“You can choose to organize to make decisions quickly. Or you can have the market ignore you.“- Seth Godin
Our industry knows that reducing cycle times (the time it takes an operating machine to make one part) on our machines helps it stay competitive.
In the last say 10 years or so, most of us figured out that reducing setup times (the time needed to tear down a machine and retool it to make the next product) is another critical piece of the stay competitive in brutal markets puzzle.
I was impressed with the story of Brandon Smith, who I read about on Seth Godin’s Blog. Brandon Smith took two hours to get this Help Haiti T-shirt to market.
Two hours!
Two hours from hearing of the devastation, to getting his shirt designed, prototype made, photographed, arrangements for manufacture, and sales materials up on the web.
Just two hours!
Now, I can hear you saying, “Miles, it’s only a T-shirt. He didn’t have to do contract review. He didn’t have to …”
No excuses! Want to know what best in class might be for time to market in our industry?
240 part numbers 90 days
As Seth Godin said in his blog “You can choose to organize to make decisions quickly. Or you can have the market ignore you.”
So while 2 hours might be a tad ambitious for some of us not in the T-shirt business, just how agile are you?
Do the people answering the phone or email at your company have the knowledge and the power to say “Yes” and make it happen right then and there? How long does it take your company to get to yes?
Is it longer than two hours?
If your people answering the phone or email at your company can get the answer right then and there and have the power to say “Yes,” I have 2 a questions.
Do your customers know?
More importantly, do your people know?
To purchase a help haiti t-shirt (part of proceeds is a donation).
Archie photo credit.
Tag: Reducing Setup Time
