It is becoming much harder to compete in the global marketplace that we all exist in. Whether you are building motorcycles or widgets, there is someone out there trying to make them cheaper and quicker than you. But the question is if they are producing a superior part? For some consumers, it doesn’t matter, cheaper is good enough even if the item doesn’t last as long. It is bizarre and unfortunate, but cheaper has become the slogan and the word of choice for many consumers and businesses. Yes, cheaper is better, but less expensive doesn’t always work out for the best. So the goal is to make a first-rate, high quality part and to make it of high value to your customers. The builders of the product do not determine what they makes’ value; the buyer does. What is the customer willing to pay for your part and how big of a demand for your part is there? There are different ways to raise your earnings for your product.
You can always increase the price and pass it off to the buyer. But there is a better way, a more long term way that can boost earnings and keep your company running lean and efficiently. It all starts with removing unnecessary waste in all aspects of your organization. Waste comes in many forms and it costs every business more money 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 built. It mightsimply 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 concerns that can directly have an effect on the end product and how many you can make. When employees 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 just wasting money and time. It is the same when you have machines standing idle. What is the point of having a fancy mechanized 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 machinery that will be more productive? What about the room that the equipment is taking up, could another work station be put there and more labor actually be finished without the equipment? You can’t say that you don’t want to do away with tools because you might need it. If you are not utilizing it or it is obsolete, then it is taking up space and not contributing to the development and profit of thebusiness. It can be uncomfortable to admit that purchasing that robot 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 discover something that does. It is named adapting and moving forward.