New Ways Are Hurting Old Businesses

New methods of doing business are taking customers away from traditional companies. The companies that are advancing have found proven ways to get ahead of their competitors. The evolving businesses have figured out better ways to cut costs and increase efficiency between stations. The methods used are focused on bettering supply chain methods and reducing overall process time. In other words, new age businesses are concentrating on getting their products from the supplier, to the customer. Firms intend to do this in the best and efficient way possible.

When businesses are focussing on efficiency, it becomes easier to respond towards product demand. When considering this in the chain of distribution, the supplier knows right away when certain inventory needs to be replaced. When there are less products available on the shelf. This way, demand is being matched in real time, and less storage space is being used for inventory. Less storage space is being used because there is a focus on just-in-time processes. Businesses strive to have inventory arrive as soon as its needed. When thinking in terms of benefits, firms are able to cut costs in the long run. Short term investments are made on technology and knowledge. However, the results do pay off, and the investments do get recouped. This is because firms are able to get the product out to their customers quicker. When they do this, the customers are satisfied because their needs are met. Satisfied customers bring growth to the company. Readmore »

Sales Process Management – The Key to Unlocking the Potential of Your Sales Force

According to legendary quality expert W. Edwards Deming, there is one critical, but often overlooked, factor upon which success in almost any business endeavor depends. The ability of your sales team to meet and exceed your revenue targets will be determined largely by your awareness, or lack of awareness, of this one thing. It amazes me how many companies neglect it entirely, focusing instead on individuals and performance issues while the real problem goes unnoticed and unaddressed. Obviously it is vital for you to understand this important component and learn how to manage it properly so that you can unlock the full potential of your sales organization.

According to Dr. Deming, the critical component is your system, or process. For the purposes of our discussion, we’ll be focusing on the process that has to do with generating sales–your selling process. In my experience it doesn’t matter how talented, educated, or experienced your salespeople are, or how hard they work at it, there remains a very large gap between the actual results they will produce and the results they could have produced had someone been paying attention to process. In today’s ultra competitive business environment, where the margin between winning and losing is so slight, I am surprised at how many companies continue to ignore an area that holds such potential for drastic increases in productivity and bottom line results. Readmore »

Innovation For Business – Innovating Your Internal Business Procedures

When developing an innovation strategy, it is important to discuss ways to innovate internal business procedures. Spend time brainstorming on the various steps in your internal business procedures and look for ways to simplify or eliminate steps to streamline those procedures.

However, before getting to the issue of innovating a business procedure, there’s a critical preliminary question: Is the procedure necessary?

I recently worked with a company that performs repair services on electronic appliances. The company had a detailed “inventory procedure” that was completed every morning before the store opened. The procedure required an employee to print a report of all “open” repair orders from the computer. Then, the employee handling the inventory procedure that morning checked to be sure that every appliance in for repair was actually in the store. The employee manually checked off each appliance on the list. Readmore »