RealTime - Fall 2008 - (Page 16)

PROFILE JOHN DOE Blazing a New Trail When you regularly finish each other’s thoughts, you know you have a tight team. Jeff Hovorka and Darrin Stock are just such a team. They are part of the group that developed and launched the Intermec CK3: Hovorka is the product manager responsible for product characteristics and development; Stock is charged with planning its launch into the marketplace. The CK3 is no ordinary product launch, though. “One of the challenges is it’s the first product to cut new ground at Intermec in terms of new methods of manufacturing and distribution, and new levels of partner engagement,” Hovorka said. “It’s really blazing a whole new trail. We don’t have a set of answers we can turn to; this one is entirely new.” “We were challenged to create the gold standard of marketing launch plans,” Stock said. “Part of it was engaging with partners much earlier in the product development cycle, providing them with business development units and bringing them into the product launch fold much earlier in the process.” While the CK3 is built on the same flexible platform as the successful CN3, the team adapted the ergonomics of this industrial mobile computer to meet the needs of a workforce that has a growing number of women. “We really looked at the ergonomics as well as the evolving demographic of the workforce,” Hovorka said. “The CK3 delivers better ergonomics and at a lower price point with features and functionality that were never part of Intermec legacy and competitive products. It’s very adaptable, like the CN3.” It also breaks new ground in its scanning capabilities. “It’s the first key-based, in-premise offering that has all Intermec imager-based scan engine technology,” Hovorka said. “Some of the fun has been the validation of our imager-based approach by industry analysts and customers. It’s been very gratifying to see the idealistic approach we took with imagers is actually blossoming right before us.” “The product is so strong we could really focus on the strategic parts of the launch,” Stock said. “Then when you get the validation of an email that says, ‘Wow, this is the best thing you’ve come out with in 12 years,’ it really seals the deal.” Hovorka and Stock are destined to move on to new products and projects, but the CK3 will always be the one that blazed a new trail. “We’re blessed with the opportunity to launch a real rocket of a product,” Stock said. ❙ 16 realtime / 2008

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RealTime - Fall 2008 Contents View Intermec News Profile Smooth Ride Partner Profiles Time Is Money Hog Wild Bally Technologies Cashes In Running Precisely Events Coda

RealTime - Fall 2008

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