The Mech Touch

s time, Ves had refrained from expanding the catalog, figuring that it was a futile effort to do so while the onset of the next mech generation would instantly devalue his outdated work.

Gavin sighed and tried to reassure his boss.
”It ’s not your fault.
You made a good decision based on your predictions of the future.
No one could have accounted for a black swan event to upend the entire mech market and turn our successful products into liabilities.
The LMC is not the only mech company which has been burned by their exposure to the swings in the market. ”

”I know, Benny, but I should have prepared the LMC better.
If I didn ’t take the time to go on this tour, then I might have designed a mech or two that could have saved my mech company from irrelevance. ”

Even though he said that, Ves did not regret going on this tour.
He had harvested an immense amount of gains, most of which he would have never been able to obtain if he immediately returned home after he finished his pilgrimage to Centerpoint.

Though the LMC had landed in hot water due to the near-complete drop in demand for their products, the news was not all that bad.
Gavin had already been in touch with Calsie and the top management of the company.

”The executives you put in charge of the LMC aren ’t running around like headless chickens.
Once they analyzed the changing market trends, they immediately came up with a couple of solutions.
The one that Calsie is pursuing right now is to cease production of all of our current mech models.
Instead, she ’s in the process of acquiring a production license of a ballistic rifleman mech design. ”

The solution surprised Ves a little, though he quickly nodded.
”Since the LMC doesn ’t have any mech that can sell well in our current catalog, the best way to remedy this deficiency is to license another design! ”

According to Gavin, Calsie and the relevant staff began to shop around for a ballistic rifleman mech model that made use of materials or components that the LMC was already familiar with.
The greater the fit, the easier the Mech Nursery would be able to adjust to the changes and scale up the production of the licensed mechs!

”I want to be involved in the selection of the license. ” Ves insisted.
”Send all the relevant information to my terminal.
I ’ll go over it when I have time. ”

Once he received the documents, Gavin made another remark.

”Pursuing this solution only serves as a temporary stopgap.
It won ’t be good for the LMC to rely on a borrowed design.
We have to do our best to return to producing our own mechs after a few months.
The longer we stall, the more our company will lose its hard-earned reputation in the market. ”

Ves adopted a pensive face.
”I know how important it is for us to retain our reputation.
But this also where I ’m faced with a dilemma. ”

He had two choices.

His first option was to begin designing a ballistic mech design immediately.
Obviously, this risked getting his work getting devalued as soon as the mech community transitioned to the new mech generation.

His second option was to bet that the next mech generation arrived very soon and hold back from designing any mech until that happened.
It might take a week, a month, a year or even more!

This was because the MTA constantly tweaked the package of standards, technologies and component licenses that made up the new generation.
Until the powerful organization made up its mind, it would hold back from starting the great switch.

Both Ves and Gavin racked their brains for the right solution.
Ves restlessly stroked Lucky ’s back while Gavin paced back and forth across the deck.

Eventually, Gavin halted and turned back to his boss.

”Why do you want to delay? What is the argument that is holding you back from starting your new design project this instant? ”

”You know the answer.
I don ’t want to spend my valuable time on designing a mech that will take an immediate hit in profitability during or shortly after the design period. ”

”Is this the time to chase after profits? ”

”What are you getting at, Benny? ”

”The Komodo Star Sector is under attack.
The Bright Republic is under attack.
This isn ’t the time to be greedy, Ves! There is a time and place to pursue maximum profits but this is war! Not only that, but our enemy isn ’t the Vesians this time.
It ’s a larger, greater alien threat that has to be fought in a different way from what we are used to! Under such difficult circumstances, who cares whether your mech is lastgen or currentgen!? The LMC ’s profit margin doesn ’t matter anymore! As long as we can break even and survive the following years, that ’s already a win in my book! ”

Though Ves had been taken aback by Gavin ’s strident tone, he soon became swayed.
”You ’re right.
I was being too greedy for my own good.
Even if I design a mech that will become devalued in a couple of months, it ’s still worth the effort.
As long as I can design something good, the LMC will be able to contribute to the war effort.
Not only will we be able to stay relevant, if our new mech model does well in battle, we can continue to grow our reputation. ”

”Once the crisis is over, we can reap the benefits! If there is one thing you are good at, boss, it ’s designing mechs that are reliable, stable and incredibly pleasant to pilot! The more mechs we place in the hands of our customers, the more they ’ll become our lifelong customers! ”

The arguments presented by Gavin gave the LMC a way out of the crisis.
Rather than attempting to maximize revenue or profits, the company should instead focus on building up its reputation and expanding its market reach!

Ves no longer obsessed over his need to incorporate the latest technologies in his mech designs.
He belatedly realized that he had fallen into the trap of tech envy.

As a mech designer, he was very immersed in technology.
It was very difficult for him to resist the urge to utilize the latest and most effective solutions.

However, mech buyers didn ’t necessarily adopt the same perspective.

During these difficult times, they merely wanted something that worked and didn ’t fall apart after a couple of uses.
While they were willing to pay for quality, they were willing to settle for something they could immediately get their hands on that worked!

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