle should be taken into consideration in new product design and prototyping. This is essentially due to the influence of frequent foreign innovations that constantly render recent products obsolete.
Keywords: Buying Behaviour, Capital Goods, Competition, Product Life Cycle, Sales