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Don't Be Papua New Guinea: Know Your Critical Numbers

The nation of Papua New Guinea has no idea how many people it has. The official count, according to this article in Financial Times, is 9.4 million, but other valid data shows that the population may be closer to 17 million. Apparently when asked to guess, the Prime Minister thought the population might be closer to 11 million.

That’s an entertaining factoid … until it’s not. How does a nation without any grasp on its population provide services? Collect taxes? Build schools and hospitals? Calculate wear and tear on roads? 

Before you finish shaking your head at the short-sightedness of others and go on with your life, let me ask you this: Do you know the number and value of leads in your sales pipeline right now? Do you know what percentage of those leads will ultimately close, and how long it will take for the average lead to move through each phase of the pipeline? Do you know what the dropoff will be from phase to phase? Can you make an accurate revenue forecast based on that activity? Are you using those accurate sales forecasts to create cash flow forecasts?

Most B2B small and medium-sized enterprises are still managing sales with 20th Century sales tactics.

  • Exhibit at (or walk) trade shows to collect leads
  • Run ads in trade magazines
  • Buy industry lists
  • Send cold emails
  • Hire lead-generation services

Some (but by no means all) B2B SMEs have beefed up websites to get more inbound leads, and have their marketing departments nurture those leads until they are qualified, at which point the leads are thrown over the wall to sales. All these methods tend to be used as individual tactics, different sales people preferring some of those tactics over others. 

But that kind of I’ll do it my way you do it your way sales method throws strategy out the window and leaves business owners without the control they need to manage growth. Falling short on sales goals is obviously hard on cash flow and profits. But coming in far ahead of sales goals can cause operational and quality problems that reverberate through the organization and cause customers to lose trust.

What’s necessary is to consistently fill the sales pipeline with relevant leads and to be able to reasonably predict how that pipeline activity will relate to sales in both timeframe and dollars/pounds/euros/etc.

Many people incorrectly believe that sales forecasting is just a glorified term for dusting off the crystal ball and making a prediction, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Companies using modern tools for sales management are able to build, manage, monitor, and analyze sales pipelines to increasingly accurate degrees. 

From a sales perspective this degree of control over sales is incredibly empowering. Each day the salesperson can look at what’s in the deal pipeline and proactively do the work to keep moving all their prospects and re-purchasing customers through to close. Even better, managing this way eventually leads to insight about what causes prospects to drop off between phases, which in turn can lead to the development of resources to mitigate the dropoff and improve close rates (and therefore, revenue).

From a management perspective, the benefits are even greater. Discussion about the challenges of managing distance employees has been a pandemic-era phenomenon, but challenges around maintaining visibility to sales team performance — many of whom have always worked from a distance all or part of the time — are well-known. Using the proper tools for sales enablement, sales managers can see how each team member is doing relative to managing their deal pipelines, coach them in specific rather than generic ways, and gather insights useful for training, product line and channel alignment.

If you are a member of a Fortune 1000 sales team, then this information is probably old hat. But for the majority of small and medium-sized enterprise owners, the tools necessary for this type of sales enablement have been unaffordable and largely unimplementable until very recently. 

Salesforce has long been recognized as a sales enablement tool, but in recent years HubSpot has added a suite of features specifically designed for holistic management of an account-based marketing (ABM) strategy. For the smallest businesses, Keap can be used for sales enablement as well, though without some of the automation and integration benefits more readily available with HubSpot and Salesforce.

Unfortunately, ineffective implementation of sales enablement platforms has left a bad impression on many sales teams. These problems are actually relatively easy to fix systemically, but resistance at the individual and sometimes cultural level frequently gets in the way.

At StrategyWerx, we embrace a technology agnostic approach to systems implementations. This enables us to remain objective about fitting customers with the right tools for their strategy, organization, technology stack, and culture. We maintain certifications in many different software applications and platforms in order to support our customers, and by maintaining relationships with platform providers we are also often able to pass on access to additional services and/or savings. Looking at the three main marketplace sales enablement tools, we tend to frame them in these ways:

  • HubSpot: For larger small businesses (10 employees and up) through large enterprises with significant B2B sales pipelines that also pursue a significant marketing practice (inbound, outbound, and/or ABM). 
  • Salesforce: For medium and large enterprises fielding large sales forces with more focus  on channel selling than marketing. Salesforce’s marketing features and automation are not as developed as they could be as they still rely on 3rd party tools.
  • Keap: For small businesses (10 employees and under) that want to implement basic sales pipelines and integrate them with marketing. Keap’s toolset is much smaller than that of HubSpot or Salesforce, but the pricepoint is more accessible for small  businesses and toolset is sufficient for most companies at the beginning stages of growth.

With 80% of business owners concerned about labor shortages in 2023 and 38% already planning to hire, it’s no surprise that business automation is high on planned investment lists. Just remember that business automation isn’t just about administrative and operational benefits … sales and marketing enablement and automation should be a big part of those investment calculations. Not only will the right tools save you time and improve productivity and quality, they can also shorten the time from lead to invoice and increase the number of leads you convert.

Embracing the Future: How AI Revolutionizes Manufacturing for Growth

Leveraging AI for Manufacturing Success 

The market for AI applications in the manufacturing sector is set to grow astronomically in the coming years. Market research and consulting group Precedence Research predicts that AI manufacturing market size will double by 2025 and grow from $5.7 billion in 2022 to $63 billion in 2023. These predictions reflect the enormous potential of AI for manufacturing.

While most of the talk about business applications of AI have been in the realm of generative AI (that is, text and image generators), the real power of these technologies lies in areas like inventory management and manufacturing. From process optimization to predictive maintenance, AI is poised to transform manufacturing in the next decade.

What Is AI?

It might be easier to begin by stating what AI is not: it is not Skynet from the Terminator films, and it is not Hal 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. It is not intelligent in the way people are; it does not have a will of its own. It doesn’t now, and it probably won’t ever.

The basis of the type of AI that exists in reality involves machine learning. To quote our book on AI implementation, Beyond Profit: Responsible Adoption of AI for Business Growth, machine learning consists of show[ing] a computer program lots of examples of something—let’s say pictures, including pictures of dogs and names of dog breeds—and [telling] the program which pictures are dogs and which ones are not. Just as a dog may make mistakes at first when learning a new trick, the computer will also make mistakes when learning to recognize dogs. But over time, using more examples and consistent feedback, the computer gets better at recognizing dogs, until it recognizes dogs correctly every time. And that’s all that machine learning is—teaching a computer program to learn by showing it lots of examples and giving it lots of feedback.

Machine learning algorithms not only work with vast quantities of data, they also work extraordinarily fast, achieving in hours or days what might take a human analyst months or even years to sort through. This example should illustrate that we’re a long ways away from machines that think and act autonomously, if such a feat is even actually achievable. Nevertheless, machine learning is remarkable as it is, and the above example should already have you imagining the potential of AI for manufacturing.

Quality Control

Take the quote above and switch out dog breeds for machined parts like, say, aluminum expansion slots for a computer case. By analyzing thousands of examples, an AI model can “learn” to identify what a well-made expansion slot looks like and determine which ones coming off of the line are bent, cracked, scratched, or otherwise flawed. AI can do this much faster than human inspectors can. The program can then flag them for further inspection by a human inspector.

Predictive Maintenance

The best medicine is preemptive: taking care of yourself before a problem arises. The same goes for manufacturing equipment. Waiting until something breaks is much more expensive than taking preemptive action.

The same method used to train an AI to assist in quality control is used in AI-powered predictive maintenance. Predictive maintenance combines real-time monitoring with analysis of historical cases. As these case studies show, machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence are already helping manufacturing companies predict equipment and electrical failures before they happen by comparing historical examples to the current status of a particular machine, part, or resource. Plant engineers can then use this information to make repairs or prepare for maintenance shutdowns in ways that don’t disrupt production.

Process Optimization

Efficient, thoughtful processes are where businesses succeed. Businesses put a great deal of effort into refining their processes because optimal processes allow employees to focus on doing their jobs rather than figuring out (or just remembering) how to complete each step of their job. This is one way in which UK-based startup DAFO is working to develop AI for manufacturing.

In this short video, DAFO co-founder Daniela Gonzales explains their Modular Operator Guidance Suite, an AI system designed for use in assembly plants. Using a form of AI called computer vision, the system helps the operator pick the correct component from the components on the table and then place the component in the correct position. The system will then let the operator know if they’ve completed the task correctly. It’s a great example of AI not replacing a worker but helping a human laborer focus on the task itself rather than on the steps of the task, enabling workers to work more efficiently with fewer errors.

Supply Chain Management

The events of the past few years have highlighted the need for a more robust, efficient, and flexible supply chain. Many large companies like Amazon and Walmart have been using AI to manage their supply chains for years, but this technology isn’t just for the biggest businesses anymore. Modern supply chains are vast and complex, and AI can help identify trends that human analysts might miss, such as shifts in consumer demand or raw material availability. AI trained on the right data can also optimize delivery routes and times and suggest the best ways to use available truck capacity, according to a recent Smart Industry case study of a large shipping carrier. The case study highlights the benefits of AI-supported supply chain management for manufacturers, including “significant increase in first-tender acceptance” and “a significant decrease in total transportation cost.”

Integrating AI into Your Business

The initial wave of hype surrounding text and image generators is dying down and businesses begin to realize the true strengths of AI lie elsewhere. Despite AI’s potential, the manufacturing sector has been slow to adopt these new technologies. A measured approach is a smart move given the amount of marketing hype surrounding these technologies, but you also don’t want to miss out on something that can give you a competitive advantage.

Before adopting any new AI-powered systems, know what you want to get out of them. Like any other tool, just having it around isn’t going to solve problems. You have to first identify where your current processes are failing and understand exactly how AI-powered tools can help improve them.

Also note that replacing a human workforce is not the ultimate goal of manufacturing automation. People live and interact in a physical world of the senses. We understand context, history, relationships, emotion, and how both employees and customers actually operate, all in a way machines just cannot. AI can augment the work of human safety inspectors, customer service agents, and QA specialists, but until we can get self-driving cars to stop mowing down pedestrians, it might not be a good idea to put people’s lives in the hands of AI or to believe that AI is a magic word that will solve all of our problems. Like any other tool, AI will only ever be as good as the human beings in control of it.

Pioneering the Future: Tech Opportunities for Manufacturing Growth

We are in the midst of a technological revolution that will affect all sectors of the economy. That’s not an overstatement. While there is an element of marketing to all the hype surrounding AI, we are beginning to see how AI and other cutting-edge technologies can actually be useful in business. It’s not all about text and image generators.

These new advances have led to applications in all sectors, including manufacturing. When you think of AI for manufacturing, you might imagine autonomous robots doing complex tasks on an assembly line. While those concepts are still several years away from being a reality, there is so much new tech for manufacturing that has the potential to increase productivity, equipment uptime, and supply chain transparency, among other benefits.

Manufacturing is changing in profound ways. Manufacturers—even small organizations—that stay on top of changing technological trends will claim competitive advantages. Technology that was once the purview of the largest, richest corporations like Amazon are now available to everyone. Adopting the right ones and implementing them intelligently are the keys to future success. Let’s take a look at some of the tech that is at the heart of manufacturing of the future.

Internet of Things

While the “Internet of Things” was supposed to usher in the era of the smart home, it hasn’t quite taken off in the realm of consumer goods. Where it has found its most powerful expression is in the manufacturing sector. IoT is about devices and systems with onboard sensors communicating with one another over Wi-Fi networks. Integrated into manufacturing equipment, such sensors can monitor the status of different parts, aiding in cost-saving preventative maintenance efforts. IoT-enabled equipment can also monitor factors such as temperature and speed, ensuring that employees are using machines safely.

Blockchain

For years, blockchain was a technology looking for its use case. It may just find it in supply chain visibility. 

In manufacturing, blockchain technologies can bring clarity to a major point of uncertainty: the supply chain. A blockchain is basically a fancy spreadsheet that anyone can view. New entries must be approved by everyone with access to the spreadsheet, but once entries are made, they can never be edited or deleted. Because everyone involved has access to the same information, and because entries cannot be changed, the issue of trust is removed. It is a transparent system.

That brief description might already give you an idea about blockchain’s usefulness to the supply chain. Traceability, visibility, and provenance are all hurdles for businesses at every level of the supply chain to overcome. Tracking raw materials and individual parts through multiple countries and different shipping companies, from the mine the metals were extracted from to the final product on a store shelf, is a time-consuming, cumbersome, and costly task, but it is of vital importance to businesses and consumers alike. Blockchain technology can get every business involved on the same page, sharing the same information, with no opportunity for fraud along the way. This is especially important in industries where provenance and sustainable practices are causes for concern.

3D Printing in the Cloud

3D printing is another technology that has become increasingly affordable for smaller manufacturing companies. The latest innovation in 3D printing is cloud-based software. In the past, 3D printers were not typically connected to the internet and had to rely on their own onboard operating systems. Now, manufacturers using 3D printers can easily send designs to all of their printers and operate printers from one place. This capability is particularly useful when testing new designs, which might work perfectly on one machine but not another. Cloud-based software also allows for more complex designs that require greater CPU usage and storage.

Manufacturing Automation Using Robots and Cobots

Automation doesn’t have to be about deskilling or even replacing human workers. A growing manufacturing technology trend is the use of “cobots,” or collaborative robots. Like Ripley in Aliens, workers at Ford are using robotic exoskeletons to help get the job done, though in this case the job is reducing repetitive stress injuries, not throwing a murderous alien into space.

More commonly, small manufacturers will use small, multipurpose robots to assist workers in completing a variety of tasks. Tabletop robots are more powerful and affordable than ever, providing maximum utility without taking up too much precious floorspace. Imagine a single worker has to assemble a printed circuit board. A multipurpose cobot might assist them in placing surface-mounted devices on the board and then tightening tiny screws on other components.

Staying Ahead of the Curve

These technologies have already given large manufacturers an advantage, and as they become more affordable to smaller organizations, the ones that understand the technology, determine which tech is right for them, and implement new tech will get those same advantages before their competitors.

Technological progress is necessary to stay competitive. It is also very possible, even for a small manufacturer. StrategyWerx is here to assess your business’s technological needs, from manufacturing automation to AI for manufacturing, and help you get those systems running.

Setting the Stage: Strategic Planning and Infrastructure for Manufacturing Growth

If you want to live a satisfying, rewarding life, you have to play to your strengths. You have to know who you are, what you’re good at, and what you’re not so good at. You’ve got to put yourself in positions that bring out the best in you. Sometimes we just have to get through the day, and the next day, and the next day, but if you don’t have some broader plan or vision for yourself, you end up directionless and stagnant.

It’s the same in business. Too many businesses only plan for the short term and don’t think beyond the current quarter. As important as those short-term goals are, they must be mapped out and executed within the scope of a long-term strategic plan. Setting goals and making plans is vital to the success of any business, as we’ve been saying for years. In this blog post, we’ll focus on strategic planning.

Strategic Planning for Sustainable Growth

Successful growth requires laying the track before the train. The way you do that is with a clearly articulated strategy—a plan designed to achieve a specific long-term goal. Strategic planning involves understanding what you will need to learn, develop, and invest in to accomplish that goal. While this seems like something only larger businesses would have to worry about, strategic planning is even more important for small businesses because they have fewer resources to work with.

Strong planning leads to more efficient and effective allocation of limited resources, which in turn gives you a clear understanding of what you will need in the future. Growth planning is a vital component of strategic planning.

The Steps of Strategic Planning

1.       Where Are You Now?

Strategic planning is a fluid process, but there are some steps every business must take to assess its current capabilities and identify areas for improvement. First, take a look at where and what you are right now. Ask yourself the following questions.

  • What is your competitive advantage?
  • What makes you different from other businesses offering similar products or services?
  • Who are your current customers, and why do they work with you rather than another manufacturer?

You will also want to assess your business’s current capabilities: your personnel, processes, and production.

  • What is the capacity of your current staff and facilities?
  • What is your current unit cost and market share?
  • Are you operating at close to capacity or do you have built-in room to grow?

Take, for example, a company whose employees are at their limits in terms of the hours they can work and the productivity they can provide. You have employees doing multiple jobs. You’re having to turn away new clients. You’re managing the floor while also doing the marketing and trying to run the company. Your strategic plan is going to look a lot different than the strategic plan of a company that is actively seeking out new clients because its employees and facilities have so much unused capacity.

2.       Where Do You Want to Go?

After assessing where you are, it’s time to think about where you want to go. What are your growth goals? At this point, you’re looking at a roadmap and planning your route. You could just get on the road and follow the signs, but you might end up spending more on gas, food, and lodging along the way as you spend time correcting wrong turns, sitting in traffic, and diverting around construction. Good strategic planning gets you to your goal faster and with fewer resources expended.

  • Where would you like this business to be one, three, five, ten years from now?
  • What are some model businesses who have already achieved that kind of growth? How did they do it?
  • How will you conduct sales and marketing with growth in mind?
  • How will you raise sufficient capital to invest in growth?

3.       How Do You Get There?

With your destination in mind, you can begin planning your route, so to speak. Note that the first question below is about your staff. Every employee of the company should be involved in strategic planning. They should be aware of the company’s plan and understand the role they will play in its future.

  • Will your current staff need any additional training in order to scale up?
  • What new problems will growth bring?
  • How can you adjust your processes to accommodate adjustments?

One company that successfully implemented strategic planning for growth is Oakland Fortune Factory, owned by Alicia Wong and her mother Jiamin. Jiamin needed her daughter’s help with translation, but Alicia arrived with a vision of what the company could become. There are plenty of fortune cookie manufacturers, but Alicia saw a niche for gourmet fortune cookies with customization options.

It’s not just a vision for cookies that guided the company’s strategic planning, but a vision for the company’s place in the world. “My passion and my purpose are to use the cookies to help nonprofits that work for social justice,” Alicia told The Oaklandside. Finding a niche, understanding the company’s purpose, and analyzing available capital, staffing, and capacity all came together through a plan that allowed the company to grow and thrive.

Accommodating Scalability through Flexible Infrastructure

Scalability refers to the ease with which business functions can be expanded. One person making custom jewelry in their garage could be an expensive hobby or a profitable business, depending on the goals and business acumen of the one person in question. But what it is not is easily scalable. Without major organizational changes, a business like that has a definite ceiling. Ask yourself these questions when evaluating your business’s scalability.

  • Do you have enough floor space to expand? Is your use of space optimized?
  • Is your workspace optimized for workflow so that no time or effort is wasted as products move through different phases of production? How will this workflow change as you expand?
  • Are you running at capacity? If so, how can you best increase capacity?

It’s not just physical infrastructure that needs to be flexible. Your IT infrastructure must also be flexible enough to scale up with your business. You’ll need a CRM system that is scalable for businesses of any size, providing as little or as much as you need as your business grows.

Begin Your Growth Journey Today

Laid out like this, it all seems easy. But each of these simple steps requires a lot of thought and research—and often, an expert voice in strategy, management, and organization. You’ve built the train, and you know how to operate it, but you might need help from a specialist in laying down track and blasting through mountains, so to speak. Strategic planning, growth planning, and investing for growth is our specialty. StrategyWerx is here to guide you through your growth journey.