EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In a period slightly longer than three months, our team of six had the assignment to analyze the chances and risks of the future e-cart market for VARTA. Our main goal was to find out how attractive is this market for our project partner and to develop a strategy for entering it. We split the big goal into smaller, manageable tasks, and by applying different methods, we came up with the implementable recommendations and suggestions. Aside from market and competitor analysis, our project included strategy development and a financial analysis for VARTA.

Goal

The main goal of our project was to determine where the future of the e-cart market is headed and how VARTA could make the best use of it. We made it our goal to analyze the market size, growth rate, competitors, customers’ preferences, as well as the geographically the most attractive markets. With these analyses, we wanted to provide VARTA with a product prototype, a clear and structured strategy for entering the market, as well as to lay out potential costs and profits.

Methodology

We started tackling this problem by doing the secondary research which included reading and analyzing different market and industry reports, such as Fortune Business Insights, as well as scientific journals like the Journal of Cleaner Production. To collect data and to get a more accurate market overview, the team also used different databases, as well as the information provided by our project partner. After getting a clearer and more precise picture of the whole e-cart and battery market (size, growth, share, profitability, competitors), we made certain hypotheses about the customers’ preferences, based on which we later conducted our interviews trying to validate them. Because of human resources and time limitations, we reduced our primary research by focusing on the DACH and Balkan region. The team conducted 21 qualitative interviews with people with different job backgrounds (professional and hobby golfers, electrical engineers, administrative workers etc.) in fields where the e-cart use is the biggest, such as golf courses, hotels, airports, and amusement parks. This gave us the information on the market potential and what customers value and prefer in e-carts and batteries, which helped us make a product prototype and a customer value proposition.

Of great importance were also the project course workshops we attended (workshops on slide design, data visualization, interview techniques etc.). Knowledge gained there came as a highly useful resource which helped us come to the results and handle the tasks we were given.

Results

The results of the first phase of our project were the e-cart and battery market analysis, assessment of the main customers’ pain points, competitor analysis, and the three possible strategies for entering the market were identified. In the second phase, we determined the best one and we developed a go-to-market strategy for VARTA which contains six phases. We also envisioned the final product for VARTA which is a lithium-ion battery, and we identified all the characteristics it should have, from lifetime, charging time, performance, and capacity to its voltage and price. We also made a distribution plan for 20.000 batteries in four different markets, and finally, we made the return-on-investment calculation. We developed three potential outcomes where we represented possible returns in the worst, average, and the best-case scenario. Aside from ROI calculations, the team assessed the needed budget for entering the market, and the concluding stage of the financial analysis involved an in-depth assessment of the amortization period.

Cooperation Partner

• Varta AG
  VARTA-Platz 1
  73479 Ellwangen, Germany
  www.varta-ag.com

Contact Person

• Daniel Schneider
  daniel.schneider@varta-ag.com

Student Team

• Christoph Freisinger

• Matthäus Konradsheim

• Hanna Krassler

• Marius Kaspar Oberhauser

• Jelena Petrović

• Daniel Szegner

Project Manager

• Mag. Benjamin Monsorno, M.A.

• Dr. Jakob Pohlisch