A Case Study on Eastman Kodak Company: Kodak Camera

I.Introduction
Everyone loves to travel, have some fun, do great things, take achievements and many
more. But those things are not permanent. After the day you travel, you go back to the reality.
After you have some fun you go back to the way you are living. After you did great things, some
are forgot it. And after you took achievements, people would go back to the same thing they
treated you. But if there has a one thing, remaining that is the memories. Memories that always
keep in our mind and heart. The thing is were growing so fast and we're getting older by time to
time, how sure we are that all the memories will last longer?
Pictures are solution. Where your memories can keep longer for just one click, and that's it.
Popular to their tagline “You press the button, we do the rest” The Eastman company and the
made it great. They provide camera that is very genuine to everyone. They called that Kodak
Camera. This company became a most helpful gadgets of the American that can record their
most important life events at first in black and white prints and then in Kodachrome color,
coining the ubiquitous phrase. “ It’s Kodak moment”

II. Company Profile

 Eastman kodak company was incorporated in New Jersey in 1901.

 Business originally established by George Eastman in September 1880.

 In 1990, Kay whitmore is the new CEO of the Eastman Kodak Company.

 Previous CEO, Chandler, diversified Kodak into four business groups:

1. Imaging
2. Information system
3. Health
4. Chemical

III.Problems
“ Kodak’s company in transition with some big issues. But I doubt it will follow the same path
as polaroid” – Richard stice Equity analyst, standard and Poor’s, July 2003
 Every companies had their biggest down fall. They all have their struggles need to face off
but all that circumstances have a solutions. In every addition there has a sum to write on. Kodak
are one of the companies that face all the obstacles. Here are the problems of Kodak camera:

 Core competency become core rigidities.

- The former companies who wants to succeed, loses ability and determination to
rise to the struggles because of lack of hope.
- Executives also feared cannibalizing their core film sales.

 Lack of Market Research

- The company does not have market research for them to failed to deliver
products that meet costumers preference.
- False believe about what consumers want.
- Kodak did not immediately recognize it’s mass- market potential and focus
instead on high-end cameras for niche markets.

 Late move of Digital photography

- According to the Forbes (2012) that the Kodak's problem, on the surface, is that
it did not move into the digital world well enough and fast enough. Recent
articles dig a bit more and find that there were people who saw the problem
coming — people buried in the organization — but the firm did not act when it
should have, which is decades ago. Kodak faced the technological discontinuities
challenge, first clearly articulated by my colleague Clay Christensen: a new
technology has fierce competitors, low margins and cannibalizes your high
margin core business. And Kodak did not take decisive action to combat the
inevitable challenges.
- When the Sony Corp launched it’s own digital camera in 1981, a development
that sent “fear through the company”

 Innovation and transformation failure.

- Due to lack of plan.

 Unwillingness to change
- Kodak focused too much on devices and lost online battle to social networks like
facebook. All these attempts to sort of move the company in different directions
that a problem of not wanting to embrace change.

 Bankruptcy
 - By 1993, Kodak had spent $5 billion on digital imaging research, but the funds
were being diverted to 23 separate digital scanner projects. The money did help
Kodak capture an early lead in the market and it had 27% by 2003 and 7% by
2010 as needed ground to Canon, Nikon Corp and others. Kodak was losing $60
for every digital camera it sold by 2001 and it was trying to quell a war that had
erupted between it’s digital and film staff, according to the Harvard Case study.

As you can see at the table, it has a big difference between the year of 2013 from 2012. The net
income are decrease in the year 2013.

This is the income statement and the Balance sheet of Kodak company in the year 2006 and
2007. At this year, their sales are not that much low. They are still earning.
Solutions
 Strong core competencies

 Technological capabilities

 Rapid design to market cycle times

 Reputation for producing high-quality consumer electronics

 Reputation for producing high-quality optical devices (cameras, binoculars, microscopes,

medical equipment).

 Distribution network that includes large electronics chainsand local camera retailers.

 Involvement in multiple segments of the industry value chain – camera production and
sales, printing, supplies, professional photo processing.

IV. Possible Action Plan

According to Matthew Daneman [staff writer] that Eastman Kodak co. Scientists in this lake
avenue research hub are tinkering with the technique called “Stream inkjet technology” to
improve performance. It contains high-level of technology, because they are using square spot
laser writing technology. Tectonic, because potentially toward breakthroughs in spatial atomic
layer deposition. And lastly, burgeon the bonding of an atomic level layer of film on to the
contours of a surface. It’s also consists of higher-speed printing presses and products such as
foldable smart phones, a new generation of solar cells and wearable gadgets that monitor vital
signs. More immediately, the hope is that this kind of technology can save 121 year old
company emerging from 20 months of bankruptcy this week, according to the staff writer.

HIGH-LEVEL OF
TECHNOLOGY

BURGEON KIND STREAM INKJET TECTONIC TYPE

OF MATERIAL OF BOND
TECHNOLOGY

V. Possible Campaigns
 According to my research, Kodak doesn't have market research but they used
advertisement campaign to promote their product. And that's one of the reason why there
business are fall down they don't have plans. They don't know what or how to get and keep
customers. They just believed on what others said without knowing or conducting research if it
is fact or bluff. Kodak must focus on the customers. They must consider their wants and request.
They used Relationship marketing as their possible marketing campaigns.
Since the product is camera and camera develop pictures , try to develop connection with
your customers too. Be part of their memories. Be one of the reasons why their memories last
longer. Build trust not crust, Make Love not war and let your product change the world not the
world