Article: Go Green Or Risk Fading To Black (October 2009)

Sustainability and social responsibility are becoming integral to big companies' supply chains. Those at the bottom of the chain need to start taking notice or risk losing business.

Green procurement is gaining traction in the corporate world. Although it’s not yet mainstream, many big companies are now pushing triple bottom line and corporate social responsibility requirements deep down into their supply chains.

That means that you – the small supplier at the bottom of the chain – need to start taking notice.

In fact the term “green” procurement is probably too narrow. What the leading big companies around the world are talking about is sustainable procurement. That means their suppliers must tick all the boxes on environmental issues – reduced packaging, less pollutants, energy efficiency, water conservation and the like. But that’s not enough. They also need to treat their workers fairly, offer a safe workplace and purchase their own inputs in a sustainable fashion.

Hewlett-Packard, for example, adopted the Electronics Industry Code of Conduct in 2004, and has now signed up 557 of its biggest suppliers. The code covers a wide range of issues, including the environment, ethics, how workers are treated and safe working conditions.

When a supplier signs up to the code, they are required to do a self-audit, which HP then reviews. HP will also audit some (115 suppliers so far have been tested).

If a supplier does not conform to the code, HP will ask it to prepare an improvement plan within a set timeframe. Termination is a last resort.

HP might be an industry leader, but others are taking steps in the same direction.

True green procurement looks at the entire lifecycle of a product, from manufacture to disposal.

So how do SMEs obtain certification to work with these businesses at a cost that they can afford? The advise from nuOrder is to seek independent verification of specific green claims that can be scientifically substantiated.

Another option is to consider certification under ISO 14001, for environmental management systems (EMS), although for most SMEs this will be too time-consuming and expensive. Another approach is to just use the guidelines as a model to develop your own EMS.

Governments and local councils are also getting on board, as green procurement is increasingly seen as an instrument of government policy.

We are still in the early stages there’s been a lot of green hype in the media, but it’s not necessarily translated into behavioural change yet. There is definitely a growing market [for sustainable products], especially from governments and local councils.

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a FREE Business Evaluation Meeting and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: You Have Generated Enquiries And Sold, What's Next? (June 2008)

You simply need to produce the results of the sale in such a way as the client feels fulfilled. The client must feel like they have received what the sale promised.

Production is a fairly loose term in that for every product across many different industries the production cycle is vastly different.

For example:

Every business has a production facility and this production facility has an impact on the business, the client and the profitability of the business.

Your production facility must be able to grow with your business.

Article appears in 'Your Business Your Life' book page 30 - available from your nuOrder consultant.

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a FREE Business Evaluation Meeting and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: Carry Exclusive Lines (May 2008)

You may decide to include exclusive lines in your business that only you carry. These could be products and/or services.

If you hold exclusive lines of products and services your customers won’t be able to shop around for them elsewhere.

Antique Dealer Example

An example of this would be an antique furniture dealer that specialises in 1920’s rare pieces. There are many other antique dealers around but it is the only one that deals with authentic 1920’s pieces.

An exclusive line could also be your own label. If you own a retail business you could potentially have the opportunity to start your own product label such as for cosmetics, hair care, alcohol, clothing, etc.

Car Dealership Example

Car dealers are also a good example of having exclusive lines. Companies such as BMW, Maserati, Honda, etc all have set dealership lines. People will genuinely go to the direct dealer of these cars because they have a service and product knowledge that others don’t.

Retailer Example

A national retail chain is another example of business which has its own brand of items that they sell among others. They have their own label clothing, manchester, home wares, etc and is only available at the companies owned stores. Normally the national retail chain are competitive with their label and hence attract customers who know that they probably won’t get the same product for the same price.

Art Gallery Example

An art gallery is a great example of a place that has unique items that they offer their customers and they won’t be able to purchase anywhere else unless it isn’t the original or it is a print. Because artwork is normally of intense value, people will only buy from with an authorised art gallery or dealer.

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a FREE Business Evaluation Meeting and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: Educate On Value Not On Price (April 2008)

Your customers want to know how your business is going to be of value to them and why they should choose you over your competitors.

Customers also want quality and value for money and are therefore looking for the best possible deal.

If you educate your customer on the value of the product or service, being that of making their life easy, cost effective, saves time, newest in technology, durable, etc, the customer will automatically match those benefits to their needs and wants and make the next step in purchasing the product or service.

Whilst price shouldn’t be the focus for your customer, it will matter so to compensate for the amount of money you are requesting you need to ensure that your product or service is value for money and is competitive to what is already existing in the market place.

Give your customer all of the reasons why they should purchase from you by utilising your list of benefits.

Remember to provide your customers with as much information as possible so they feel confident that they are making the right purchase. You also want to reduce your customers decision making time and eliminate the possibility of them going elsewhere to purchase the product or service, so you need to be sure that you understand as much information as possible so it can be passed on as necessary to the customer.

Get in touch and ask us to conduct a FREE Business Evaluation Meeting and find out about our unique way of designing and implementing strategies to generate sustainable business improvement.

Article: Automating Through Technology (March 2008)

Today technology is becoming bigger and better than ever. If you have the ability to integrate IT and processes, you will soon find the benefits and endless possibilities.

In this day an age, personal digital assistants/organisers, computers, shared electronic diaries, laptops, etc are all highly used items in the business world and are making life reasonably easy and versatile.

By implementing an automated IT system using computers/products and software programs you may help you to reduce the amount of paper and time consuming process to get a simple job done.

For instance, phone messages used to be written on paper and given to the person in which it related to. This may seem like only a small task however it takes several process. One the person taking the message needs to find the paper or message pad, then they need to document the information. Once these have been done that person either needs to go and find the person to give the phone message to. They maybe required to put it in a pigeon hole or leave it in the persons in tray. Even still they may need to wait until the person arrives back at the office and then give it too them, hopefully at that stage they haven't forgotten about it. This is a pretty exhausting little exercise for such a small phone message.

By automating the phone message system to internal email will allow you to easily get a message from the receptionist to the required person in seconds, without panicking to see if they got it, forgetting about it or loosing a small piece of information.

Other things that can be automated are:

Automating through technology can save you money, time, improve productivity and systemise your business. That means more time and money.

Article: Customer Confidence (February 2008)

Giving your customer the confidence to purchase from you initially is important. However the sales advice and reassurance shouldn’t stop after the sale has closed.

Your customers rely on you for expert advice and it is a simple marketing technique that will provide them with what they want to know, build a customer relationship and get them to come back.

Many businesses forget the importance of following up their customers after a sale and potentially loose a repeat customer.

Post Purchase Reassurance

Once a sale has been closed, it is important that you give your customer post purchase reassurance and tell them that they have made the right choice.

Providing the customer with extra information on their product or service will make them feel confident that they did make the right decision and that you were the best person to purchase that product or service from.

A simple letter or phone call to your customer will prove to them that you are concerned about the relationship between themselves and the product or service that you supplied and you are acting responsibly toward customer satisfaction.

You may also consider sending brochures or information packs to your customers advising them of product care or service advantages, etc so that you are keeping the customer informed not only about the product or service but about your business.

Suggest Alternative Uses

Suggesting alternative uses for the desired product or service will endorse the customers decision in why they purchased it to begin with.

By sending information packs, brochures, a newsletter, etc you can provide your customers with detailed information about how the product or service can be alternatively used or used to its maximum capacity.

Simply by outlining benefits and ideas to the customer about the product or service can determine you as either an expert in the industry or the best person to go to if there is a problem.

Article: Increase the speed of operation (January 2008)

This relates to both you and your supplier.

Try to work with people who are able to supply you with what you want when you want it. This may mean that they run on a just in time system or something similar.

When you are supplying orders or items to your customers you want to try and move it out of your business as soon as possible. Having items sit for a long period end up dormant and wasted money, so act as quickly as you can.

This also means that you will need to assess your lead times and order processes. The longer the lead time the more work you will have in progress and the more money you will have tied up in inventory. Set a system and make it flow.

Where possible ship as much as possible at any one time to your customer. This may mean sending them half now and half next week or sending the amount in full. You may increase your activities from twice a year to four times a year so that you are constantly moving toward reduced inventory.

Move stock out quickly and try to eliminate the holding process so that you are able to get your money in quicker and reduce the amount of inventory in your store. It will also ensure that the inventory is sold and moved out and won’t be sitting there in six months time.

To help increase the speed of operation you may need to implement marketing plans or give your customers incentives for purchasing/paying for the item in full and taking it immediately.

For instance a furniture shop may offer free trailer hire for their customers when they purchase. This entices the customer to purchase a large item such as a bed or lounge suite and take it then and there.

If you are a middle man such as the person between the supplier and the customer only stock a minimum. You should also try to implement a flow that allows you to almost immediately pass the stock from the supplier to the customer in one automatic swift move. This may mean accepting pre-orders and only holding display stock on your shop floor.

Reduce your lead times and work in progress. Only hold a minimum amount of stock. Work with people are able to supply you when you need it and eliminate timely measures that will slow your operation speed down and need you to hold endless amounts of inventory.

Article: Improve Productivity (December 2007)

Improving productivity means that you are going to be measuring the amount of output per unit of input from the business.

Defining this in a more understandable term, traditionally means that you are going to assess productivity by measuring the dollar value of output against each dollar of input (labour and capital expenses included). This is the most common technique for measuring productivity but you maybe required to look at alternatives if this does not suit.

Improving your productivity is usually resolved by the implementation of new equipment and technology, however this shouldn’t be the only thing. Staff are a huge contribution to your business and without the man power or expertise you probably wouldn’t be able to run your business in such a success full manner, so improving your staff through training, team building, etc will assist in productivity levels.

You should also consider goals setting or aims for your business and the individuals employed by you so that everyone has something to work towards and a common achievement is being endeavoured.

Productivity at the end of the day relies on your systems and procedures so even simple tasks as filing will have a huge impact on future activities and the business as a whole.

You will need to continually assess your business activities and ensure that they are being managed to their full potential and staff are utilising their skills in conjunction with the methods in the best way possible.

Increasing productivity requires better management skills, effective and functioning systems and procedures, motivation and commitment from the team and overall dedication from all team members.