VELOCITY - DEE JACOB [148]
“And we verify what we think, right?” asked Garth. “I mean, we verify as best we can that what we think they value and what they really do value – and will pay for – are the same. Because I know from bitter experience that what they say they want and what they really do lay down money to buy can be two different things.”
“Sure, but my point,” said Wayne, “is let’s align our future with the future of the customers and markets where we want to be.”
“Because it’s not going to happen any other way,” Murphy added.
“Exactly. The customer is always right, good times, bad times, no matter what the economy is doing at any particular moment.”
“Yes, I totally agree,” said Amy. “That’s a smart thing to do. So let’s look out into the future and I’ll play customer and pose a cornball question: ‘Amy, why is Hi-T the only good choice as a supplier to my company – Customer, Incorporated – for composite materials?’”
“Because,” said Garth, speculating, “I can get the best, high-performance composites designed, manufactured, and delivered in less time and for less money than it takes to get them from Asia or anywhere else in the world.”
There was a split second of silence followed by a chorus of hoots and howls.
“Right!” said Elaine. “Only when pigs can fly!”
But Amy wasn’t laughing.
“Now, wait! Think about what he just said!” Amy called out. “Take the first part – we already do that! We can debate what ‘best’ or ‘high-performance’ means, but let’s not quibble. The fact is we do design, manufacture, and deliver – on time! – quality composite materials that meet or exceed the performance expectations of our customers. And that’s a fact!”
“Excuse me, but I think it was the second part that tickled the funny bones around the table,” said Murphy. “The delivered in ‘less time’ for ‘less money’ than ‘anywhere else in the world’ – it was that part. Not that I wouldn’t love to have that happen, but I think that’s what got the rise out of us.”
“All right, let’s take that apart,” Amy challenged. “What about ‘less time’? Does a vendor with Asian-based manufacturing really have an advantage over us? Let’s just take transportation time and North American customers for starters. How long does it take a container ship to cross the Pacific?”
“I don’t know exactly,” said Wayne, “but Shanghai to Los Angeles? Last I looked it was around twelve days for a typical ship, not counting harbor or weather delays.”
“So we have a twelve-day, maybe a two-week headstart with all customers in North America, for anything coming across an ocean by ship. And for customers in Europe and South America, and every place except Asia, we’re more or less on equal footing as far as transport time. Do you see what I’m saying?”
“Sure, but what about everything else?” asked Elaine.
“Everything else? Okay, what about a vendor that does its engineering in Asia? What advantage do they have? They have email … but guess what? We have email, too. They have computers; we have computers. They have smart people; we have smart people. Where is their invincible advantage?”
“Well, payroll, of course! Salaries, wages!” said Elaine. “It’s all cheaper in Asia!”
“So they pay their people less. Why is that an invincible advantage?”
Elaine appeared to be about to have a conniption.
“Well … because! Lower wages mean lower costs! Higher margins!”
“Automatically? Just because you pay less in labor?”
“Everything else being equal! Of course!”
Amy, who was normally quite composed, was on her feet, pacing, those light brown curls of hers flying about her shoulders and green eyes flashing.
“Everything else is not equal, and it’s never going to be equal! And that is good, not bad. Because it means that if we do it right, we can stay in the game long into the future. There are many components to cost; there are many aspects to value; and there are many ways to compete. This business is based in Highboro, and while I’m president,