27. April 2008 by admin.

“Wealth does not exist, only money management”

“Freedom does not exist, only time management”

In our current economy, an efficient method of distribution is required to stay afloat. Gas and oil prices are increasing. Maximizing efficiency, not profit, should be pursued as the highest priority. Long-term profitability will come as a result.

All corporations should compile a list of shipping locations, supplier locations, retail stores, warehouses, and office spaces. Integration should be done horizontally (owning a larger market share of retail stores, for example) and vertically (managing the flow of products from factory down to retail store).

Once a list has been completed, route planning or mapping should be done through GPS units, Google Maps, or other enterprise software. The shortest route distance between A to B should be mapped out. Alternate routes must be considered. Factors such as traffic, the weather, and shipment weight must be calculated. Since the weather is becoming increasingly erratic, hot weather or unusually rainy weather can be extremely harmful to business. Executives must now plan new hours of operation as well as other times for delivery, such as during the night, in order to balance work load.

Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and cell phones will be the medium of communication used to update other members of the team one’s physical location as well as update route information. If there are any business calls during the day, a new route can be calculated in order to maximize convenience. UPS and FedEx already have an efficient method of route planning; businessmen need to do something like that as well.

The efficient use of transportation, not necessarily efficient transportation, is also crucial towards success. Hybrid vehicles should be used for the mainstream means of transportation of the company. Chief executives should drive luxury sedans instead of sport utility vehicles. Delivery will still be done by large trucks, but whenever possible, small loads can be done on compact sport wagons such as the Toyota Matrix, or sport utility vehicles.

The same applies for corporate technology. Companies should opt for energy efficient computers as well as smart, user-independent technology. Currently, the collaboration between Intel and Windows Vista has produced computers that can sense how much power is needed, and automatically reduces energy consumption when performing basic tasks, or shuts off when the user is not present.

The combination of all these techniques will lead to long term profitability as well as longer equipment lifespan, shorter hours of work, and better adaptability towards market conditions.

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9. April 2008 by admin.

As equally as important for a product to be able to give customers some lasting satisfaction, it is important for merchants to give customers a hospitable climate when purchases are made. That way, when a customer remembers in their memory,

“Oh, I bought it from this-and-this store. The weather was sunny and cool, and I walked down a clean sidewalk filled with many trees, and upon entering the store I was greeted by genuinely polite employees, not workers droning out a generic message, my product was easy to find and I spend hours just wandering and getting lost looking at products, in the atmosphere XYZ store provided. The salesman advertised the product in an optimistic and objective manner.”

Contrast to a store where the store sign is dull and falling apart, the environment dirty, dangerous, and the place looks like as if you want to get out of there as fast as possible. Indeed, profit will always be made in certain industries, if people need lamps, they will buy lamps. If they need wood, they will buy wood. If they need food, they will buy food from a convenient location. If they need shoes, they will go some place to find shoes. Same goes for anything that is necessary for survival - living supplies. Profit is guaranteed; if people need something, they will come to you. However, being able to attract more customers and staying in business long term requires business acumen and quality of service.

In short, business is about not only being able to exchange money or goods, but also about making people feel good. A superficial commitment is not enough, a genuine commitment towards a truly satisfying experience provides the answers towards customer happiness. Not all customers can tell the difference between falseness and commitment, but mathematically, If 80% of customers cannot tell the difference but 20% are able to discern a difference in atmosphere, the business has already automatically won the hearts of the 20%, making the full 100%. Business is about being all-encompassing, being able to say yes to everybody and not excluding a single customer. The extra profit lost through investment (towards a better experience), will automatically be regained and reabsorbed over time, and will produce more profit in the long run.

Given that quality of service is a effective and competitive business model, the responsible conduct of the customer will be important as well. Businesses will assume customers are moral and responsible unless proven otherwise. Security and collaboration between either private security or law enforcement is an necessity for all sizes of businesses, small or large.

Rowdy customers is the reason that, for more than three hundred years, businesses have the sign “We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.” If the customer is trying to take advantage of the business, steal goods, or return products and raise a commotion, such actions must be punished either fiscally or legally.

Ultimately, the law must protect both business and consumer. A capitalist monopoly scheme, that oppresses its customers through sheer psychological force and financial power, cannot subsist. A indiscriminate customer-first scheme, putting customers first at the loss of merchants, is equally as despicable.

Power must come from above as well as below; we do not live in a mobocracy. We live in a Federalist Republican society. Merchant responsibilities, also equate to customer responsibilities. The lack of participation of either in implied contracts terminates business transactions, as well as profits. In short, the full definition of smooth business is a condition where both customers and merchants feel good. The customer must gain the product they want or need, and the corporation must make their employees feel good, and must satisfy the executive’s ambitions and dreams.

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