Forget onshoring (reshoring) - what about MIMOC?

Do you ever a read a post and say to yourself "Man, this person is smart!". I've only read a few posts by AJ Sweatt and all fill me with excitement and envy. In a post dated October 2011 (nothing like keeping my finger on the pulse), he discusses reshoring and how the concept is important in redressing the balance of unneccesarily lost jobs overseas, but ultimately not sustainable.

Instead he suggests MIMOC - Manufacturing in Markets of Consumption, which apparently has been around for years. Known by Coca-Cola and many well-known auto manufacturers, the process specifically locates production locally for exposure to local markets. Makes sense.

The benefits of MIMOC are:

• it encourages exports
• it’s sustainable
• it simplifies politics & public opinion
• it creates jobs
• it creates, nurtures & moderates the global manufacturing network

I also like his point that MIMOC gives corporations an "out". Corporations can relocate operations based on where the local market is situated. No need to admit failure over an unsuccessful offshoring initiative.

Click here to read the full article. 

Middle managers are holding back innovation

So it's the middle managers fault that we aren't innovating! I knew it!!

I'm unfairly framing what is a very good post from Paul Hobcraft on Innovation Excellence. He says that middle managers are often too focused on delivery operational objectives when they are the key to innovation execution. Hobcraft offers a staged approach to remedy this:

1. Core competences need to be changed
2. We need to focus the middle manager on different learning concepts
3. Working the innovation learning ‘muscles’ through the three learning loops
4. Apply a coaching framework
5. Use the ADKAR methodology of change

As with the Theory of Constraints principle, it makes sense to address the constraint of innovation, if in fact it is the middle manager. I suspect this is partly true. The challenge for our clients (SMEs) is the same challenges felt by middle managers, as Hobcraft suggests, is felt across the whole business. Neverthless the approach is still valid.

Click here to read the full article.

How to save manufacturing - well, some good starting points anyway

Following is an article in last week's Huffington Post. It's a little misdirected in its approach, implying that the manufacturing industry is faced with challenges caused by the recent onset of technological advances and globalisation. In fact, the manufacturing industry has arguably had ot be the most adaptive being particularly more sensitive to the booms and busts of past decades. Fuel prices go up, manufacturing has to adapt. Mining booms occur, manufacturing has to cope with the talent drain. GFCs, natural disasters etc have made manufacturing an industry chameleon that has had to adapt or die. The industry's resilience is not to be underestimated and most companies have had to inmplement, in some form, the 'next generation' points made by the author, which are:

• anticipate customer needs
• innovate around the core
• focus on collaboration
• pre-solve problems
• inform and communicate
• do continuous de-commoditisation

This is a good start for sure and more details abouts each of these points is provided in the link below, however SME manufacturers need more guidance.

Being time and resource poor, they need (external) assistance to validate their strategies. This where government should play a role as funding the enablers for a more globally competitive and sustanaible industry.

Click here to read the full article. 

Lean leadership lessons from General Colin Powell - Problems are gold

A great post from Lean Pathways.

General Colin Powell says of leadership:

“The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”

In the article referred to by author Al Norval, General Powell goes on to say that in his opinion, given this test, the majority of CEOs would fail.

Norval makes a comparison between Powell and Lean's Mental Models:

"Problems are Gold, buried treasure to be unearthed. But in all too many organisations, problems aren’t treated as gold, rather they are treated as things to be swept under the carpet and left alone. People learn quickly to stop bringing problems to leaders. The funny thing is - the problems still exist."

Click here to read the full article.

How to Measure New Product Productivity in Your Industry

Geovanny Romero blogs on Innovation Excellence about the importance of new product development to keeping your business ahead of the game. But how does your industry fare? He says:

• the best firms have twelve times the productivity in new product development compared to the worst
• the most productivity industry is consumer packaged goods, including food
• the least productive industry is pharmaceutical

For new products to be a succesful part of the business, the new product development process needs to be clear, measurable, sustainable and consistent.

Click here to read the full article.