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Steve's
Incredible Savings Steve runs a good business in home building materials. Sales have been steady year in and year out. His product is needed and all the stores carry his line. It still seemed there wasn't a way to earn more profits from his existing line. In fact he was always under pricing pressure from customers and competition. Steve is great at offering new ideas to customers. He shows his products to his customers in various Amounts, sizes, pack outs and merchandising units. It helps him keep things fresh, and therefore the customers are happy with his products. "I never wait until it is too late by having customers force me to make my changes. I like to be well ahead of what they need, this makes me a leader." said Steve. "When was the last time you introduced something new and needed to your business?" I asked. YOUR BOX GUY TIP: Making changes on your terms and conditions can be a positive influence in your business. If external factors force you to make changes it is often too late for you to benefit from those changes. What could you take in your business that runs well and make it run great? In the course of doing so could you improve your product, better your results and become more profitable? Steve commented that he had been doing the same things internally for many years including his packaging. If it wasn't broken why should he bother fixing it? He had the same structural package for over 20 years. The printing changed every 10 years or so, but what about adjusting for what is important for today? He was buying a truckload of boxes at a time for his operations. The items were always packed in B-flute which was an eighth of an inch in caliper. Today many new options exist and we took a look at Samples made out of E-flute. This was a sixteenth of an inch in caliper and offered the same strength structurally. Ultimately this one positive change resulted in a 50% savings in space due to the difference in board thickness. What could you do with 50% more space? Steve Could Have: * Doubled up on his purchase of this particular item and received a better price for the larger quantity. * Purchased the same as always and gained 50% more space using it for something more important to his business. * Combined the above two benefits, receiving a better box price and gain more space for his business. What Steve chose to do was purchase his usual quantity and take advantage of the space savings. He can always revise his option at a later date if his situation should change. "New found space is worth more to my business right now than a savings in box prices. This is going to give me a chance to try some new ideas and generate new profits." said Steve. The investment really paid off. In review we found many benefits all around. * Steve gained 50% more space. * The manufacturing increased production output as the new box folded easier and closed faster. * More cases fit on a pallet. This saved in storage space for finished goods, and more importantly it allowed for more boxes to be shipped per truck. In the end the overall combined savings was so great that his investment in the new packaging was covered on the first order! Steve really did have an incredible savings. He did what he had been doing for all his customers. Steve brought benefits to his business. You may not want to fix what's not broken, but then again can you afford not to? See Steve's before and after photos (Sure Corner Drywall)
REPRINT PERMISSION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reprint permission granted in part or whole when the following credit appears: "Reprinted with permission from "Len Oppenheimer's Packaging Success Newsletter. (Copyright, 2003, Len Oppenheimer, YourBoxGuy.com) |