by Elizabeth Hines | Jan 21, 2014 | Blog, Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chain
This post was originally published on EBN.
Summer is over, fall has arrived, and winter is right around the corner. As the days grow shorter and colder, don’t let inertia take over. Instead, put your packaging on a diet.
Here are three reasons why a packaging slim down will improve the health of your company’s supply chain and the world:
1. You can save money. By reducing the amount of packing you use for a product and/or by using right-size packaging, you can reduce transportation costs and materials costs.
For example, the packaging used for Apple’s iPhone 5 is 28 percent smaller than the packaging that was used for the original iPhone. The reduction in the size of the packaging translates into being able to fit 60 percent more iPhones on each shipping pallet. Apple points out that this saves the company one 747 flight for every 416,667 units they ship.
Poland Spring provides another example. Poland Spring has reduced the amount of resin that goes into the making of their bottles by a significant amount — from 14.6 grams of resin per bottle in 2005 to 9.2 grams of resin per bottle in 2012. Not only is the bottle 40 percent lighter (read: reduced transportation cost), the company also saves a sizeable amount of money each year in materials. In a recent Slate.com article Kim Jeffery, CEO of Nestle Waters North America (Poland Spring’s parent company), is quoted as saying:
You can’t be a public company and ask shareholders to bear the burden of higher costs just so you can be green. It has to be consistent with creating shareholder value. There needs to be a return on these investments. So, for example, when you use 200 million fewer pounds of resin a year, at 90 cents a pound, that’s a huge savings.
By my calculations, that’s a savings of $180 million annually.
2. It is better for the environment. Putting your packaging on a diet can reduce the amount of waste, CO2 emissions, deforestation, water use, water contamination, and hazardous material use.
In a September 2013 Packaging Digest article, Ron Sasine, senior director of packaging for private brands for Walmart, wrote that as a result of the company’s efforts to reduce packaging it was “able to reduce the overall greenhouse gas impact of our packaging by an average of 9.8 percent in our Walmart U.S. stores, 9.1 percent in our Sam’s Clubs in the U.S. and 16 percent in our Walmart Canada stores.”
3. It makes your customers happy. A 2012 survey conducted by Packaging World and DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers found that the primary focus of the packaging world over the next 10 years will shift from cost to sustainability. Specifically, the report found that 45 percent of those surveyed believe that perceived “greenness” will be important to consumers.
Additionally, a 2012 study released by Perception Research Services reported that in 2011 significantly more shoppers were more likely to choose environmentally friendly packaging than in 2010 (36 percent versus 28 percent), and that half of shoppers surveyed were willing to pay for environmentally friendly packaging.
Tell us your thoughts on packaging trends in the electronics industry. What’s important to you and your customers?
by Elizabeth Hines | Jan 21, 2014 | Blog, Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chain
This post was originally published on EBN.
Summer is over, fall has arrived, and winter is right around the corner. As the days grow shorter and colder, don’t let inertia take over. Instead, put your packaging on a diet.
Here are three reasons why a packaging slim down will improve the health of your company’s supply chain and the world:
1. You can save money. By reducing the amount of packing you use for a product and/or by using right-size packaging, you can reduce transportation costs and materials costs.
For example, the packaging used for Apple’s iPhone 5 is 28 percent smaller than the packaging that was used for the original iPhone. The reduction in the size of the packaging translates into being able to fit 60 percent more iPhones on each shipping pallet. Apple points out that this saves the company one 747 flight for every 416,667 units they ship.
Poland Spring provides another example. Poland Spring has reduced the amount of resin that goes into the making of their bottles by a significant amount — from 14.6 grams of resin per bottle in 2005 to 9.2 grams of resin per bottle in 2012. Not only is the bottle 40 percent lighter (read: reduced transportation cost), the company also saves a sizeable amount of money each year in materials. In a recent Slate.com article Kim Jeffery, CEO of Nestle Waters North America (Poland Spring’s parent company), is quoted as saying:
You can’t be a public company and ask shareholders to bear the burden of higher costs just so you can be green. It has to be consistent with creating shareholder value. There needs to be a return on these investments. So, for example, when you use 200 million fewer pounds of resin a year, at 90 cents a pound, that’s a huge savings.
By my calculations, that’s a savings of $180 million annually.
2. It is better for the environment. Putting your packaging on a diet can reduce the amount of waste, CO2 emissions, deforestation, water use, water contamination, and hazardous material use.
In a September 2013 Packaging Digest article, Ron Sasine, senior director of packaging for private brands for Walmart, wrote that as a result of the company’s efforts to reduce packaging it was “able to reduce the overall greenhouse gas impact of our packaging by an average of 9.8 percent in our Walmart U.S. stores, 9.1 percent in our Sam’s Clubs in the U.S. and 16 percent in our Walmart Canada stores.”
3. It makes your customers happy. A 2012 survey conducted by Packaging World and DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers found that the primary focus of the packaging world over the next 10 years will shift from cost to sustainability. Specifically, the report found that 45 percent of those surveyed believe that perceived “greenness” will be important to consumers.
Additionally, a 2012 study released by Perception Research Services reported that in 2011 significantly more shoppers were more likely to choose environmentally friendly packaging than in 2010 (36 percent versus 28 percent), and that half of shoppers surveyed were willing to pay for environmentally friendly packaging.
Tell us your thoughts on packaging trends in the electronics industry. What’s important to you and your customers?
by Fronetics | Jan 14, 2014 | Blog, Leadership, Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chain, Talent
Hiring: Why you should try before you buy
Source: http://www.lethbridgemusicaltheatre.ca
I just finished reading a great post on hiring by Matt Mullenweg, founder of Automattic and the creator of open source WordPress software. The post focuses on the company’s “unorthodox hiring system” and how it has enabled Automattic to hire great talent and realize high employee retention rates. Although time consuming, I think Mullenweg and Automattic are on to something.
Before Automattic extends an offer, the candidate must first go through a trial process, on contract. The candidate is given real work and is compensated for doing the work. At the end of the trial process both the company and the candidate have a better picture of each other and if they are a good fit. Or as Mullenweg puts it: “There’s nothing like being in the trenches with someone, working with them day by day. It tells you something you can’t learn from resumes, interviews, or reference checks. At the end of the trial, everyone involved has a great sense of whether they want to work together going forward. And, yes, that means everyone — it’s a mutual tryout. Some people decide we’re not the right fit for them.”
Mullenweg acknowledges the “huge time commitment” of this process. But he points out the benefits and why they have not abandoned the system for an easier one: the process is able to identify great talent that works well within the company’s culture, the process weeds out candidates that are not a good fit before they become a part of the team, and the process had led to consistently high retention rates.
In my experience, too often both companies and candidates are guilty of moving their relationship forward faster they should – and regretting it later. For this reason “auditioning,” as Mullenweg calls it, or “try before you buy” as I think of it, is an hiring strategy that should be embraced more often.
What do you think of this hiring strategy? What are the advantages and disadvantages do you see?
by Fronetics | Jan 14, 2014 | Blog, Leadership, Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chain, Talent
Hiring: Why you should try before you buy
Source: http://www.lethbridgemusicaltheatre.ca
I just finished reading a great post on hiring by Matt Mullenweg, founder of Automattic and the creator of open source WordPress software. The post focuses on the company’s “unorthodox hiring system” and how it has enabled Automattic to hire great talent and realize high employee retention rates. Although time consuming, I think Mullenweg and Automattic are on to something.
Before Automattic extends an offer, the candidate must first go through a trial process, on contract. The candidate is given real work and is compensated for doing the work. At the end of the trial process both the company and the candidate have a better picture of each other and if they are a good fit. Or as Mullenweg puts it: “There’s nothing like being in the trenches with someone, working with them day by day. It tells you something you can’t learn from resumes, interviews, or reference checks. At the end of the trial, everyone involved has a great sense of whether they want to work together going forward. And, yes, that means everyone — it’s a mutual tryout. Some people decide we’re not the right fit for them.”
Mullenweg acknowledges the “huge time commitment” of this process. But he points out the benefits and why they have not abandoned the system for an easier one: the process is able to identify great talent that works well within the company’s culture, the process weeds out candidates that are not a good fit before they become a part of the team, and the process had led to consistently high retention rates.
In my experience, too often both companies and candidates are guilty of moving their relationship forward faster they should – and regretting it later. For this reason “auditioning,” as Mullenweg calls it, or “try before you buy” as I think of it, is an hiring strategy that should be embraced more often.
What do you think of this hiring strategy? What are the advantages and disadvantages do you see?
by Fronetics | Jan 7, 2014 | Blog, Leadership, Strategy, Talent
how to hire a leader
Businesses don’t fail, leaders do – a lot. Studies have shown that the rate of failure of executives coming into new companies ranges from 30 to 40 percent after 18 months. The costs and implications of a poor leadership hire are enormous. Given the odds, how can you hire a leader – a true leader? Here are five tips:
Ask the right question
Just one interview question can give you enormous insight into the abilities and qualifications of the candidate. The question: “Tell me about the last person you fired.” According to Marc Barros, co-founder and former CEO of Contour, this question and the discussion that will follow will give you the “strongest indicator of the candidate’s leadership ability.” Specifically, the candidate’s response will shed light on their communication style and skills, their willingness and ability to admit mistakes, and the candidate’s level of empathy and emotion.
Conduct your own due diligence
When it comes to finding the next leader for your company, don’t leave due diligence in the hands of someone else. Take the time to learn about the candidate, talk to people who have worked with the candidate in the past, and gather as much information on the person as you can.
Go beyond the typical interview
Going beyond the typical interview is revealing in that enables you to see the candidate outside of the canned interview environment (an environment which many have mastered). Some ideas: have the candidate give a presentation, facilitate a meeting, or write up their thoughts on how to tackle a specific problem.
Opinions matter
Have the candidate meet with employees of various positions and levels within the company. After each person meets with the candidate get their feedback – and listen. It is amazing how often a candidate will let their guard down when they perceive they are meeting with someone that “doesn’t matter.” The truth is that these meetings do matter as they can provide you with some of the best insight into the candidate and their leadership style.
Hire from inside
When you hire from inside your company, you will get a leader who knows how to succeed in the company’s culture.
by Fronetics | Jan 7, 2014 | Blog, Leadership, Strategy, Talent
how to hire a leader
Businesses don’t fail, leaders do – a lot. Studies have shown that the rate of failure of executives coming into new companies ranges from 30 to 40 percent after 18 months. The costs and implications of a poor leadership hire are enormous. Given the odds, how can you hire a leader – a true leader? Here are five tips:
Ask the right question
Just one interview question can give you enormous insight into the abilities and qualifications of the candidate. The question: “Tell me about the last person you fired.” According to Marc Barros, co-founder and former CEO of Contour, this question and the discussion that will follow will give you the “strongest indicator of the candidate’s leadership ability.” Specifically, the candidate’s response will shed light on their communication style and skills, their willingness and ability to admit mistakes, and the candidate’s level of empathy and emotion.
Conduct your own due diligence
When it comes to finding the next leader for your company, don’t leave due diligence in the hands of someone else. Take the time to learn about the candidate, talk to people who have worked with the candidate in the past, and gather as much information on the person as you can.
Go beyond the typical interview
Going beyond the typical interview is revealing in that enables you to see the candidate outside of the canned interview environment (an environment which many have mastered). Some ideas: have the candidate give a presentation, facilitate a meeting, or write up their thoughts on how to tackle a specific problem.
Opinions matter
Have the candidate meet with employees of various positions and levels within the company. After each person meets with the candidate get their feedback – and listen. It is amazing how often a candidate will let their guard down when they perceive they are meeting with someone that “doesn’t matter.” The truth is that these meetings do matter as they can provide you with some of the best insight into the candidate and their leadership style.
Hire from inside
When you hire from inside your company, you will get a leader who knows how to succeed in the company’s culture.
