Running head: HOME DEPOT OPERATIONAL STRATEGY 1 HOME DEPOT OPERATIONAL STRATEGY 10 Vice President of Operations, Part 2 Bradford Gonzalez BUS 515: Operations Management Instructor: Phyllis Parise November 12, 2017 Home Depot Operational Strategy Weaknesses in Product Lifecycle The product lifecycle is the process that a product undergoes from its inception in the market until the point that its demand gradually drops to zero. The stages involved in the product lifecycle are introduction, growth, maturity, and finally decline. The products of Home Depot are no exception as they also undergo the same stages. However, they also have some limitations that do hinder their lifecycle. One such limitation is their lifespan and distribution during their lifecycle. It is apparent that Home Depot manufactures its products typically to fit the American population and as a result, the products fail to attain their maximum potential during their lifecycle (Lombardo, 2017). From their introduction to their decline stage, the Home Depot products are subject to limited distribution as well as exposure, which eventually makes them have a shorter time span than expected. For instance, when the organization concentrates on introducing its products to the American market and fails to pay attention to other global markets, it limits the lifecycle of the product, as it will not have a global impact that it should have. In addition, other stages that include maturity and growth are cut short since once the organization manages to exhaust the American market demand, it is unable to penetrate the other markets effectively and hence it speeds up the decline stage of the product. Another weakness that is apparent in the lifecycle of Home Depot products is the distribution of substandard products. Consumers are usually very keen on how they spend their financial resources especially when one considers the current tough economic times. This means that they are willing to either embrace a product or refuse it on many bases (Kems Jr, 2015). Regrettably, between 2012 and 2015, Home Depot managed to sabotage the lifecycle of some of their products by distributing and reselling already recalled merchandise. This was a big blow to the organization as it compromised the confidence that the consumers had in them. The faulty items included washing machines as well as fire extinguishers. As a result, Home Depot shortened the lifecycle of their products as the majority of their customers opted to get their merchandise from other distributors like Lowe or Nitori holdings who are peers as well as great competitors of Home Depot. Recommendations To counter these problems, Home Depot should first consider coming up with a product that will appeal to the global market. It should take the approach of multinationals such as Samsung, Sony, or LG that h ...