It has always amazed me that the same people who claim to be building the best products on the market today are also the ones who want to buy the cheapest ingredients they can. Our customers like to tell us that they need the best price possible or else. If we do not provide them […]
A Look At Trade Adjustment Assistance
Free money! Come and get it! It’s been a while since I talked about TAA (Trade Adjustment Assistance), so I thought it might be a great time to remind everyone of what TAA actually is and what it can do for you. Now in this time of Chinese Tariffs people, many of our customers are […]
It’s Time To Globalize!
The world is getting flatter every year, month, week, day and even by the hour, as we get closer to one another and like water seek ways to touch one another and do business. This, from some of the world’s leading economists: no matter what politicians try to do they can only at best re-channel […]
Creating A Customer Purposed Company
Be honest now when was the last time you sat around with your team talking about how you can produce better products and services for your customers? I mean doing things better, making the customers experience extraordinary and putting the “wow” factor in your products. I would guess never. We are all so busy just […]
When Was The Last Time Your Independent Reps Described You As “Indispensable” ?
There is that old adage that goes: the more you put into your reps the more you will get out of them. Which I believe is absolutely true. True to the point that if you want to have a successful relationships with your reps you have to give them everything they need to be successful. […]
That Customer Again!?
Sorry, but I always have customer service on my mind. I read everything about customer service I can get my hands on. To me customer service is what business is all about. Customer service is what the customer wants from us. It is what keeps those customers coming back time after time even after we […]
Take All The Help You Can Get
Anywhere you can get it. The best way to become good, even great, at anything is to learn anything you can, from anywhere that you can. I for one, have been fortunate enough to have had a number of mentors in my career, People, who took the time to teach me, to bring me along, […]
PCB Vendors vs Customers: This Is What We Do About It
I have talked endlessly about PCB customers who were not happy with their vendor’s performance and last week we talked took things from the other side of the issue and talked about why PCB fabricators have a hard time being good and productive suppliers (both articles can be accessed by scrolling to the bottom of […]
Getting The Kids Into Manufacturing
Let me tell you about my son Damon. From the time he was thirteen years old he has been fascinated with everything Japanese. I’m not sure how that started, maybe the video games? Anyway, when we moved to Maine in 2012 and he was about to enter his Freshmen year in high school, he asked […]
Where Will We Be in Five Years? Or Maybe Three?
Recently, a good friend of mine, an owner of a PCB shop in the U.S. ,asked for my thoughts on what the North American Market would look like in five years. Good question isn’t it? With everything going on in the world , it is a good time so stop, and take stock. So, after […]