Just had a great conversation with a brilliant consultant, Michael Woody, the president and founder of International Marketing Advantages, Inc (he and I have the same wonderful literary agent, Michael Snell).
Woody helps small, innovative companies successfully compete with China, using a simple formula: fewer, faster, finer.
- Fewer: think of China’s Foxcom, and its huge factory complexes and huge production runs. By contast, “American Dragon” companies ” lower minimum order sizes; the lower a minimum order size, the better. If a product can be customized, even better still.”
- Faster: think about how far away China is, and how long it takes to ship products: “In today’s business environment of tighter margins, it is likely that your U.S. customers currently buying from China favor low inventory levels and just in time delivery. Given these conditions, short production lead times and physical proximity of supply chain partners becomes more critical.”
- Finer: “…means not only that your product is of the highest quality, but also that it is safe. Overseas manufacturers, particularly those in China, have little to no understanding of the product safety regulations in the United States. Even large multi-national corporations, some based in the U.S, who have outsourced manufacturing to China are learning that lesson the hard way. These tougher regulations are your friend, so use them to your advantage.”
Check out the American Dragon site, and think hard on how to apply these principles in conjunction with your innovative Internet of Things product design, and I think you’ve got the formula for manufacturing success!
