by Gary Mintchell | Jan 8, 2013 | Operations Management
I saw this article in The Wall Street Journal, Flextronics CEO Sees Hope for U.S. Tech Production by a James R. Hagerty. There are some interesting things to note in the story.
Take this excerpt, for instance:
The difference in labor costs is narrowing and local officials in America have been giving more financial incentives to companies setting up plants in the U.S., Mike McNamara, chief executive of Flextronics, said in an interview Friday. Mr. McNamara said he could even imagine some smartphones being made in the U.S. eventually. But he cautioned that the return of manufacturing to the U.S. is likely to be a “slow and evolving process” rather than a flood. Many obstacles remain, including relatively high U.S. taxes, health-care expenses and regulatory costs, he said.
Labor costs are seldom a make or break factor in profitability. I think even the MBAs have figured out that logistics costs caused by manufacturing far from markets is expensive and cumbersome. It is true that many countries handle health-care costs instead of passing it along to businesses as we do in the US.
Then there are these notes:
“In Asia, if I want to get something done, we just go and get it done,” he said. An Asian plant with 5,000 employees could be set up in 90 days, he said, but it takes much longer in the U.S., partly for regulatory reasons. Flextronics has plants in 30 countries, including the U.S.
and
Asian plants typically have more flexibility to set up new production lines quickly, which is important for products with short life cycles like smartphones. Still, as products become more customized and companies try harder to keep rivals from copying technology, Mr. McNamara said, some phone makers who want to make products to order for local customers eventually may produce certain types of smartphones in the U.S.
I will defend regulations in general, but not necessarily the bureaucracies and craziness that sometimes accompany them. After all, I appreciate having manufacturing around where I live. But I also appreciate clean air and water, efficient traffic patterns and safety in the workplace.
I have also found that flexibility and ability to move fast is just as often a function of good management. Instead of whining, Mr. McNamara could say that we are so good and have such great engineering that we will beat the competition by being flexible and efficient.
It would be great to see Flextronics move some manufacturing back here. It would be doubly great to see them do it right.
by Gary Mintchell | Jan 6, 2013 | Operations Management, Podcast
Guess what? I’m back in the podcast business. Just recorded one (number 122 over the 7 years of doing these, but the first since last April). Talking about controllers, software, reshoring. Guess people like podcasts. Still have more than 100 downloads a month even though there hasn’t been a new one in 8 months.
by Gary Mintchell | Jan 4, 2013 | Education, Operations Management
Happy New Year. Are you like me and digging out after taking some time off during the holidays?
My wife and I flew to Florida to spend a few days with her family. Too much sitting and eating, but we won’t go there. The flights gave me an opportunity to catch up on my TED Talks queue, though. So for your New Years’ pleasure and consideration as you plot your new year–some thoughts. Maybe something will give you an idea to totally redirect your year into a better direction.
To lead off, here is a talk given by a Penn State communications professor who was told to help engineering students explain technical topics. Her conclusion, use story and analogy. That has been the foundation idea behind the editorial focus of Automation World. Melissa Marshall, Talk Nerdy To Me.
Speaking of education, there are many cool ideas floating around for using the Internet for learning. Here, Shimon Schocken explains the Self-Organizing Computer Course. I sense a revolution happening–and it all sounds good to a self-learner like me.
Or, there are some beautiful photos of our nano world from Gary Greenberg.
Applying Engineering To Solve Social Problems
When he realized his wife had to choose between buying family meals and buying her monthly “supplies”, this entrepreneur invented a simple machine to help poor women make their own sanitary napkins. Arunachalam Muruganatham, How I Started a Sanitary Napkin Revolution.
How do you build a wheelchair ready to blaze through mud and sand, all for under $200? Amos Winter, describes the process of designing and building the cheap all-terrain wheelchair.
If you had to walk a mile for a jug of water every day, as millions of people do, it’s unlikely you’d use that precious water to bathe. Young entrepreneur Ludwick Marishane tells the amazing, funny story of how he invented a cheap, clean and convenient solution: DryBath, the world’s first bath-substituting lotion.
And a Warning About “Studies”
Brains are ubiquitous in modern marketing: Headlines proclaim cheese sandwiches help with decision-making, while a “neuro” drink claims to reduce stress. There’s just one problem, says neuroscientist Molly Crockett: The benefits of these “neuro-enhancements” are not proven scientifically. In this to-the-point talk, Crockett explains the limits of interpreting neuroscientific data, and why we should all be aware of them. Molly Crockett, Beware Neuro-Bunk.
