It is becoming much tougher to compete in the worldwide marketplace that we all exist in. Whether you are building 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 making a superior part? For some buyers, it doesn’t matter, cheaper is better even if the product doesn’t last as long. It is weird and unfortunate, but cheaper has become the motto and the word of choice for many buyers and companies. Yes, less expensive is better, but less expensive 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 product do not determine what they makes’ value; the consumer does. What is the consumer prepared to pay for your part and how much of a demand for your product is there? There are different ways to boost your profit for your product.
You can always elevate the price and pass it off to the customer. But there is a better way, a more long term approach that can increase earnings and keep your organization working lean and efficiently. It all begins with removing unnecessary waste in all parts of your company. Waste comes in many forms and it costs every business more cash than they would care to disclose. Waste is when employees are just hanging around, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t orders to be made. It mightsimply mean that they are waiting for parts to be completed in the assembly department or it could mean that they are waiting for product from a vendor. These are process problems that can directly influence the end product and the quantity that you can produce. When workers are hanging around, inactive and waiting for the job to come to their area, they are not productive. They are under used and are in essence simply wasting money and time. It is the same when you have machines sitting quiet. What is the point of having a fancy automated machine if it is not in use for hours a day? Would it be more efficient to do the process by hand, sell the robot and purchase a piece of equipment that will be more fruitful? What about the space that the machine is filling, could another work station be put there and more jobs actually be finished without the machine? You can’t say that you don’t want to get rid of tools because you might want it. If you are not utilizing it or it is old, then it is taking up space and not contributing to the development and profit of thebusiness. It can be tricky to admit that getting that equipment was a bad idea, but if it does not and doesn’t assit grow the business, then it is time to push forward and find something that does. It is named adapting and moving forward.