Monday, April 15, 2013

Manufacturing in a High Cost Environment

By Pascal Dennis

Aussie & Kiwi Adventures, Part 4

Last blog, I was having a fine dinner in Perth, Australia, with the great Dr. Goran Roos, noted business guru, and "Thinker in Residence" at Australia's Adelaide University.

We were in strong agreement that manufacturing is the cornerstone of any economy, and especially a high-cost economy like America, Canada or Australia.

"So what are key enablers of manufacturing excellence, in a high-cost economy?" I asked.

Dr. Roos elaborated on the following list:
  1. Close to the customer - deep understanding of Value
  2. Capable management - and Lean is a core capability
  3. Strategic focus
  4. Global perspective
  5. Decentralization - we invest in our people & trust them to make good decisions
  6. Profound knowledge of our field & work
  7. Loyal, capable, low turn-over employees
  8. Innovation through market partnerships & hassle-free innovation management systems

Seems a little bit like the Toyota Business System, no?

I was especially interested in element 8. Perhaps I can take up the topic in an upcoming blog.

Dr. Roos was especially gracious with respect to my talk on Getting the Right Things Done, which connected many of these points.

"This is an extremely PRACTICAL system," he said.

Thanks Goran.

Best regards,

Pascal

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