LEAN MANUFACTURING COMBINED WITH A PRICING STRATEGY PROVIDES A PATH TO PROFIT IMPROVEMENT

Senior Managers responsible for achieving their company's goals and objectives, must have an answer for the continuously ask question, "What is it going to take to get ahead and stay ahead of your competition and increase profitability"?
The answer to that question is of course, "Excellent Results in all phases of your operation".
Most companies today are face with domestic and global competitive pressures. To compete in a new world economy companies are forced into strategies that continue to put downward pressure on their prices, which in turn puts equal pressure on their profits.
Pricing becomes a key profit driver in today's economic environment. Business can use a variety of pricing strategies when selling a product or service. Pricing can be used to defend an existing market from new entrants, to increase market share with a market or to enter a new market. Business may benefit from lowering or raising prices, depending on the needs and behaviors of customers in a particular market. Finding the right pricing strategy is an important element in running a successful business and maximizing profits.
It is all too common that companies leave considerable money on the table due to miss guided discounting strategies, neglecting to charge for specials, expedited deliveries, and by no real strategy for pricing individual customers and products.
Companies should consider a pricing assessment exercise, they need to review the competition from a pricing advantage or disadvantage standpoint, review and price their advantages in technology, advantages in their service level, advantages in their quality and ability to delight the customer.
This is not an easy process; companies may lose customers shopping only for low cost suppliers. However, with pricing set at new levels the remaining customers and new customers will add more to a company's bottom line and provide a more consistent revenue stream.
If pricing is set at, the correct levels companies must then strive to uncover ways to reduce cost as a weapon against profit erosion.
One of the most aggressive approaches in reducing cost is to implement a Lean approach to running and managing your business, this Lean Thinking needs to be throughout the complete value chain from Sales through to the delivery of the product.
Best in class Lean companies are realizing financial and operation advantages over their competition. They are:

• More responsive to customer needs

• More responsive to market changes

• More effective in controlling cost

• More Profitable

A Lean Business Approach is a major shift in how an organization manages their business from Quote to Cash. It is a comprehensive and aggressive study of all your current processes and the alignment of these processes.
Marino Associates assist companies with the process of rethinking, radical redesign, and alignment of processes to achieve dramatic improvements in the critical measures of performance such as:

• Speed

• Agility

• Cost

• Quality

• Service

Our process starts with a detailed and comprehensive 5 - Day Assessment, during this assessment we will:

• Review your key processes
• Interview all key employees and managers
• Review you existing pricing strategy and CRM system
• Review the alignment of these processes on key product lines.

We also review your ERP system to see if it is optimized, and contains the most effective business rules that allow you to meet your business objectives.
This assessment results in a comprehensive report outlining our findings and suggestions for improvement. We then spend a day reviewing this report with the senior management team and outlining a path forward.
During the assessment, we often uncover areas that can immediately be improved. These improvements can generate savings that cover the cost of the program.
Once the assessment and report out is complete a company has a road map they can follow to begin the development and implementation of a Formal Lean Manufacturing Program.
No Company is safe, there is no such thing as a solid, or even substantial, lead over one's competitors. Too much is changing for anyone to be complacent. Moreover, the "Champ to Chump" cycles are growing even shorter."
Let Marino Associates take the mystery out of Lean Manufacturing, let us assist you in customizing a program that is right for you and fits your budget and culture.
There is a great deal of detail, planning, organizing, measuring, education and change that must be done to achieve Lean Business Excellence let our seasoned and experience consultants assist you down the Lean Path.
For additional information about our Lean Assessment Process and workshops contact Dan Marino at Danam333@aol.com; phone 860-623-2521 or visit www.dmarinoassociates.com