Credit Aldigit
Four Phases of the Design-Win Process (text)
It was suggested by several people that I post the text from my monolog on the four phases of the Design-Win process from the Conference call. So, without further ado..
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4 Phases of a Design-Win
There are essentially, four phases to a design-win in an Original Equipment Manufacturer or "OEM" environment. A design-win is when your product or service is integrated as part of the product or service which another company is selling. In the case of Greyson, design-wins can be when a company licenses Trilexon® and includes it as the delivery system within its sold products, it can be when a company, retailer or otherwise, re-brands and sells Greyson products as its own, or when a company contracts Greyson to develop a Trilexon® product for them using its active ingredient formulation.
1: Introduction Phase
The first phase is the Introduction. In the Introduction phase, contacts are made within the prospective design-win company. Initial technology presentations are held. Known and involved contacts are expanded to include key management and technical decision makers and follow-on presentations are held with the new and higher contacts. During these presentations and discussions, general outlines as to the form that company relationships can take are also reviewed from both sides to make sure there's an ideological match. The Introduction phase may be an entirely internal matter conducted within the OEM company itself before reaching out to prospective vendors. However, in the case of Greyson and its new and unique Trilexon® discovery, this phase is more often initiated when the technology originating company approaches the prospective OEM.
2: Shopping Phase
The Shopping phase is exactly what it sounds like. During this phase, the prospective OEM compares your product or technology with other, similar products, and also weighs the "make it vs. buy it" decision. However, given the unique nature of Greyson's Trilexon® discovery, the Shopping phase takes an unusual turn in that there aren't any comparable products in existence. At this point, Shopping boils down to the "make vs. buy" decision which rests entirely on the success of the Trilexon® patent application. With the US Patent and Trademark Office awarding Greyson a patent for Trilexon® that went into effect on September 18, 2012, the Shopping phase has essentially come to a close in that the only choice left to the OEM is to make some sort of deal with Greyson.
3: Integration Phase
The Integration phase is when the actual integration of a product occurs into an OEM's product. In Greyson's case, this may involve re-branding current Greyson products as the OEM's. It may involve re-formulating an OEM's current products to include Trilexon as their delivery system. Product re-development, final internal testing, test marketing, marketing focus groups are all aspects of this phase of the Design-Win process. As the results from this phase begin to be seen by the OEM, at some point a parallel effort to enter the final phase, the Deal Making phase begins.
4: Deal Making Phase
The Deal Making phase is the point in time where the initial steps to develop the OEM design-win relationship come to conclusion and a mutually beneficial inter-company partnership is formed. The rough outline which was agreed upon between the highest levels of the two companies is fleshed out. Paperwork, often legal, is drawn up between the two companies and, as appropriate, signed in order to formalize the relationship.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, outlining the four phases of a Design-Win should give current and potential investors an understanding of how far Greyson has come in its Trilexon® licensing efforts. It should also serve to show where we are now, well into the third, Integration phase and, most importantly, how close we feel we are to achieving a licensing deal itself.
Now, I'd like to turn it back over to Harvey for further comments.
