Group No.

13

Kikaganesh Kartik A., Patel Bhavin T., Patel Milan P., Hariyani Ajay

Case study on

USING INNOVATION TO CREATE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

• INTRODUCTION
We live in a digital age. Music, video, phone calls, information creation and
information consumption are all, by and large, done digitally. A huge proportion of this
happens on the Internet. People use the Internet and its content via computers: As
Internet content becomes more sophisticated with, for example, film, music and
podcasts, more computing power is needed. The computer chips inside computers
need to keep pace with that demand.
Intel is best known for producing the chips that deliver this increased computing
power. Computer chips are essentially collections of transistors - tiny electronic
devices that control the flow of electricity to create the 1s and 0s that underpin
computing. Intel is the world’s leader in silicon innovation. Silicon is made from purified
sand that is super-heated. Produced as a huge sausage-like shape called an ingot, it
is sliced into wafers. The chips are manufactured on these wafers.
Transistors are the building blocks of computer chips that Intel has been making
for 40 years. Intel has been working to make these transistors smaller so that more of
them could be fitted onto the same area of silicon, making the chips more powerful.
This came at a price. Until recently, the smaller the transistors, the hotter the chips
tended to run. In 2007 Intel developed a breakthrough in the materials used to
construct the transistors. Not only can these transistors work faster, they can also do
this while generating less heat. Intel has started to use this new material for its latest
generation of processors. These are made from transistors only 45 nanometres in size.
This means over 2,000 of them could fit on the full stop at the end of this sentence. A
45 nanometer transistor can switch on and off approximately 300 billion times a
second. A beam of light travels less than a tenth of an inch during the time it takes a
45nm transistor to switch on and off.
Gordon Moore Intel’s founder predicted that the number of transistors on a chip
will double roughly every two years. Intel uses ‘Moore’s law’ to inform its development
strategies. This case study focuses on Intel’s integrated mix of research and
development (R&D) and manufacturing. This enables Intel to implement the ‘tick-tock’
strategy designed to put it ahead of its competitors and maintain that competitive
advantage.

1965 Gordon Moore publishes what become known as Moore’s Law.

 Intel (Integrated Electronics) founded by Robert Noyce and Gordon
1968
Moore.

1970 Fist microprocessor produced.

Intel386 microprocessor released. A 32 bit chip – able to run several

1985
programmes at the same time.

1993 Arrival of Pentium processor.

Latest version of Intel Pentium 4 processor – high performance desktop

2002
PCs with 55 million transistors.

Intel Centrino mobile technology released with Intel’s latest mobile

2003 processor the Intel Pentium M processor. It contains 77 million
transistors.

Intel Core 2 Duo processor released with over 290million transistors.

Followed by the Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad-core processor with over
2006
580 million transistors. Intel announces its ‘tick-tock’ model detailing how
it will enhance its products every year.

Breakthrough in transistor desingn base on 45nm yechnology. New

2007 processor based on the 45nm technology have quad-core chip
containing 820 million transistors.

Intel Centrino 2 launched give WinMAX connectivity to notebooks Intel

2008
Atomth architecture for mobile Internet Devices launched.

• MARKET OR PRODUCT ORIENTATED DEVELOPMENT

A business can develop its products either through product-orientated
development or market-orientated development:
 Product-orientated development focuses on developing the production process
and the product itself arising from for example, new use of technology or
innovation.
 A market-orientated approach identifies and analyses customer needs. It then
develops products which meet them.
 Both approaches are important. Right from its early days, Intel realised the
importance of combining product innovation with a market focused approach.
 Intel responds to both customer demand and product innovation. Its products are
therefore ‘user centric’, that is, the product development meets the needs of the
customer. Intel has anthropologists who study how people use technology in their
lives. This information helps Intel’s product design teams to understand what customer
requirements are. Intel also has a development programme to increase the capacity of
a microprocessor. This fits with the two-year cycle in which the microprocessor is
adapted or a new product is launched.

• RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Research and development help to:
 create new and better products
 improve the methods for making the products
 Develop new market opportunities to sustain or accelerate
growth.
Research involves designing new ideas to solve a problem
or to create an opportunity. An example is the development of a
new microprocessor for a mobile phone to give it access to the
Internet.
Intel conducts research in two key areas:
 Research into manufacturing capabilities and material. This type of research led
to the introduction of the 45nm high-k metal gate silicon manufacturing
technology.
 More broad research focused on what technology can offer. This can cover how
to integrate multiple different types of wireless technology into a single device or
how to use silicon technologies to act as sensors. The research reaches into
areas such as robotics.
Intel invests large sums in its research laboratories all over the world. Intel’s
leadership in silicon technology, combined with the R&D capability to develop new
products and new ways of making products, makes it one of the leaders in its field.
The result of this research is the creation of products customers want, which can be
manufactured easily in large volumes. Examples include notebook computers
containing Intel Centrino Processor Technology.
Research generates many ideas but only the best will be chosen for
development. Development involves converting good ideas into a commercial product,
for example, by improving a microprocessor to run multiple computer programs at the
same time. The development of the selected products must meet specific timetables
for launch worldwide.
The end products resulting from an intensive R&D programme benefit the
customer. These might include a smaller and faster computer or mobile phones at
lower prices. Technological advances can also mean less energy consumption,
reducing the carbon footprint of consumers and businesses.
Before manufacturing, Intel produces a ‘blueprint’ or design of what a particular
microchip will be needed for.
This outlines all the functions it will need to support, such as wireless capability
or image software. The design has to answer key questions:
 What type of chip is needed and why?
 How many transistors can be built on the chip?
 What is the best chip size?
 What technology will be available to create the chip?
 When does the chip need to be ready?
 Where will it be manufactured and tested?
To answer these questions, Intel works with customers, software companies and
Intel’s marketing, manufacturing and testing staff. Intel takes all the responses to
define a chip’s features and design. The designs are put together in the form of a
computer-simulated chip that can be tested using Computer Aided Design (CAD). The
CAD system tests, for example, how the transistors turn on and off. It also tests how
the chip performs an action such as launching a computer operating system.

• MANUFACTURING
Intel has been described as a ‘manufacturing monster’. It can develop and bring
a product to market faster than anyone else. Intel’s production process is automated
using sophisticated robotic equipment to ensure accuracy. This is a good example of
production in the secondary sector of industry. Intel has plants around the world
manufacturing different processors for different markets. It chooses locations where
there is enough land to build such large plants. These need to be close to skilled
labour, its markets and to customers. For example, Intel fabricates 45nm chips in New
Mexico, Oregon and Arizona in the USA, as well as in Israel. Each new factory costs
up to $3 billion (around £1.5 billion) to construct. The refitting costs for older plants
can be over $1 billion (around £0.5 billion). Intel uses a methodology called ‘copy
exactly’. This ensures factories are built in exactly the same way, no matter where they
are, and gives a consistent approach. This is critical when manufacturing such
sensitive and highly complex devices.
The manufacturing process requires the highest standards of ‘clean
environments’. This is thousands of times cleaner than in an operating theatre. Intel’s
employees wear special suits to ensure no dust or hair falls onto the wafers. The air is
so clean that one cubic metre of air contains less than one particle of dust. The
production process is a highly complex one. It takes an average of 200 people working
full time for two years to design, test and have a new chip ready for manufacture.
Intel provides computer chips for many different market segments . A market
segment is usually defined, for example, by age, gender or geographical position. Intel
identifies its market segments by product use, e.g. notebooks, desktops, servers.
Some products are for the business market, for example, desktop computers and
laptops for companies. Other products are for personal use, for example, notebook
computers for students.
Intel is continually developing new approaches to keep it ahead of the
competition. Vertical integration gives it a strong advantage. This means Intel does
not outsource any of its work for research, development or manufacturing. For
example, many companies do research and some development but give the product
design to another company to produce. Intel does all three processes itself. Its
manufacturing process is capital-intensive because of the specialist equipment. For
example, Intel spent more than $7 billion (£3.5 billion) on manufacturing plants using
the latest 45nm process technology. Intel believes this investment is worthwhile, as
this highly competitive approach gives it a competitive edge by:
 ensuring quality
 protecting its ideas
 Meeting its timescales .

• COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Competitive advantage means a company has or does something better than its
rivals. The ‘tick-tock’ strategy was announced in September 2006 by Intel’s CEO, Paul
Otellini. It is a blueprint for Intel to maintain its technology leadership and competitive
advantage. It plans to take advantage of Intel’s product research, development and
manufacturing capacity to deliver improved products every year. This regular
improvement will ensure continued market leadership. In ‘tick’ years Intel will introduce
a new manufacturing process (of which the 45nm process is the latest). ‘Tock’ years
will see the introduction of new designs (architectures) of CPUs (central processing
units).
Intel is competitive because:
 It has a regular cadence (or rhythm) to the development of new products
or improvements to existing ones.
  It integrates teams from R&D and all
areas of manufacturing, all working to the same
schedules. Intel is the only company that can
combine and optimise manufacturing process
technology, product design, leading-edge
capacity, design tools, masks and packaging
in-house.
 It sets the highest standards in high-
quality clean production. The company invests
vast sums in R&D and manufacturing. This
makes it is difficult for rival companies to match
Intel.
 It designs quality products. Intel
continually develops new technologies that
combine product-led, user-led, and market-led features.
 It is able to leverage its manufacturing capability. This means it can
increase production to bring product to market in large volumes. Increasing
volume and getting the product onto the market as quickly as possible are
important elements in creating and maintaining a competitive advantage.
Process technology cadence for sustained leadership

Tick (product refinement family code-name Presler)

2 year 65nm
Tock (new product design family code-name Merom)

Tick (product refinement family code-name Penryn)

2 year 45nm
Tock (new product design family code-name Nehalem)

Tick (product refinement family code-name Westmere)

2 year 32nm
Tock (new product design family code-name Sandy Bridge)

In order to protect its advantage it is essential that Intel registers intellectual

property and patents in new product development. This registration is vital for Intel.
This gives legal protection against copying by its competitors. The protected time
allows it to sell its products without direct competition. These help to recover the
investment costs of designing, researching and developing the new products.

• CONCLUSION
Since 1968 Intel has contributed to improving people’s lives, work and leisure.
The company’s work is at the heart of the Internet, personal computing, mobile
phones, games consoles and home entertainment systems. Intel products drive the
technology we use in homes, hospitals, schools, offices, factories and airports. Intel’s
commitment to continual innovation and investment in research and development in
product and manufacturing technology ensures competitiveness and growth. It also
provides customers around the world with the latest developments.