It is becoming more and more difficult to compete in the global marketplace that we all exist in. Whether you are making baseball bats or widgets, there is somebody out there trying to produce them less expensively and quicker than you. But the question is if they are building a superior product? For some people, it doesn’t matter, cheaper is good enough even if the product doesn’t last as long. It is strange and regrettable, but cheaper has become the slogan and the word of choice for many buyers and organizations. Yes, less expensive is better, but less expensive doesn’t necessarily work out for the best. So the objective is to produce a good, high value part and to make it of high value to your potential customers. The builders of the items do not decide what they makes’ worth; the buyer does. What is the customer willing to pay for your part and how big of a demand for your product is there? There are different ways to boost your earnings for your product.
You can always raise the price and pass it off to the consumer. But there is a better way, a more long term way that can raise profits and keep your business running lean and efficiently. It all starts with eliminating unnecessary waste in all areas of your company. Waste comes in many forms and it costs every company more cash than they would care to admit. Waste is when workers are just standing around, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t orders to be made. It might just mean that they are waiting for parts to be finished in the assembly department or it might mean that they are waiting for product from a supplier. These are method issues that can directly influence the end product and the speed at which you can make. When workers are sitting around, idle and waiting for the work to come to their area, they are not productive. They are idle and are in essence simply wasting money and time. It is the same when you have machines standing quiet. What is the point of having a expensive automated machine if it is not being run for hours a day? Would it be more cost effective to do the job by hand, sell the machine and purchase a piece of machinery that will be more industrious? What about the room that the equipment is filling, could another work station be put there and more work actually be completed without the machine? You can’t say that you don’t want to do away with equipment because you may want it. If you are not using it or it is outdated, then it is taking up room and not contributing to the development and profit of theorganization. It can be difficult to admit that purchasing that equipment was a bad idea, but if it doesn’t work and doesn’t assit build the business, then it is time to push forward and realize something that does. It is named adapting and moving forward.