It is getting more and tougher to compete in the global marketplace that we all dwell in. Whether you are producing motorcycles or widgets, there is somebody out there trying to build them less expensively and quicker than you. But the question is if they are building a superior product? For some buyers, it doesn’t matter, cheaper is good enough even if the part doesn’t last as long. It is bizarre and unfortunate, but cheaper has become the slogan and the word of choice for many buyers and organizations. Yes, less expensive is better, but cheaper doesn’t necessarily work out for the best. So the objective is to make a superior, high value item and to make it of high value to your buyers. The producers of the items do not establish what they makes’ worth; the customer does. What is the customer prepared to pay for your item and how much of a demand for your part is there? There are different ways to increase your revenue for your goods.
You can always increase the price and pass it off to the customer. But there is a better way, a longer term method that can increase profits and keep your business running lean and efficiently. It all starts with removing unnecessary waste in all parts of your company. Waste comes inlots of forms and it costs every company more money than they would care to confess. Waste is when employees are just hanging around, but that does not mean that there aren’t orders to be built. It might just mean that they are waiting for parts to be completed in the electrical department or it might mean that they are waiting for parts from a vendor. These are method issues that can directly affect the end product and how many you can produce. When employees are hanging around, idle and waiting for the job to come to their area, they are not useful. They are unused 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 fancy automated machine if it is not being used 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 area that the machine is taking up, could another work spot be put there and more labor actually be completed without the equipment? You can’t say that you don’t want to get rid of something because you may need it. If you are not using it or it is outdated, then it is taking up space and not contributing to the growth and profit of theorganization. It can be hard to admit that purchasing that equipment was a bad idea, but if it doesn’t work and doesn’t help grow the company, then it is time to push forward and find something that does. It is called adapting and moving ahead.