Web coating or converting is used in many industrial applications including the production of pressure-sensitive tapes and labels, flexible packaging, photographic film, coated vinyl, wall coverings, sandpaper and other abrasives, paperboard boxes, vinyl flooring, industrial and decorative laminating, carbon paper and carbonless paper, circuit boards, and business forms.

The coating process consists of applying a coating material to a moving web of flexible substrate.  Different types of coating lines may be found in each industry, but broadly speaking each system is based on a roll design and will consist of a metering system for applying the coating material to the substrate, followed by a drying tunnel to dry the coated web before it is rewound. 

How we plan to make it comprehensive and focused

Left Section

• Prepare a list of all possible technologies and identify the adjacent and new markets on a predefined set of parameters, agreed upon with the client during the course of study.
• Find the key technologies in a specific domain of web coating.
• Iterative refinement to search queries based on the review of relevant datasets, to capture missed keywords, assignees and patent classification.
• Multiple strategies will be used to capture relevant data — assignee searches, keyword and patent classification searches, market size, recent innovations and market demand.
• Target the domain from all possible angles. Prepare targeted queries for all of the areas.

Top Highlight

Reports are based on deep and detailed analysis of the domain and come with a fully searchable repository of all relevant documents.

Right Section

• Keep the client questions in mind during the course of the project and analyze the data to extract the relevant answers — to identify the new markets or adjacent markets in the domain of web coating.
• A collection of technical and scientific or market documentation on web coating will be obtained by research, analysis and expansion of information carried out using highly specialized professional and databases.
  • We will use the combination of patent, scientific literature and market study to gain deeper knowledge and insights.
  • Identify a wide spectrum of market areas in the domain.
  • Identify what the client is currently doing.
  • Access information on technologies ready to be used and to be applied in their own product or process.
• Data clustering and classification based on a taxonomy category using smart analysis.
• Data clean up by removing noise such as references related to the points highlighted in ‘exclusion criteria’.

 

Proposed strategy – Broad steps

Phase I

Step 1 — Identifying the Client’s Market Areas / Technology in Web Coating

We will understand what the company is already doing, the company’s established assets, products, patented technologies in the domain of web coating.

Step 2 — Market Analysis & Technical Literature

We will perform market research of identified technologies to know the details of players who are working or using such technologies in the domain of web coating.

We will identify technical literature to look for technologies in the domain of web coating, with the final objective of identifying the adjacent and new market needs.

Step 3 — Smart Categorization into Various Headers

We will classify the relevant literature identified in previous steps into various taxonomy headers by smart filtering using parameters in literature fields, such as:

• Specific keywords
• IPC or CPC classes

We will check/identify technologies such as:

• Application areas
• Type of coating material or devices
• Properties of coating
• Technique of coating, etc.

Step 4 — Categorizing as New Markets or Adjacent Markets

Adjacent Markets: Near to what the client’s business does. This will be done on the basis of various parameters such as:

• Similar material of coating or application areas
• Problem solving
• Company’s established assets
• Company’s products
• Geographical considerations
• Comparison with the company

New Markets: What the client’s business does not cater to at present.

Step 5 — Ranking of the Market Areas and White Space Analysis

Which market is interesting to enter?

This will be done by identifying the following for both adjacent market and new market areas:

a. Size of market (in $ and units)
b. Overall growth rate
c. End-use application

(Explained in detail in the subsequent slide.)

Phase II

Step 6 — Detailed Information on the Top Shortlisted Market Areas — As Per Below Headers

For the top identified market areas — from the categories of new or adjacent market areas — detailed information will be provided.

Customer Landscape

• Size and share / relevance
• Geographic orientation
• Go-to-market / distribution model
• Buying decision — drivers, substitutability, qualification period
• Pricing power / market elasticity

Competitive Landscape

• Size and share / relevance
• SWOT and positioning (niche, etc.)
• Technology and capability assessment
• Value chain perspective — defensibility / are the goods substitutable

Product / Technology Landscape

• Key input costs and drivers, supply POV
• Valued attributes
• Capital intensity
• Asset uniqueness / key characteristics

Above list to be shared by the Client. Please note that some information may not be provided by the experts.

Phase III

Step 7 — Business Case (Optional)

Make a business case for one (or two) recommended market areas to identify business opportunity / potential partner identification in the coating domain.