Efficiency – Working More with Less in Current Business Environments

Strategy Plan One

July 24, 2012

Efficiency to Survive in the Current Economic Environment

Tough economic times require tough business decisions.  In cases of self-employment, when times are difficult, the onus rests on the business owner to implement contingencies.  When reductions occur in smaller businesses, everyone, including the owner, get busier.  In extreme cases to survive, businesses may reduce operations down to the owner handling all tasks, from management to operations to administration… just to survive.

In order to find efficient methods in operations, businesses insert in tech tools.  However, being connected by mobile devices adds a new dynamic to vacationing business owners, as it has now become part of the norm on vacation.  Business owners are glancing at their emails while sitting on a beach, partaking in a tourism outing, or trying to spend leisure time with family.

In this infographic from Manta, some key trends are emerging in small business and mobile device use, from an external Manta Wellness survey that was conducted in June 2012.

• 58% of business owners say they are working more than the previous year
• 70% of those surveyed do not plan to hire any additional staff this summer
• 71% of business owners express working and responding to emails while on vacation
• 60% of entrepreneurs state they enjoy vacations more due to their mobile devices (huh?)
• 68% of respondents say they use mobile devices while using their computers
• 54% state that they use mobile devices at work to check email (business or personal) and,
• 24% of business owners use their mobile devices every day

Source: Manta

Business issues – A few points were clear from this survey:

• Businesses are still facing challenges in this economy - Ensure you plan well in advance.  Business planning should be conducted frequently to help in mitigating around the surprises this economic environment may bring.
• Business are making adjustments and finding efficiencies – develop operational and human resource plans focused on finding effective, efficient methods with reduced labor and resources.
• Work-life balance issues at the business owner level doesn’t appear well – we all know these are tough economic times, but strong work-life balance at all levels will keep employers and employees happy and healthy.  Ensure work-life balance exists for healthy minds, bodies and relationships.
• Effective tools are needed to handle complex volumes of work – Ensure you invest in capabilities to make work easily for you as the business owner and employees.  If mobile devices work well in operations, make it readily available to staff.  Devices like these could be the productivity improvement to handle more work more efficiently.

More business blogs of interest:

• Business Issues Faced in the Summer Months

• Hiring – Strategies and Tips for Strong Staffing Processes

• Positive Work-Life Balance in Your Business Organization
• Strategies to Handle Difficult Employees in Your Business
• High Performance – Star Qualities to Get You Noticed
• Pay Per Click – Advertising Statistics and Trends [infographic]
• Business Plan – The Next Steps
• Business Intelligence – Keeping you Wired In
• SEO Guide to Higher Conversions with a Few Steps [infographic]
• EService, Social Media and Customer Service Trends [infographic]

Strategy Plan One

http://strategyplanone.com

Business information, resources and tips for the entrepreneur

© 2012 Strategy Plan One

Popular Apps – The Best Apps for Small Business [Infographic]

Strategy Plan One

April 18, 2012 

Popular Apps for Business

Tools and resources are critically important in keeping your business operations competitive and efficient.  Multiple functions require multiple solutions and tools to get the job done more effectively and efficiently.  Thousands of apps are readily available to assist businesses and entrepreneurs in all functions such as sales tracking, marketing, financial management, project management, data backup and payment processing.

Some of the highlights of this infographic produced by Mavenlink include these popular apps in the following functional categories:

• Email: Google Apps
• CRM: Salesforce
• Data Storage: Backblaze
• Sales Processing: Paypal
• Storage / Backup: Dropbox
• Social Media Management: Hootsuite
• Accounting and Billing: Quickbooks

Other statistics:

• Cloud market is estimated to expand to $56 Billion by 2014
• 30% of small businesses use apps

Strategy Plan One

http://strategyplanone.com

Business information, resources and tips for the entrepreneur

© 2012 Strategy Plan One

Kiva Systems and the New Robot World Order

Strategy Plan One

April 7, 2012 

Kiva Systems Robots

It has been fascinating to see the recent buzz around Kiva Systems robots controlling and working the floor spaces of warehouses.

According to some current reports, the Kiva Systems alone is now being used in up to two dozen larger corporation warehouses, including Amazon and Staples.

So impressed, Amazon acquired the 9 year old Kiva Systems company for $775 Million.  It is sure to have a positive, efficiency impact on Amazon, a company that spends $4.6 Billion on warehouse operations.  Considered to be expensive capital costs to start, but in the long-term, will save companies money with efficiencies created.  Check out this informative YouTube video of Kiva Systems at work.

Automation Impacts

If this initiates the reoccurring trend and debate around automation, what does this mean in a country that is dying for an absolute job turnaround?  The criticism of automation using machines, robots, and electronics is that those methods directly impact labor jobs, resulting in job loss, people loss.

However, in start-up operations with automation implemented right away there will be no pain of job loss or reduction.  In some cases, businesses may establish a new arm or warehouse in an expansion project to run a pilot project of automation.

Kiva Systems Automation Success

Recently acquired by Amazon, the Kiva Systems Company is doing well, with reports of triple figure growth and profitable figures.  More corporations are jumping on board seeing the value and reliability of modern automation.  Initial kinks have been straightened out and it has been reported that Kiva systems are operating in a flawless manner.

It is interesting to watch videos, demonstrating the efficiency and power of these little orange Kiva robots moving about the warehouse, sliding under a customized skid, lifting and following a programmed route on the floor full of sensors.  You could imagine the programming behind such as a system is complicated, but obviously achievable from an operational perspective.  Within the programming there must be many logic functions to almost allow these robots to alter or find best routes from A to B when traffic gets congested, as seen in some of these videos.

Human Labour

Human power is still evident in these automated warehouses, at stations loading and unloading these skid towers and scanning products before the Kiva robot takes off again.  Obviously there are probably backup plans of a labour force filling in for Kiva robots when the system is “down”.  How often have we all experienced system or computer failures?  There will always be a requirement for a well-trained labor force behind maintaining these robots, building them and developing coding and programming.

Cost Benefit Analysis

On the simple cost-benefit analysis side of things, if the capital and operating costs of automated, innovative processes and assets are less than the cost of non-automated, labour process over a defined period of time, then your organization could experience greater profitability and decreased issues around human resources.

Millions of dollars must be spent acquiring a system such as the Kiva system.  These corporations would undertake their own due diligence, such as a cost-benefit analysis on an automated system vs. conventional warehouse system full of employees driving skid steerer and forklift machines.  Based on many assumptions, savings could be realized even with a Kiva Systems basic scenario implemented. 

Kiva Systems Possible Limitations

Evident in the demonstration videos is the fact that warehouse space (height) is not being used to full capacity with Kiva Systems in place.  In the conventional warehouse system, pallets of products are stacked 30-40 feet high in warehouse shelving frames.  There appears to be limitations in volume with the Kiva robots lifting and moving the customized pallets that are 6-8 feet in height, and in terms of dimensions of the pallet, a 3 by 3 footprint.  With a system like this, warehouse space and volume can be planned effectively with respect to capabilities of this system.

As previously mentioned, automated, computerized systems sometimes experience glitches.  Power outages, coding and programming flaws, electronic interference, physical obstructions, logic flaws and an underestimation of operational issues come to mind when brainstorming the potential issues that could arise.   However, the corporation is probably well prepared with fixes and contingencies for everything.  Build into the program, the system does appear to monitor power levels and automatically schedules charging.

Kiva Systems Opportunities

If the Kiva Systems automated world continues to build, opportunities in other areas could emerge, such as a team of robots to:

• Carry out office work
• Automate the front counter at a fast food restaurant
• Sort and file books at libraries
• Fully automate beauty salon duties, with programmed robots completing hair and body packages

If these examples above come to fruition, this would now look like a scene of the Disney movie WALL-E.  For sure WALL-E would feel comfortable and at home within a Kiva Systems environment.  It has been interesting to read and see the new buzz around this system.  What will be more interesting in the future to observe will be the impacts and the adjustments made to the human labor force, in the development of more value-added jobs around systems like the Kiva Systems model.

Strategy Plan One

http://strategyplanone.com

Business information, resources and tips for the entrepreneur

© 2012 Strategy Plan One