When looking for new opportunities for improvements in your operation, it is quite natural to ask for advisement from outside your company to give you a better perspective. Who you should trust to help you take your company to higher performance is not as clear cut as it may appear.
Costly decisions based on board-foot per man-hour (BF/MH) labor savings – One should be very leery of any sales representative using BF/MH to convince your company to purchase equipment for labor savings. There are many ways to measure productivity, but one of the most inherently flawed is BF/MH. TDC has the math to prove unequivocally improving the rate of BF/MH can have the result of reducing your company’s overall net profits. This statement warrants repeating. A company using BF/MH as the primary means of measuring productivity in wood truss manufacturing can create a system that produces less, not more, sales and net profits. The math is so clear and straightforward that most people are quite embarrassed or upset by their previous deeply held beliefs once it is explained and demonstrated. (The BF/MH math is explained during paid consultations only.) Focus on overall sales produced and don’t get fooled by promised labor savings.
Damned if I do, damned if I don’t – One of the many duties I perform is giving my clients the pros and cons of vendor services for both equipment and software based on other clients’ statements and results. The purpose of this is to provide the most up-to-date information for the client to make the most informed decision. TDC does not receive any referral fees and does not have a bias preference of one vendor versus another. Still, there are times when one vendor seems to be a better fit for a client’s particular needs, and this might not be their current supplier. This then creates thorny problems for my services with the vendors when I point the client toward the other’s services. The client’s current vendor will inevitably find out that TDC had something to do with the decision process and be highly resentful because it takes away their current and possible future business. One would think that the new supplier’s salesperson would be grateful for the assist, but that is not always the case. The new vendor’s sales representative can become very territorial and indignant because they had already begun working to garner this new account. They often will adamantly defend their role as not needing or wanting a consultant with the “assist” in any form. Because of corporate culture issues, one particular major vendor’s sales representatives are very indignant in every instance that my involvement significantly influences the client’s mindset towards their services. So why am I informing you about this? When you are advised to make big decisions with your business, such as expensive equipment purchases or ongoing services, does the one giving the advisement honestly have your best interest in mind? Is the advisor making a sales commission or a referral fee, or is it biased based on any fear of receiving vendor ire that will impact the advisor’s reputation within the industry? Whomever you are listening to for advisement, make sure they truly have your company’s business interest in mind and are well informed.
Example of Sales Rep Bias: Client, “Todd, my competition is investing in the “XX” this year. He was told it would save him a great deal of labor, and his BF per man-hour would jump significantly.” TDC, “Well, before I answer this, how do you know your competition is investing in that system?” Client, “We have the same vendor, and the salesman told me about it. Although he told me to keep it in confidence because he is not supposed to tell anyone, especially us.” TDC, “So it looks like he (vendor salesman) is trying to pressure you into this expensive system because your competition is doing it?” Client, “Oh hell yes. I now know not to trust him with anything I consider confidential.”
A safe decision is not always the best decision – When a manager decides to implement new software or recommend investment in new equipment, inevitably, it will be their existing supplier. This happens for two fundamental reasons. They have an established relationship and trust that they already know what type of services they can expect from the current vendor. The other is the even bigger issue. Suppose the new investment fails to live up to their existing vendor’s assurances. In that case, the inevitable blame will only fall on the already established vendor, not the manager who recommended the new purchase. If the manager recommended an alternative supplier, any failure to live up to the promises will come back and lay at the decision maker’s feet. Taking a chance with a new vendor is a bigger risk than just the performance of the investment. Their reputation as a manager and possibly their job depends on the unknown or a known vendor performance, so which do you think is the most likely? TDC has yet to witness any single vendor being the best in every aspect for any client. This means the very best performance for any particular client has to blend different equipment and software suppliers to reach optimal performance. So, if your company is using only one vendor for all your needs, your company may not have the very best, and more than likely, the company’s environment does not allow for any risk-taking of other offerings from better-performing vendor suppliers. Perhaps it is time to rethink how important investments are being determined within your company.
Whether it is employee issues or manufacturing improvement, change that usually takes months and years can be accomplished in weeks and months with TDC’s assistance. TDC is your best source for learning about proven and practical lean manufacturing best practices combined with industrial engineering principles to keep your company at the leading edge of competitiveness. The implementation of the suggestions produces an average gain of three to six points in net profits. With over 30 years of experience, TDC has proven real-world expertise that goes far beyond what many expect. Included in TDC’s services are proven wood truss labor time standards (Man-minutes, R.E. or S.U.) that have been refined over almost two decades and used in over one hundred different companies. Many save tens of thousands of dollars by trusting TDC for unbiased vendor and equipment recommendations because TDC does not receive referral fees from any equipment or plate vendors, which are formed only by customer experiences. Please don’t take my word about TDC’s services, though. Read the public testimonials many current and past clients with decades of expertise and experience have been willing to give: https://todd-drummond.com/testimonials/.
Website: www.todd-drummond.com – Phone (USA): 603-748-1051
E-mail: todd@todd-drummond.com – Copyright © 2021