MANFRED SCHEER

The product manager is the main ambassador for the product line!

In addition to traditional product management work that occurs during the product lifetime (All tasks from market stydy, business case creation, R&D, product development and evetually end of life routines) I strongly belive the product manager needs to be the main ambassador for the products.

The product manager should make all key stakeholders love the products!

    

In the fall of 2016, I visited a telecom site owned by a Telecom operator in Sweden and found a DC Power system that we designed for the site 16 years earlier. When asking the customer representative if the system was still working well, he said:

”I mean… these energy systems are the best we ever had! They never breakdown and it has gone to the point that whenever we need to switch for more modern equipment, we make sure to harvest all the spare parts from the old systems and reuse for other sites”.

Seeing in field that equipment has passed it´s expected technical lifetime with 60% and still is going strong makes me very proud to be a part of making it happen! T

Below I present some other examples of products that have been in my care during my years in product management.

Product Management Examples: Indoor Battery Backup Systems.

In order to give radio base stations battery backup, the batteries are placed in racks to support them.

The products are usually grouped in to family trees where each family consists of main units and accessories.

In some cases, various electronics are placed in the racks as well.

Earth quake proof versions are mainly used in the US Markets and Japan.

Product Management Examples: Indoor Site Power Systems.

The site power system has power conversion integrated in the same cabinet/rack. Usually the battery backup is placed in the same enclosure as well.

Finding the right scalability and flexibility while still keeping the competitiveness is one of the bigger challenges in systems like this.

This product segment is very competitive so adding smart features gives extra customer value.

Product Management Examples: Outdoor Battery Backup Systems.

Lead acid batteries needs to be under climate control to maximize the lifetime, this fact creates a challenge and thereby a business opportunity.

Creating a battery cooler that is energy efficient, low in cost and flexible while meeting all telecom requirements.

Over the years I have also come to realize how important it is with easy installation as well.

OEM* Products as well as standard products sold worldwide to telecom operators and system manufacturers.

*) Original Equipment Manufacturer

Product Management Examples: Site Support Systems.

Some customers want to have full support for the radio systems from one cabinet. In such cases the cabinet may include: DC Power system, Battery backup, over voltage protection etc. .19″ Space for customer electronics is usually included as well.

The products can become quite complex, I.e. dual climate engines compressor cooling for batteries and heat exchanger for electronics