Jul 21, 2009 | Demand chains, Management, Marketing, Operations, Sales
How long will it take for the politicians in this country to forge an acceptable compromise amongst all the interests in the carbon debate, and take meaningful action.? Probably forever, and we will end up with the proverbial camel after all the compromise, and that will suit nobody.
Enter the game-changer!
Wal-Mart, the biggest retailer in the world by far, turning over more than $US450 billion, more than most countries, has changed the game. Last week, they announced they would put carbon footprint information on display labels for all products sold in their stores. Suppliers will be required to assemble the information from their supply chains as part of their trading relationship with Wal-Mart
No recommendations, just the information, and consumers can make up their own minds.
The implications are mind-boggling.
In one decision, by one company, the nature of the debate about climate change has been turned from one seeking a political, emotional and academic compromise to a very simple choice for the Wal-Mart supply chains, do it or face deletion from their largest customer. Multi-national suppliers, Colgate, P&G, Unilever, Mars, and many others, will suddenly have another marketing lever to use in their marketing activities, across the world. Suddenly, weasel words in media grabs from pollies are even less meaningful than they usually are.
In Australia, Woolworths follow closely the steps taken by Wal-Mart, and what better way to put added pressure on its arch-rival Coles.
Suppliers to Woolies had better get ready!
Jul 19, 2009 | Management, Marketing, Sales, Strategy
On the surface, these appear to be the same coin, different sides, albeit three sides?.
Not so in business.
Foresight is often little more accurate than the musings of the gypsy at the local fair, whereas hindsight is capable of being 100% accurate.
Modelling has become the commercial equivalent of the crystal ball, offering the capacity to predict the future, but relies on the assumptions accurate in the past (seen with the benefit of hindsight) being consistent into the future, usually better than rubbing the crystal, but often not much.
Software has given us the false sense of security that comes with reams of paper with numbers all over it, and we often forego the benefit of experience, wisdom, and plain common sense, lured by the sirens song of the “certainty” generated by the numbers .
Bring back the value of common sense, and suspicion of anything that smacks of certainty when predicting the future, and we will all make better decisions.
Jul 16, 2009 | Management, Marketing, Sales, Strategy
Planning for your business takes up a lot of time and resource, which is often hard to allocate, particularly in small businesses.
It is a bit like the planning that goes into your daughters wedding, many things seem trivial at the time, but when it goes right on the day, aren’t you glad you did it?
Think about the cost (to your sanity and peace of mind) of stuffing up the flowers, or the cars on the day, and consider the relative value of a bit more planning.
Many small businesses do not spend the time planning, they are so busy getting stuff done that the time is not easily available. Often when they think about it, much of the activity that takes all the time is fixing things that have gone wrong, or take more time than necessary, that could have been mitigated by a bit of planning.
You plan your daughters wedding to the last detail, shouldn’t you do the same for your business?.
Jul 16, 2009 | Management, Marketing, Strategy
The notion of an organized, planned, tidy strategy development and implementation process, whether it be for a multinational, or a small local business is profoundly flawed by the simple fact that it requires forecasting accurately a number of things, including many beyond the control and understanding of any business, and the only thing we know for sure about forecasts is that they will be wrong.
Strategy development and implementation is an organic process, filled with false starts, blind alleys, and pain, all of which add to the evolutionary “learning” process, which sometimes delivers commercial sustainability.
To be useful strategy implementation must have the capacity to “learn” , to see the impact of its actions, and adjust to accommodate changes, misunderstandings, and opportunities.
Most SME’s do not think much about strategy, they are usually tactical in outlook, and that is a failing. Strategy is as important to a small business selling through “alternative” channels, as it is to the multinationals selling through established channels.
Only with hindsight is strategy implementation an orderly process, when all the speed humps can be ignored or explained away
Jul 9, 2009 | Management, Operations, Sales, Strategy
Selling is a tough job, and getting tougher, as the number of ways a potential customer can purchase expand with the web, and consumer confidence is fragile, despite the stunning Australian figures a couple of days ago.
No longer can sales people fulfill their budgets by being accurate and sympathetic purveyors of information, and doing a lot of calls, they now need to be able to add value in ways that competitors and no other channels can duplicate at the price.
How do you do this?
- Have only skilled sales people, ones who without thinking, empathize with customers and their problems. Make sure they know your products intimately, and the business of the customers as intimately so they can identify unique ways your products can add value to the customer.
- Have in place the sales support mechanisms so that every opportunity identified is optimized. Sales people make sales talking to customers, not chasing late orders through your systems.
- Have a “sales culture” where the whole organisation recognises that customers are the reason they are in business, and it is everyone’s job to sell, not just those with a bag.
The bad news for sales professionals is that there will be less of you as time goes on, the good news for those left is that they will be paid a lot more than they are now as their value is recognized.
Jul 9, 2009 | Management, Marketing, Operations, Strategy
Yesterday, some astonishing figures reflecting consumer confidence were published by the Melbourne Institute and Westpac, with the attendant clichés about the success of the governments actions coming from all parts of the government,applauding the “cash-splash” in alleviating the impact of the WFC.
What a load of old cobblers.
Over a long period we have allowed, indeed, encouraged the reduction of our productive capacity in favor of the “production” of services, accepting the line that all economies move from agricultural to industrial to services in a linear fashion as they develop, and it was our turn to move to services.
Apart from the lucky ability of Australia to dig stuff up, and sell it, once, we produce less and less.
I do not accept that the future of Australia is in providing intangibles, when we dig up stuff, export it, and re-import the manufactured product that we should be manufacturing ourselves. Where is it a given that this should be so? I am not suggesting a return to protectionism, quite the contrary, we need to be globally competitive and resilient value adders and exporters of our own resources.
Our future should be in using the productive capacity of our educated, market aware, globally tuned workforce to manufacture stuff and then to export it. There is a radical idea for you.
But where are the engineers, and scientists, the technical skills to do this? The technical and scientific skill base of the economy has been eroded in favor of other “soft” skills that do not produce “stuff.” All you have to do is look at the technical brain drain overthe last 20 years as scientists look for remuneration and facilities to match their capabilities, or the disparity in remuneration between a financial derivatives salesman and a Phd in applied mathematics for your evidence.
We need to take a long view, and start to wind back the clock, because in that long term it will not be the puffery of consumer confidence that keeps this country great, but the skill to conceive, design, manufacture and export tangible assets that have at their core the leveraging of the intellectual capital of the country.
