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May 14, 2006
Risk of offshoring your crown jewels
Fortune (May 1, 2006)prints a report that should give everyone hungry for low-cost manufacturing in China pause. It seems that once you've trained the crew, handed over the blueprints and turned the crank on production, it is very hard to turn if off again. Meaning that once your sub-contractor has done their bit for you, there is nothing to prevent them doing just a little more - except that this time it's for themselves. In fact, they can do so much more that they can sell items that are indistinguishable from the real thing -- because they MAKE the real thing.
For all those looking for a reason - any reason - to keep manufacturing at home, this one might prove among the most compelling in the long term. Check it out.
Posted by Rita at 09:01 PM | Comments (0)
Adding empathy - to detergent???
Now I've seen it all. Business Week (May 1, 2006) has a long discussion of how Tide and other consumer brands are being made into 'so much more than just detergent' by companies seeking to appeal to the deeper emotional needs of potential customers. One that grabbed me -- "One of our rallying cries was to get out of the laundry basket and into her life" quotes the P&G fabric care marketing director.
Imagine how interesting life could be if more companies took a more compelling view of their products.
Posted by Rita at 08:57 PM | Comments (0)
