By Contour Engineering

07/17/2017 To be Globally Competitive you Need to Dominate LocallyThe Role of Manufacturing in Achieving SuccessRecently we had the privilege to be invited to the launch of the Team NZ Americas’ cup challenge where the new race boat was introduced. It reminded us that there is no lack of innovation in New Zealand. Success and winning at a global level can however be difficult. Only a few companies scale successfully locally and go on to be a global success (think Xero and TradeMe), or perform above expectation or against all odds at the world stage, like TeamNZ in the America’s Cup. Why is that?
What is often not well understood by most companies is the impact of core (internal – the things we are good at) and non-core (manufacturing, etc. that we are not so good at) and the direct correlation of these activities to success. Company leaders need a holistic view of manufacturing that considers the entire value chain, from research and development (R&D) and design to supply management, production, go-to-market strategies, sales, etc.
High Value Manufacturing Value Chain
At Contour Engineering we have learned the value we can add as part of the value chain by focusing on building solid partnerships where we partner to combine our core strengths (high precision engineering and manufacturing) for a better outcome.
The TeamNZ challenge is relying on both core, for example R&D and design, as well as non-core capabilities, such as engineering and manufacturing though partnerships to enable performance at the highest level. In our industry we often see companies fail due to inattention to non-core activities.
At Contour Engineering we get real about our core and non-core capabilities every 90 days as we review our strategy. Have you recently done and audit of both your core and non-core activities to ensure you stay competitive? Is manufacturing one of those activities (whether done in-house or not)? Have you considered dual sourcing?
If you want to have more information or want to discuss how our “OnTime - Zero Defects” approach can help you achieve success and take your products to the global market, get in touch with us.