Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
many discoveries and then products are created as a result of those discoveries. 3M’s Post-it Notes are an
example. The adhesive that made it possible for Post-it Notes to stick and restick was created by a 3M
scientist who was actually in the process of trying to make something else. Post-it Notes came later.
Product Levels and Product Lines
A product’s technology platform is the core technology on which it is built. Take for example, the iPod,
which is based on MP3 technology. In many cases, the development of a new offering is to take a
technology platform and rebundle its benefits in order to create a different version of an already-existing
offering. For example, in addition to the iPod Classic, Apple offers the Shuffle and the Nano. Both are
based on the same core technology.
In some instances, a new offering is based on a technology platform originally designed to solve different
problems. For example, a number of products originally were designed to solve the problems facing
NASA’s space-traveling astronauts. Later, that technology was used to develop new types of offerings.
EQyss’s Micro Tek pet spray, which stops pets from scratching and biting themselves, is an example. The
spray contains a trademarked formula developed by NASA to decontaminate astronauts after they return
from space.
Figure 6.7