If fast, direct and massive performance improvements are of interest to you ...
This intense 2-day Workshop will reveal to you exactly how our typical clients:
Small to medium sized manufacturers with lousy data, limited computer systems, a deep- rooted distrust of consultants and no spare time for projects like this.
... have been achieving spectacular results like these described below for more than 16 years. A reality our clients will proudly confirm, personally.
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Often with clear results in as little as 45 days.
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With genuine buy-in from managers and employees of all levels, all departments. Even "old dogs."
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And how they achieved this by NOT following like sheep what all the other manufacturers are doing.
Our clients are proud to talk about performance improvements that are clearly not flukes - they are precisely in line with a published study of more than 400 other implementations world-wide that showed results like these:
- Lead time reductions of 65% - 70%
- On time delivery (orders shipped complete on the first-promised date) in the high 90% range.
- 20% to 40% more products shipped from the same resources (with no threat to safety or quality and no slave-driving).
- Inventories reduced throughout the system ... usually 50% or more.
- Average revenue growth 63%
And we can add:
- Results sustained and even continuously improved after our hands-on involment ends.
- Employee buy-in starts as being very high and keeps getting stronger ... even years down the road.
- Supports fast, massive sales growth ... and if your sales people don't know how to achieve this, we do.
It may seem hard to believe but results like these are ROUTINE for our clients ... AND WE CAN PROVE IT. Because they'll tell you themselves.
Here's one of many environments where our methodical, common-sense approach yielded spectacular results - a private label pharmaceutical manufacturer:
"We brought total system inventories down from $29 million to less than $10 million while our service level became the best in the industry and our lead time of 1 week (standard) and 2 - 3 days (in a pinch) compared with our competitors' 6 weeks." |
David Howard, then President of Stanley Pharmaceuticals |
David can tell you much, much more ... how company profitability increased despite a massive 33% across-the-board cost reduction demanded by a major customer. How a chain of more than 1000 stores awarded Stanley their award for best on-shelf availability - and how we synchronized production to meet point-of-sale consumption to make this possible despite erratic purchasing patterns from the customer. And how, 10 years later, employees STILL rave over the experience.
Or this kitchen cabinet company. Wood-based manufacturers in BC have severe challenges these days with employees tempted into construction jobs, sales threatened by offshore competition, Canadian dollar weakened against the US dollar. But our approach helps companies walk past these obstacles.
"A year earlier we had done $1.6 to $1.7 million in sales for a month and there was overtime, Saturday work and stress. When we reached $2 million with our new production processes most employees in the plant didn't even realize we were having a busy month. And, there were no ill effects, no overtime, and we carried less inventory." |
Bill Longman, President and Owner of Euro-Rite Cabinets |
For Euro-Rite, getting doors for the make-to-stock RTA business is one thing ... but on-time door supply for the challenging world of construction projects is where last-minute responsiveness is vital. So Bill introduced us to Mike Williams, President of one cabinet door supplier. Now, Mike's company wasn't typical in one regard ... he actually had a very good computer system in place. Nevertheless ... the performance problems WERE typical.
"These techniques took us from quoting 10 days and often delivering in 12 - 15 despite expediting and overtime and a great crew ... to quoting 8 days and delivering in less than 5. Even in 24 hours when necessary. We even had to put a check-point in the system because we were often ready to ship before a client had given us an order confirmation! We'd never needed this before. And, from the day we switched this on, the boost in whole-plant productivity was phenomenal." |
Mike Williams, President and owner of M and J Woodcrafts |
Mike will also tell you that one US customer measured M and J's on-time performance at 97%, while their next-highest door supplier's performance was at 47%.
I'll cut it short here. But we have MANY, MANY more examples. Almost boring in their predictability.
- Electronics: From Red ink to Black ink and eliminated a 12-month backlog.
- Offset Printer: Steady sales and profit growth to "industry leader" level.
- Specialty labels: Record volumes, best on-time performance in company's history ... as measured by their customers.
- Furniture: 45 days to go from 3 weeks lead time and 6-week backlog to 6-day lead time, almost no backlog. Then, from $4.5 million sales to $7.2 million with just increased headcount of 10.
EVERY small/medium Manufacturer can get results like these. Yes, EVERY one. Even those already committed to improvement programs such as "Lean" or "Six Sigma."
But only 1 in 100 will take the first step.
Why?
Because what our clients do isn't conventional. It's contrarian.
The people who attend our workshop tell us that 75% and more of the material was new to them ... regardless of whether they were still operating in a traditional way, or whether they were already deep into popular improvement programs based on Lean manufacturing principles or Six Sigma or Total Quality. We presented our material as guests at a "Lean" conference and gained the same feedback.
Some of the differences are small. But some are large and fundamental and take real courage for a manager to "buck the trend."
And after 17 years in this business we've learned the sad truth - that no matter how superb our references are, no matter how study after study since 1978 has confirmed the power of our approach over ALL others in theory and in practice, no matter how many companies move to adopt our approach after first working with others ...
... most managers prefer to stay with the herd.
Here are some of the things that scare away the 99 managers out of every 100.
- If this is as good as it sounds, everyone would be doing it. They're not ... so it can't be.
Think about this one for a while!
We're not claiming "right" versus "wrong." Just, ... which approach to improvement provides the biggest bang for the buck, offers the lowest risk, fastest results, and provides the highest assurance of success. This isn't just our opinion. It's been documented for years. In a recent published case study, across 21 plants in a corporation, the 4 plants using our approach recorded 89% of ALL the benefits recorded by all the plants. (The other 17 plants used Lean or Six Sigma).
- We've invested big bucks in (whatever program) and we want to see a ROI before spending more money.
WHATEVER you've done, our approach will magnify and accelerate the ROI massively - and truth be told, it'll often be the thing that will actually make the ROI from your earlier efforts a reality. For example, if you've recently implemented an ERP system to help with scheduling ... good luck getting the ROI without doing what our clients do.
- After major investments in education and training we've only just got people to buy in to (whatever program) ... they'll think we're idiots if we now ask them to change direction.
When employees learn this material they immediately see exactly why what you've already done was entirely logical, and justified ... and how they can take what they've learned and magnify and accelerate the benefits with our approach. It will NOT be perceived as a change of direction. We're experts at making sure of this. And ... they WILL elevate management from the "idiot" list when they work with this.
- Some of our people are "old dogs" ... they'll never go along with it.
It's not often I'll say "trust us" but ...our clients will tell you that we have a phenomenal approach that gets 99% to 100% enthusiastic buy-in even from the oldest of old dogs. It's a formal approach, it's extremely powerful and a cornerstone of everything we achieve. Friends who are conventional consultants tell us of the resistance they encounter ... we do not. Period.
- Even band-aid changes in our company take forever, you'll never get anywhere with this DNA transplant.
We routinely help our clients perform DNA transplants in less time than they've previously taken to try, and fail, with band-aid solutions. Before we work with them, many of our clients are experts at starting improvement projects that stall and stagnate. One such company recorded 160 completed, tightly-focused improvements, every one of which was EXACTLY and ONLY the right thing to do, in the first 6 months of an implementation using our approach.
Are you the Maverick? The 1 Manager in 100 who is willing to listen, and with the courage to buck the trends and act if it makes sense?
- Bill Longman, owner and President of Euro-Rite Cabinets, was a maverick when as a fireman, he started Euro-Rite cabinets in his shed. Years later ... after years of impressive growth he knew he needed to move the company to a new level of performance.
He first met us on a Friday. What he heard from us made so much sense that after a few hours, he asked to meet again on Saturday morning. On Monday after talking to some clients Bill signed a letter of agreement with us. (Here's the kicker: on Tuesday, a competitive cabinet manufacturer where the senior manager had taken 12 months trying to decide "do I or don't I," contacted us to say "we've decided to do this" ... and we of course said "sorry."
- Skip Bartholomew, 4th generation owner of Wayside Press, is another maverick. He chose to go against almost every element of conventional Printing Industry wisdom when he asked us to work with Wayside. Today, using our approach to complement their own expertise, Skip and his two top managers are achieving record performance levels.
Interesting ... and illustrative - Skip invited us to be speakers at an industrial convention. We accepted and introduced scores of printers to the techniques Skip was using to such great effect. The reviews were amazing, universally positive. But how many followed through and invited us to work with them? Let's just say, Skip remains the 1 in 100 and while his company is blossoming many of the competitors at that session have gone to the wall. Printing is a very tough business. Especially if you play by conventional rules.
Now, there are mavericks in large organizations, too. It's no mistake that the US Marine Corp uses these techniques for a significant aspect of their operation. And I could give you a long list of household name companies who work with the same principles as our clients do.
At the same time, our smallest client is a 3-man wood-working shop in Ohio, operated by a deeply religious family man who is going against everything his previous employers and current competitors believe to be good business practice. When I first spoke to him he had basically created a $6 an hour job for himself. 2 years later he wrote (in pencil) to say that thanks to our approach he'd now paid off his house, all his equipment, he had money in the bank, stress-free finances, and he was turning away (to his competition ... owned by a highly respected member of the same church) almost as much business as he was taking on because he had reached his goals.
We have given up trying to convince the 99 to listen to us.
Today we aim everything we do at the 1 in 100 who is our natural client.
If you're that 1 manager in 100 "Maverick" ... what will you learn at this Workshop?
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