It is becoming much harder to compete in the global marketplace that we all dwell in. Whether you are making baseball bats or widgets, there is somebody out there trying to build them cheaper and quicker than you. But the question is if they are producing a superior product? For some buyers, it doesn’t matter, cheaper is better even if the product doesn’t last as long. It is weird and regrettable, but cheaper has become the catchphrase and the word of choice for many consumers and organizations. Yes, less expensive is better, but cheaper doesn’t always work out for the best. So the goal is to produce a first-rate, high quality product and to make it of high value to your customers. The producers of the parts do not decide what they makes’ value; the customer does. What is the buyer willing to pay for your product and how big of a demand for your product is there? There are different ways to boost your revenue for your product.
You can always raise the price and pass it off to the customer. But there is a better way, a more long term way that can raise revenue and keep your organization working lean and efficiently. It all starts with eliminating unnecessary waste in all aspects of your organization. Waste comes innumerous forms and it costs every organization more revenue than they would care to disclose. Waste is when employees are just standing around, but that does not mean that there aren’t orders to be filled. It mightsimply mean that they are waiting for parts to be completed in the painting department or it might mean that they are waiting for parts from a vendor. These are process issues that can directly influence the end product and the speed at which you can produce. When employees are sitting around, unused and waiting for the work to come to their area, they are not producing. They are under used and are in essence just wasting cash and time. It is the same when you have machines sitting idle. What is the point of having a costly automatic machine if it is not being run for hours a day? Would it be more efficient to do the process by hand, sell the machine and buy a piece of machinery that will be more productive? What about the room that the machine is taking up, could another work spot be put there and more jobs actually be completed without the machine? You can’t say that you don’t want to get rid of parts because you might need it. If you are not making use of it or it is old, then it is taking up valuable space and not contributing to the expansion and profit of thebusiness. It can be difficult to admit that purchasing that robot was a bad idea, but if it does not and doesn’t assit grow the company, then it is time to move on and find something that does. It is titles adapting and pushing ahead.