How to Make Cement

How cement is made. By Holcim. Every company should have videos like this.

Part 1

Part 2

Made in ... Wherever

I love stories like these:

Wiffle Ball: Born And Still Made In The USA

Georgia Company Exports Chopsticks To China

Not because of the made in the USA angle, but because location and being the low cost provider are not always the primary factors of business success.

I went to a talk yesterday by Darren Kimura of Sopogy, a Hawaii based developer and manufacturer of solar energy systems (I interviewed Darren for my upcoming book). One thing I found very interesting was their manufacturing strategy. They are pursuing what they call Localization in both their manufacturing and sales strategies.

They originally manufactured in their own plant in California. Then they outsourced to a facility in China. They thought that the low cost of this production would serve their needs around the world, but they found out that wasn't the case. Because of all the additional costs of shipping, export and import duties, and various taxes, the final costs ended up not being so low. So now they manufacture in three different facilities around the world that align with their sales markets.

These examples fit in with my philosophy of define your goals, then determine how you'll reach them.

Author! Author!

I've been interviewed on the BusinessInfoGuide.com website. Take a look, leave a comment, buy my book, find lots of good info on the site.

U.S. Manufacturing

As far as blogs go, some are good and very many are mediocre. Even in the good ones, not all posts are equal. But occasionally, you come across a very good post that should be shared. And that's what I'm doing here.

Derek Singleton at The Manufacturing Blog writes about 5 Strategies for Growing as a Domestic Manufacturer. He makes some good points.

I would have added Improve Your Processes as a separate item, where he includes it under Invest in Your Workforce. Investing in your workforce brings many benefits that will help to boost productivity, which can include process improvements because of increased training. But I think process improvement should have its own focus. It is a vital, and ongoing, activity that is imperative at any time, in good times or bad.

I could make further comments, but you should read the post first and let me know what you think.

Plain English

Stephen Jannise sent me an email and called me twice. And I have been rude by not getting to this sooner. Stephen has a blog and he sent me a link to a post he wrote that he thought would be appropriate for readers of Let's Talk Business!

I'm rushing again, so won't write much, but will simply direct you to Stephen's post. Let me know what you think.

Sorry for the delay Stephen, and thanks for getting in touch with me.

New Site

I set up a new, dedicated, website for the book. I'm still in the process of adding the shopping cart and more information. It's supposed to be easy with the web hosting company I'm using (1&1), but it's not quite as easy for me as I expected. Plus it takes some chunks of time that I find difficult.

But, the basic page is up, I'm working on the shopping cart, and will be adding more content soon.

Stay tuned.

Golden Ox Update

Not a lot of news, but a few updates on the Golden Ox Publishing biz.

The Small Manufacturer's Toolkit is selling, though not yet like hotcakes, even before my first ads are printed. I'm starting with some advertising in some APICS Chapter Newsletters around the country. Pretty low cost and should hit a fair number of highly potential prospects. Advertising in the APICS Magazine is a little out of my budget at this point, and although the magazine goes out to at least 40,000 people around the world, for that kind of money I'd want to target a more narrow manufacturing niche. We'll see what happens when the ads start to hit.

I'm wondering about Amazon U.K. versus Amazon U.S. I went to the Amazon U.K. website and my book is listed, but I'm wondering about the connection between the U.S. and U.K. operations. The U.K. price is still at the higher price the original publisher was selling at, not my new lower price. Also, the content I updated was not updated there. I know the original publisher stocked books in the U.K., but I think that was at their own warehouse. I'm thinking the U.K. operation is totally separate and I need to work with them as a totally separate entity. I've contacted them, so we'll see what they say.

Still got plenty of other things I still need to do, like updating websites and such. Got to squeeze that in somewhere.

On another note, I'm evaluating my first real prospect for another author's book to publish. So far I like what I see, but there's a bit of work to do before I commit. I've talked with several other authors, but this one is the first real prospect. Meaning the author is well along with the writing and serious about looking for a publisher. It seems a lot of "authors" talk more than they write, or aren't as far along as they think they are. Still, I have a few potential books I'm keeping my eye on.

First Sale

My first sale on Amazon! Since the book is under my control and with a new price, that is. Sometime this morning someone bought a copy. Here's to many more. The Year of the Ox (my year) transitioning into the Year of the Tiger (roar!). It looks like it's going to be a good one.

I've started placing ads, so we'll have to see how sales are affected by that.






Golden Ox Publishing

Toolkit Update

It's been a few days since my last post, so here's an update. I shipped my first order to Amazon.com, so in a couple of days my page will show "In Stock", which I suspect is an important selling point. I still need to do a little editing and updating of the page, but for the most part I'm setup on Amazon.

Still researching possible advertising venues. APICS magazine is a bit pricey for now, so I'm looking at some APICS chapters that send out monthly newsletters to a relatively large number of people. I found a few good prospect, and will place a few ads there. Looking at other organizations and publications too. This takes time. But I'll have a pretty good start for future releases (mine and others).

Here's one version of the ad I created. Pretty straightforward.







I still have a list of things to do, but this week I was busy working on a proposal to do some Lean training for a local company. Also spent time last weekend at the APICS District Meeting that was held her in Honolulu, then had lunch on Monday with the Mission Peak Chapter representative and dinner Tuesday with the Portland (OR) chapter President. That's why I stay involved with APICS, the friends I make.

I've got a writer's group meeting tomorrow. Unfortunately, my writing hasn't been keeping up to pace, but I will get more worthwhile feedback, so that will be good.

Still Moving

Well, where are we at with the book? We almost up and running on Amazon. The update price and information is there, they just need to order from me so that the availability status says "In Stock".

I've completed my application to Powell's Books. I'm already on their site because I was on their shelves in Portland (Oregon), but they show Out-of-Stock. So I need to be registered as a vendor with them so they can stock the book again.

I have to finish the Barnes & Noble application.

At this point I'm not looking for one of the big distributors. I'm going to look into some smaller distributors that focus on business books and/or the independent bookstore market, because I think they will put more effort into the sales & marketing side. Not much, realistically, but more than the zero I would expect from the big guys.

Who's Bigger

Sorry for the poor blogging recently. Busy, busy, busy. But I couldn't pass this up.

So - What country is the biggest producer of manufactured goods?? Huh?

Drum roll please....

The United States!!! Ding! Ding! Ding!

Yes, the U.S. is still the largest manufacturer in the world. You'd never know by reading the news for the past five or seven years. Sure, Asia, especially China has been growing, but they still have a ways to go to catch up (although it will probably be soon).

Most people don't think of the U.S. as a top manufacturer anymore, but it hasn't all left. Mass produced consumer products and labor intensive goods have moved offshore, but that's only natural. The U.S. is still heavily involved in other products. Chemicals, including pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, Transportation Equipment, Food products, and Computers and Electronics are just some of the major industries.

Read more at http://www.parade.com/news/intelligence-report/archive/whats-made-in-the-usa.html

Make me another

Is making mai tai's a manufacturing operation?

Manufacturing jobs in Hawaii dropped 2.2% this past year. The fact that manufacturing jobs dropped should be no surprise given the dire economic news lately, but in Hawaii??

I worked in manufacturing for many years, and whenever I'd go to the mainland for APICS meetings and tell people what I did I'd always get the same response - there's manufacturing in Hawaii?

People think of sun and sand when the think of Hawaii, but there's a thriving economy beyond the beaches (well, maybe not thriving right at the moment, but usually). According to an article in today's Star-Bulletin, there are 1,211 manufacturing companies employing 24,911 workers. Not huge by mainland standards, but hey, we're a small island in the middle of the Pacific with just over 1 million in population.

The majority of manufacturing is in the food industry, but surprising to me is that a significant portion is in the printing and publishing industry. I guess if you think about it that shouldn't be too big a surprise. Newspapers, magazines, and tourist publications are pretty numerous. I worked in jewelry manufacturing, food manufacturing, cosmetics manufacturing, and wood/gift products manufacturing and am a member of the Hawaii Food Manufacturing Association.

Still, I wonder if you counted the production of mai tai's as manufacturing how many manufacturing jobs you would have...

Oh, but because of some important bills in the legislature at the moment, let's not forget high tech manufacturing. Hawaii is the home of a vibrant and growing high tech community. That includes many different distinct high tech segments, but high tech manufacturing is one of them.

As Jay Fidell used to say; "Think Tech Hawaii".

Save, Save, Save!

I suppose I'm like most authors of successful, but not best selling, books. I check my sales and ranking on Amazon.com regularly. I can always tell when a book is sold (note "a", meaning 1) because the book's ranking jumps from its usual 1.5 million position, up to 200,000 or so (once a couple sold at a time and I was up around 20,000 or so - woo hoo!).

My biggest jump in sales was when the price was discounted about 40% down to around $40 or $45. That was when I started paying more attention to the price of the book.

Personally, I think ("personally" and "I" are redundant, I know) the book is overpriced. I understand how the publisher priced it where it is, partly based on the expected market value and partly based on the cost to produce (small production run for a first time author), but I really think it would sell much better at a lower price.

The original price was $79.98. Sure it's a 400+ page book, but it's not a college text book (though it could and should be used college Operations Management courses), it's written for working people, specifically people who work at small manufacturing companies. I think it would sell like hotcakes at about $39.98. It has gotten nothing but good reviews, and everyone who's read it (OK, everyone who's commented to me) tells me it's great. It's even been translated into Russian. But people just aren't willing to pay that high a price.

But instead of lowering the price, I noticed that the price went up. From $79.98 it went up to $89.98. Huh? If it's not selling fast at $79 why would you increase the price to $89? But, then when the price was increased, Amazon discounted it down to around $71. I guess people just can't pass up a sale. Now I notice the price is $93.95 (on both Amazon and the publisher's website), and discounted 5% down to $89.22.

I've contacted my publisher asking about lowering the price, but I've gotten no response.

The worst part is that I can't even afford to buy my own book. Even at my discount I can't afford to buy them and sell them at a reasonable price. Maybe I should read a book about the publishing business and how to price a book... Maybe I can reinvest and buy some copies when I get my next royalty check.

Still, the book is very valuable and worth the investment if it's used as it's intended - to help improve your business and improve profitability. That's especially important in these tough economic times.

I do have a couple of copies left, so if you contact me I might sell you one at a better price.

Hawaii Food Manufacturers

I attended the Hawaii Food Manufacturers Association Holiday Party on Tuesday. I enjoyed myself. Met some people, had some good food (made with Association members products), and utilized my drink tickets. I met, and spoke with, Kai Cowell of Kaiulani Spices, who makes some great spice mixes. I thought I recognized her when I met her, and I had. She has a booth at the KCC Farmers market every other week and she mixes up some curry and potatoes using her mixes, for sampling. Her samples are great! I also met and spoke with Suzanne from Wong's Meat Market. I'm not familiar with their products, but will have to try them out.

I had to leave before the drawing, so don't know if I would have won.

The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming!

OK, so the Russians aren't coming (that's the title of a movie from the 1960's), but I'm coming to Russia. Via my book, that is. My book, The Small Manufacturer's Toolkit, has been translated into Russian and is being published by a Russian publisher (Grevstov Publisher). How cool is that?

I received a couple of copies of the Russian edition a couple of days ago. I can't read a word of it, but it looks good. Actually, the quality of the book itself is much higher than the U.S. edition. It's very well done, and I'm impressed. I'm waiting for someone to send me a plane ticket to Moscow for a book signing and seminar tour. Hey, I can dream, can't I? I'd love to go to Russia. I love to travel and visit new places.

So here's a picture of the book. I haven't received a photo quality copy of the cover yet, so I just scanned this in. That's my name in Russian up in the top left corner.

Now if only my publisher would lower the price of the U.S. edition (hint, hint), this valuable tome would get into the hands of the masses.

Oh, and I'll get back into regular posting on this blog. I've been extremely busy lately, so have been lax. As to whether I've actually been accomplishing anything, that's another matter.

Upcoming Webinar Series

I'm going to be presenting a series of Webinars over six weeks in July and August. Webinars are web-based seminars. Meaning that instead of me standing in front of a room full of people and giving the presentations, I'll be sitting in a room in front of my computer giving the presentations to people all over the world.

I'm doing the series for APICS - The Association for Operations Management, and registration information can be found here.

The series is titled Management System Selection - Selecting the Right Tools for the Job, and it's based on the subject of my book, The Small Manufacturer's Toolkit. This series is designed for any organization, NOT just manufacturers, so don't let the book title scare you off. The content of the series is as follows:

Steve Novak has developed a new APICS Webinar series to help managers and high-level executives sort through and select the systems, or tools, that will help drive their organization to success. A brief discussion of several of the most popular tools, including what they are designed to do and how they are designed to help, will provide additional knowledge that is needed in the selection process. Popular tools include lean, six sigma, sales and operations planning, enterprise resources planning, the Baldrige criteria, and more. Sign up to participate in this APICS Webinar series and increase your odds of success. Registration opens in June.

Session 1: Introduction
Date: July 10, 2008, at 1:00 pm CT

Session 2: Lean & Six Sigma - Promises & Expectations
Date: July 17, 2008, at 1:00 pm CT

Session 3: TOC & S&OP - Promises & Expectations
Date: July 24, 2008, at 1:00 pm CT

Session 4: ERP & Criteria for Performance Excellence - Promises & Expectations
Date: July 31, 2008, at 1:00 pm CT

Session 5: The Basics, and more
Date: August 7, 2008, at 1:00 pm CT

Session 6: Wrap up
Date: August 14, 2008, at 1:00 pm CT


Please sign up and join me.

Chrysler Layoffs and the U.S. Auto Industry

I don't really want to get to deep into the discusson about the new layoffs at Chrysler, but there are alot of issues surrounding this that I'd like to talk about. And in my current MBA class I've got two classmates and the instructor with many years of auto industry experience, so maybe we'll hear from them.

There's alot of talk about the auto industry in the U.S., and has been for several years now. The U.S. auto manufacturer's are in decline while the Japanese automakers are rising. It's a complex situation and everyone has their opinion, so let's look at it. The recent contract talks at all three U.S. automakers brings it into the limelight again. The Chrysler situation adds some new things to the mix. Since they were recently bought by a private equity firm the dynamics change. Chances are the new owners aren't looking to run the business for the long term. They want to come in, turn the company around, then get out and make a profit doing it. Nothing wrong with that. That's what business is all about. The problem, if there is one, is how they go about making the turnaround. Laying off thousands of workers is never good. The employees suffer, sometimes severely, and the local economy suffers, sometimes severely.

But we have to ask why they're laying off these workers, and if there's another solution. If the company has more capacity than they need for the current market, it doesn't make business sense to keep that excess capacity. But can that excess capacity, labor, equipment, facilities, space, be used in another way or for another purpose that generates income? The easy solution is to shut down plants, eliminate shifts, and layoff people. It's a harder answer to think up ways to use those resources, very valuable resources, for other opportunities, but that is managment's job. What else could they use those facilities and people for that will generate income, and profits? And what would it take to make those changes?