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Digg it UP - Yes - You CAN Compete with Offshore - Part II
One of the things I like about giving presentations to companies is meeting a new group of people and exchanging ideas with them. After a recent talk, several attendees and I had a great discussion about the power of branding.Later while changing my clothes, I was reminded how Levi Strauss & Company is one of the best in the business at branding. Just before I stuck my legs in the jeans I noticed a printed message on the outside of the inside flap of the pocket. From this short note, I’ve pulled three lessons that can maximize your brand.B
COST TO THE PURCHASER
This is the second area of great opportunity for you, the producer, because it has to do with your cost of production – someth
Extra income is something that we all need and want but are we willing to work a second job or earn extra income in other ways? Most people like the idea but after working a full time job would find it hard to work evenings as well.More often than not extra income is something that comes in the form of a windfall and is used to pay off outstanding debts or to buy those extra additions to your home you have been longing to buy.With the cost of living increasing everyday you may however find that you have no choice other than to find some form of extra
ALIGNMENT TO REQUIREMENTS
A big part of competitiveness is found in the alignment of the product to the customer’s requirements -- if it does what it’s supposed to do, they’re gonna consider buying it. This was discussed back in Quality of the Product, but it also means that you, as the producer, have to consider needs that the customer has in keeping his/her own costs down. You will have done that, of course, when you set up initial sales with the client, but it should be done on an ongoing basis, too.
RESPONSIVENESS TO NEEDS
Do you know what your customer is dealing with, and what new challenges are being faced by that company? Worthington Steel, based out of Columbus, Ohio actually makes it a point to send front line staff out periodically to client facilities to see how the product is being used. What good is that? It allows Worthington to make small changes in either construction or delivery that mean a big difference to the client. And often it’s ONLY the front line staff who can identify these types of requirements – sometimes the client doesn’t even know the opportunity is there. Staff can recognize this, and bring the ideas back to your plant where changes can make your product even more valuable to the client. What’s the outcome? Let’s look: Worthington is a leading diversified metal processing company with $3 billion in sales, and 8,000 employees in 63 facilities. You can review their results at www.worthingtonindustries.com.
Get your staff involved in improving your responsiveness to customer needs.
ABILITY TO DELIVER TO SCHEDULE
Believe it or not, this is the area where an American company has the best opportunity to compete with offshore. Here’s why. When production is moved to another country, the lead time on getting that product back here to the U.S. moves to an average of 8 to 10 weeks. That’s 2 ? months, most of which is transportation and loading time. And here’s the kicker – all of that new product has to be inspected. Now that may not sound like a big deal, but if your client is bringing a shipload of new product in (which is often necessary to keep transportation costs manageable), the inspection time alone is a very significant investment in time and manpower. And what happens if something is wrong? THEN there have to be plans and facilities in place for either shipping it back OR for fixing the problem back to spec. Can you honestly say there isn’t opportunity here for you to provide a much more competitive product? American companies should be able to very significantly reduce lead times; and errors in manufacturing can be much more quickly rectified when they do occur.
COST TO THE PURCHASER
This is the second area of great opportunity for you, the producer, because it has to do with your cost of production – somethi
Pepper spray is an inflammatory agent which is used to inflame the eyes and cause breathing difficulties, which in turn can cause a person who is attacking you to be put into a position where they are unable to cause any damage to you or your property. When a person is sprayed their eyes will literally clamp shut meaning they cannot see at all. If the person is standing, they will immediately be brought to their knees in a coughing fit and will be left with the ability to breath only small amounts of air, enough so that it is uncomfortable, but not restricted so m
RESPONSIVENESS TO NEEDS
Do you know what your customer is dealing with, and what new challenges are being faced by that company? Worthington Steel, based out of Columbus, Ohio actually makes it a point to send front line staff out periodically to client facilities to see how the product is being used. What good is that? It allows Worthington to make small changes in either construction or delivery that mean a big difference to the client. And often it’s ONLY the front line staff who can identify these types of requirements – sometimes the client doesn’t even know the opportunity is there. Staff can recognize this, and bring the ideas back to your plant where changes can make your product even more valuable to the client. What’s the outcome? Let’s look: Worthington is a leading diversified metal processing company with $3 billion in sales, and 8,000 employees in 63 facilities. You can review their results at www.worthingtonindustries.com.
Get your staff involved in improving your responsiveness to customer needs.
ABILITY TO DELIVER TO SCHEDULE
Believe it or not, this is the area where an American company has the best opportunity to compete with offshore. Here’s why. When production is moved to another country, the lead time on getting that product back here to the U.S. moves to an average of 8 to 10 weeks. That’s 2 ? months, most of which is transportation and loading time. And here’s the kicker – all of that new product has to be inspected. Now that may not sound like a big deal, but if your client is bringing a shipload of new product in (which is often necessary to keep transportation costs manageable), the inspection time alone is a very significant investment in time and manpower. And what happens if something is wrong? THEN there have to be plans and facilities in place for either shipping it back OR for fixing the problem back to spec. Can you honestly say there isn’t opportunity here for you to provide a much more competitive product? American companies should be able to very significantly reduce lead times; and errors in manufacturing can be much more quickly rectified when they do occur.
COST TO THE PURCHASER
This is the second area of great opportunity for you, the producer, because it has to do with your cost of production – someth
The pet care business is booming and leading to a very good income for those who love and want to work with animals, especially for those who want to care for dogs. There is definitely no shortage of opportunities in the pet care business and indeed there has been no better time to get established with pet care because pet popularity is at its' peak. Americans and people from countries all over the world literally spend thousands each year on such things as boarding, breeding, grooming, pet sitting and pet accessories. The experts in the field claim that this tren
Get your staff involved in improving your responsiveness to customer needs.
ABILITY TO DELIVER TO SCHEDULE
Believe it or not, this is the area where an American company has the best opportunity to compete with offshore. Here’s why. When production is moved to another country, the lead time on getting that product back here to the U.S. moves to an average of 8 to 10 weeks. That’s 2 ? months, most of which is transportation and loading time. And here’s the kicker – all of that new product has to be inspected. Now that may not sound like a big deal, but if your client is bringing a shipload of new product in (which is often necessary to keep transportation costs manageable), the inspection time alone is a very significant investment in time and manpower. And what happens if something is wrong? THEN there have to be plans and facilities in place for either shipping it back OR for fixing the problem back to spec. Can you honestly say there isn’t opportunity here for you to provide a much more competitive product? American companies should be able to very significantly reduce lead times; and errors in manufacturing can be much more quickly rectified when they do occur.
COST TO THE PURCHASER
This is the second area of great opportunity for you, the producer, because it has to do with your cost of production – someth
Employee evaluations serve an important purpose. They let both the employee and the company know how things are going. Ideally, they offer feedback, guidance and recognition; too often, though, they become just another drudgery and serve no real purpose. Here are some ways to improve the experience for both sides.For the Supervisor.1. The number one rule is that an employee must never be surprised by his or her evaluation. Good managers deliver evaluations regularly by praising areas where the employee excels and offering guidance and instruction whe
Believe it or not, this is the area where an American company has the best opportunity to compete with offshore. Here’s why. When production is moved to another country, the lead time on getting that product back here to the U.S. moves to an average of 8 to 10 weeks. That’s 2 ? months, most of which is transportation and loading time. And here’s the kicker – all of that new product has to be inspected. Now that may not sound like a big deal, but if your client is bringing a shipload of new product in (which is often necessary to keep transportation costs manageable), the inspection time alone is a very significant investment in time and manpower. And what happens if something is wrong? THEN there have to be plans and facilities in place for either shipping it back OR for fixing the problem back to spec. Can you honestly say there isn’t opportunity here for you to provide a much more competitive product? American companies should be able to very significantly reduce lead times; and errors in manufacturing can be much more quickly rectified when they do occur.
COST TO THE PURCHASER
This is the second area of great opportunity for you, the producer, because it has to do with your cost of production – someth
I recently spoke with a retail merchant who told me that she was not too concerned about the fees that we assess. While I was detailing all relevant rates, she asked me a very interesting question: “How much do you think that I should charge my customers to make up for my credit card processing costs?” She added, “I would like to charge a surcharge.”I had an instant flashback to the time I placed a food order with a pizzeria. When I walked into the restaurant, the aroma whetted my appetite. Immersed in the beckoning scent, I barely heard the cashier when he
COST TO THE PURCHASER
This is the second area of great opportunity for you, the producer, because it has to do with your cost of production – something that is mostly within your control. Now you will holler that you can’t control the cost of supplies and labor. But the fact is that you CAN control the cost of production, and there is very often ample opportunity for improvement here. Have you used the four process mapping approaches? Do you know where in your line the value and non-value steps are? Have you applied the Lean principles relative to the Five Ss, Preventative Maintenance, and Predictive Maintenance. Most business owners have at least put these last three in place, but often a systematic review of processes has not been done – and there is a lot of opportunity in process mapping! Edwards Deming felt that as many as 70% of process steps are waste steps, and identifying and eliminating them can drastically reduce your cost of producing a product. This is a prime area for investment in outside help, because the return on investment potential is so high. Look into it, you will not be sorry.
IN SUMMARY…
There are six areas where a domestic company can improve its competitiveness with offshore. They are:
1. Improving the quality of the product
2. Improving the friendliness of the service
3. Securing better alignment to customer requirements
4. Enhancing responsiveness to customer needs
5. Providing better delivery to schedule
6. And reducing cost to the purchaser through Lean applications.
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