It is becoming much tougher to compete in the global marketplace that we all live in. Whether you are making hair dryers or widgets, there is someone out there trying to build them cheaper and quicker than you. But the question is if they are making a better part? For some buyers, it doesn’t matter, cheaper is good enough even if the product doesn’t last as long. It is strange and unfortunate, but cheaper has become the catchphrase and the word of choice for many buyers and organizations. Yes, less expensive is better, but cheaper doesn’t always work out for the best. So the object is to produce a superior, high value product and to make it of high worth to your potential customers. The producers of the parts do not establish what they makes’ value; the customer does. What is the consumer ready to pay for your part and how much of a demand for your product is there? There are different ways to increase your revenue for your product.
You can always elevate the price and pass it off to the customer. But there is a better way, a longer term way that can boost profits and keep your organization running lean and efficiently. It all begins with eliminating unnecessary waste in all parts of your business. Waste comes in many forms and it costs every organization more money than they would care to admit. Waste is when employees are just standing around, but that does not mean that there aren’t orders to be made. It mightsimply mean that they are waiting for parts to be finished in the assembly department or it could mean that they are waiting for parts from a vendor. These are procedure issues that can directly affect the end product and the speed at which you can make. When employees are loafing around, idle and waiting for the job to come to their work station, they are not useful. They are under used and are in essence just wasting cash and time. It is the same when you have machines standing quiet. What is the point of having a costly automatic machine if it is not being run for hours a day? Would it be more cost effective to do the process by hand, sell the robot and buy a piece of machinery that will be more productive? What about the room that the equipment is filling, could another work spot be put there and more labor actually be done without the robot? You can’t say that you don’t want to do away with parts because you might need it. If you are not using it or it is outdated, then it is taking up valuable space and not contributing to the development and profit of theorganization. It can be uncomfortable to admit that purchasing that robot was a bad idea, but if it doesn’t work and doesn’t assit build the company, then it is time to push forward and realize something that does. It is called adapting and going forward.