On behalf of all the self-proclaimed industry expert consultants (SPIEC) in the component manufacturing (CM) industry, I would like to state a rebuttal to a published article “Confusion is Starting to Confuse Me” written by Carl Schoening in the May 2016 issue of The Advertiser. I’m not sure if the article was directed at me or not and it matters little.
It is only common sense to acknowledge that plate and equipment suppliers have a different perspective due to their desire to get or maintain a customer, and sales incentives. Differences in opinion will always exist, sometimes even after all the facts are put out openly on the table. That is OK and even desirable. Good open and honest debate is healthy and will ultimately produce better suppliers and customers. Having stated that it may not come as a shock to a lot of CMs, but not all vendors like the information some of the SPIEC are giving people about them. Some vendors may not look upon our services in the best light. Why would any particular vendor have an unfavorable opinion of a guy like me? Well, maybe, just maybe, they are trying to kill the messenger of bad news.
I cannot speak about all the background experiences of other SPIEC, so please humor me in allowing me to explain my claim to being an expert. Let us ignore all the years of experience I have had in multiple management positions in design, production and sales in numerous respectable CM companies. Let us ignore all the years of college and other training such as six sigma lean manufacturing, industrial engineering or other education development. None of that is truly as important as the 12 plus years of full-time consulting work that has allowed me to spend so much time in over 90 different CM companies. Spending a minimum of a full week, sometimes multiple weeks and months, with each of the 90 different companies has allowed me not only to explain and demonstrate what I believe are better practices but also to learn from the companies involved. It became a cumulative experience that built a better service for the next client. I am honestly so grateful to hear from clients, most of whom have many decades of very successful leadership experience, which my advice has helped them improve their given situation.
The article’s references to some unnamed published articles had a very familiar ring to me, and I thought it was referring to articles I wrote, but for some unknown reason the specific articles are not mentioned, so maybe not. The productivity and labor articles I believed he could have been referencing were based on TOC and other lean principles and included “Increasing Net Profit While Sacrificing Labor Efficiencies?” and “Three Million Plus per Build Table.” Perhaps, some people are failing to recognize some of the tools in the lean manufacturing toolbox. Concepts such as Theory of Constraints (TOC) principles. TOC is a well-proven profit-improving tool that falls under lean principles. None of my published articles contradict the TOC principles when they are fully understood, and this includes applying them to sales.
The article does make a valid point that articles are written in general and broad terms and that, yes, detailed information can be lacking. I am not selling plates or equipment but actual information, which means detailed solutions must be omitted out of necessity. Most people understand that I want the reader to give me a call and hire my services to fill in the details to solve their issues. So all the book reading, field research, and training I’ve been doing are being implemented specifically for each client—with fantastic results. In fact, these are the very same practices that are happening in the most progressive and successful CMs in the North American market. For anyone who wishes to read my published works, please see: http://todd-drummond.com/newsletter/.
Discussing different vendors’ services and equipment is a minor part of my service. Most CMs are content with their current vendors. The vast majority of my services are all about processes and information for improving all areas of the company. In fact, there is typically 16+ hours of just training that has nothing to do with any vendor services or products. Of course, a multi-week implementation is an option for my services for follow up consults to the CMs if they wish for further assistance. I cannot think of one independent SPIEC that makes it point to talk about vendor services and products as part of their main consulting services. We have bigger and deeper issues to discuss! I completely understand that a lot of money is usually involved, and the last thing any equipment or plate vendor wants is someone to inform them of an alternative solution. When reviewing the different vendors’ services with a client, my methods are simple and straight forward. I simply repeat what the vendor’s customers are telling me in a pro vs. con summary. This is followed by my observations and how much time has passed since I talked to their customers, so any perceived negative comments may have improved since then. Often the results of these discussions save the CM tens of thousands of dollars in choosing a better solution than what they would have when only listening to the vendors. I would love to promote a vendor’s software, services or products rather than conveying any perceived poor results regarding the CM’s needs.
I want to thank Carl for providing me this opportunity to give people a more in-depth understanding of my services by responding to his article. In doing so, I was able to explain to the readers a better overview of my methods, and hopefully, clear up any misunderstanding people may have about my services or the articles I’ve published. To all the vendors, when your customers state good things about your services and products, I will repeat those good sentiments to other CMs! You have a self-proclaimed industry expert consultant guiding CMs to your services. Since I do not receive any commission from any plate or equipment vendor, it is free for vendors, and also, the CMs can be assured that vendors do not influence me. All I care about is serving my client’s needs and not allowing personal feelings to get in the way of sage advice.
I always keep in mind that when some vendor may be speaking poorly of my services, they normally feel threatened about their own business. However, when they do so, they are also speaking poorly of all the CMs who state openly that my advice has made a real difference in improving their net profits. If you are a CM, I hope you remember that there are a lot of CMs who speak very highly of my services. And hopefully you’re now saying to yourself, “I’m always looking for ways to improve my net profits, so I should give that self-proclaimed industry expert consultant a call!”
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