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High Technology Bar Top CaseGo Big or Go Slow? Jonathan, a proud Laurier Golden Hawk living in Waterloo, sat back and admired his work. It was 2015, and he would soon be graduating from the BBA program; and now, in his opinion, he had created a bar top that would disrupt how bartending worked at many establishments. Not only would it make any establishment look incredibly leading-edge, but it would also reduce line-ups for beverages, thereby making patrons happy and generating higher revenues. The question now was how he would commercialize it. Thirsty for a Solution Jonathan loved going out with his friends, watching talented DJs entertain audiences with music he enjoyed listening and dancing to. He was particularly fascinated by the technology that many nightclubs had adopted, including electronic dance music and leading-edge laser and light displays. Two big, popular clubs in Waterloo that seemed to have a loyal following of patrons whose presence attracted other patrons. These clubs also were able to bring in well-known, popular DJs from around the world. Their shows were often sold out, and both clubs had very long line-ups each weekend. A big drawback of going to popular clubs, once you were inside, was that large crowds meant that getting your beverage was frustrating. The waiting time for a beverage was often long, and the bartenders sometimes looked frustrated as they tried to hear clearly what the patrons were ordering, and then prepare, serve, and collect payment for the beverages. Jonathan often delayed ordering beverages as long as possible because it was such a nuisance. He knew this was the case with many of his friends as well, and sometimes, this frustration was the reason that they didnt even go to the club. He knew that this was an important problem for clubs and bars because beverage sales are the biggest source of revenue. The idea for this leading-edge technology bar top came to him while he was ordering and paying for movie tickets at the theatre. He used a touch screen to order the type and number of tickets, and then completed payment quickly and easily simply by tapping his debit card on the payment terminal. He immediately went home and created a prototype of this high-technology bar top. At a quick glance, the bar top would simply look like a glass countertop. However, it would have several stations identified by numbers lit up on the bar surface. Each station would have a touch screen on the bar surface where patrons could input drink orders. You could even order a drink for another person standing at a different order station at the bar, and a message would appear letting him/her know that you were buying his/her drink, along with an emoticon of your choice. The bartender would be able to see the orders and fill them once the patron pressed, orderno need to be concerned about not hearing the order clearly! Once the beverage order was complete, the bartender would touch payment, the patron would place his credit or debit card on the bar on a spot indicated by a small light, and the payment, including a tip, would be automatically and quickly processed. Of course, there would still be a section of the bar for those who wished to pay by cash, but this automated process would significantly reduce waiting times for those willing to pay with a card, and therefore, reduce the waiting time for everyone. The design looked very modernit was lit from beneath and would look perfect in any modern club, bar, or even restaurant. It could even generate advertising revenue from beverage manufacturers by having brand displays projected onto the bar surface in locations between the order/payment stations. How to Commercialize? The question now was how he could make as much money as quickly as possible from it. One option was to open his own club and make the bar a feature. It had always been his dream to own his own club, and given how popular and scarce they were in Waterloo, he knew he could make a very significant profit. He had enough money saved, and his parents were willing to lend him money if he was able to repay them within seven months. He would use these funds to lease a reasonably large space and install a good set of lighting equipment. There werent many good spaces and locations for clubs in the area but he knew there was one that he could probably secure. He didnt have the contacts with popular DJs and was not connected in any way to the patrons who seemed to be the leaders of the club scene that everyone else imitated or followed. He also needed to make connections with beverage suppliers, which shouldnt be difficult, but knew that there werent many of them and that prices were not flexible. Would this be a problem for him? Based on his calculations, if he was able to attract the same number of average patrons that the other two Waterloo clubs had on most weekends, he could have enough money to pay his parents just before the seven-month time limit. The other possibility was to sell the idea to the local clubs and then start selling it to clubs and bars across Ontario, eventually expanding nationally and internationally. It would mean significantly lower costs, but also much lower revenues, at least for a few years, compared to the profits he believed he would generate if he established his own successful club. He would first have to convince existing club and bar owners to make a sizable investment to replace their existing bars and train their bartenders. He knew he couldnt protect his innovation from imitation; but if he could move quickly to get his bar tops installed, then anyone who entered the market with a similar product would find potential customers highly resistant to replacing their expensive bars once again, particularly since his bar top would now be integrated with the establishments payment system. Finding raw materials to produce the bar tops didnt worry him as there were lots of quality suppliers for the various inputs he needed. He would be able to negotiate even better supply prices as production grew. He needed a large workshop for production, and this wouldnt be hard to find, but that would mean high fixed costs that would not be covered until he grew his sales sufficiently. If he pursued this strategy and was able to sell 10 bar tops, he would be able to pay his parents back; but finding those bars would be difficult as he was limited to those establishments that were large and popular. Smaller, less popular bars and clubs would have limited financial resources, and the issue of large crowds having to wait for drink service would therefore not be an issue for them. Selling the bar to other establishments was also something he could do once his own club was established, but he would have to move quickly once his own club was up and running so that other producers would not have time to imitate his product and establish themselves in the market. This would generate the most revenues and ensure his ability to pay his parents back in time but would also mean there might not be days when he would barely have time to sleep, let alone run his business and continue his university studies successfully. The Decision Jonathan was so proud of his invention. It represented a huge performance leap in how clubs and bars operated, both from the owners and patrons perspective. He allowed himself to dream about how this bar top would look in a club he might open, and then allowed himself to consider the possibility of simply selling it to existing establishments and seeing his invention in establishments across Ontario, and maybe North America. He toyed with the idea of creating the club and chasing the production of the bar at the same time. He considered his options and reminded himself that he would have to recover his costs fairly quickly so that he could repay his parents and continue paying for his university education and living expenses. He picked up his cellphone to call you to debate his options and make a decision. 1. On a separate piece of paper, draw an alternative matrix to compare options. Identify the best one, and use a forcefield analysis to identify factors working for and against your chosen solution. In this box, identify your solution and the strongest three factors that support it, as well as the strongest three factors against it. 2. Draw a Gantt chart to communicate your implementation plan. Define your time periods, and identify below the top two immediate, short-term, and long-term actions you must take. (Consider tactical and operational strategies to address forces identified in question 1.)

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