Putting Professionalism back in Management Consulting

There has been a change in business change consulting. Professionals who did things their own way were replaced by inexperienced staff who faithfully followed a methodology to produce contract-satisfying deliverables. We need a new consulting model so that consultants can work in partnership with the enterprise to leverage enterprise capabilities and put professionalism back in management consulting.

Keywords:
enterprise,management,improvement,consultants,change,capability,risk,implementation,system,ERP,methodologies,practice,professionalism,partnership,analytical,develop,applications,conventional,strategic

I have seen many changes in my forty years as a professional management consultant, particularly in the business change and management improvement practices. My specialty is applying information technology for the benefit of the business. In the 1960s and 1970s, we developed information systems from the ground up to satisfy user requirements. It was clear that users could not envisage how IT could really benefit the business. So much of our value was in helping users define and understand the main results the business had to produce and then in designing the full man-machine solution to produce better results. We did not implement the system, we implemented the methods and procedures to improve results using the system.

Then in the 1980s, things began to change. Application packages quickly replaced custom development. This lowered the cost of a quality system, but it also created a gap between the system and the business.

Since he no longer developed the system, the professional, who understood the business, had to dig deep to understand the functionality of the package to apply the advanced features that enabled the business to improve. The professional who understood the package did not understand the business and saw his role as explaining use of system.

For consultants, employing the application package to improve the business was difficult and risky. The risk had to be contained, so the approach became system implementation to convert a defined portion of the existing business over the new system.

So consultants chased the new business opportunity in packaged system implementation. It started with the big audit consultants, whose approach to consulting tended to parallel the approach to auditing-use junior staff to follow methodologies and produce deliverables.

Consulting firms developed methodologies for system planning, system evaluation and acquisition, and system implementation. The methods were executed by junior consultants, who no longer needed the analytical capabilities and business knowledge of past professionals.

Methodologies began to spread to other facets of consulting like strategic planning, etc. In the 1990’s a new wave came in business process re-engineering, producing new business transformation methodologies. These methodologies concentrated on the business, but avoided IT, since business change could be executed quickly, and IT change was notoriously slow. This created a gap the other way between the business and the system.

Then integrated applications systems were relabeled as ERP systems and proclaimed to employ industry “best practices” that would automatically solve the problem. Many consultants supported a particular ERP package implementation, so then system planning and system evaluation and acquisition methodologies favored that package to bring in the enormous implementation revenues.

But, ERP system implementation employed the same implementation methodologies that concentrated on conversion of existing data, business rules, and practices. Employing industry best practices required strong user effort beyond what the consultants provided.

In recent years, there have been exposes of the problems with management consulting. Books have been written about the bad practice that also developed within management consulting firms.

Much of the professionalism has gone out of management consulting. What do we have to do the bring professionalism back into consulting, particularly for business change and management improvement consulting.
This is one of the issues we have been discussing at the Business Change Forum, in order to define problems with conventional methods and discover breakthroughs in enterprise management.

We need to employ a new management consulting model that requires change by both the enterprise employing consultants and the management consultants and consulting firms. The enterprise must have the capability to manage its own development and manage the achievement of benefits. The consultants must get away from employing rote methodologies, and return to professionalism to work in partnership with the enterprise.

The new consulting model involves the following elements on the part of the enterprise:

o Structure the enterprise to define and manage precisely what the enterprise must do to be successful

o Structure enterprise capital to manage all capital utilized to produce enterprise success

o Install a professional capability to manage enterprise investments and development programs

The new consulting model involves the following on the part of consultants:

o Help the enterprise understand and plan the value to be created by change and improvement to provide the return on the investment

o Work with the enterprise in partnership to create precisely-defined value

o Provide proven professionals with analytical capabilities and specialty experience

o Leverage the enterprise teams to produce enterprise products and improvements. Do not do anything that the enterprise can do itself

o Work with the enterprise through to utilization of improvements for benefit and return on investment

o Do not implement information systems, implement the improved process that incorporates the system

o Do not provide consultant deliverables for review. All documents are accepted enterprise knowledge and records. There is one consultant deliverable, shared enterprise success

Management consultants need the new model to eliminate the old problems and risk in gaining benefit from business change and management improvement. Only when we have a way for the enterprise and their consultants to work together in partnership for measured success, will we have a way for consultants to return to the professionalism of old.

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Invoice Factoring Basics

Are you looking to get business financing? Read this article to learn about factoring financing. Factoring is easy to obtain and can help many businesses.

Keywords:
factoring, invoice factoring, factoring company

Can’t afford to wait 30 to 60 days to get paid by your clients? If you are like most business owners, waiting to be paid can be very challenging. In some cases it can mean lost opportunities. It can mean that you don’t bid for big sales because you know you won’t be able to play the waiting game. At its worst, it can spell disaster. It can mean that you need to delay payroll. It may mean that you don’t pay rent or taxes. It may force you to shut down your business.

If you are like most business owners, your first reaction will be to call your banker. Unfortunately, banks will not lend money to businesses that are new, have no hard assets or don’t have three years worth of profitable financial statements. At this point, most business owners give up, thinking that they don’t have any other options. However, they do.

If your company sells products or services to large credit worthy companies, you could qualify for invoice factoring financing. Invoice factoring reduces the time it takes for you to get your money to one day. How quickly could you grow your business if your invoices were paid in 24 hours?

As opposed to bank loans, factoring companies do not require hard collateral. The only requirement is that you have invoices form credit worthy clients. Factoring companies work differently than banks. A factoring company will provide you with financing based specifically on your invoices. This means that if your invoicing grows, your financing also grows.

Factoring is very simple:

1. You generate invoices for your products or services

2. You submit the invoices to your clients and to the factoring company

3. The factoring company advances you up to 85% of the gross value of your invoices (the remaining is kept as a reserve to offset disputes)

4. Once the invoice is paid by your client, the factoring company releases the 15% reserve and charges their fee

Factoring financing is easy to qualify for and can virtually eliminate the 30 to 60 days it takes for your customers to pay. It provides you with the necessary working capital to grow your company and take new opportunities.

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Offshore IT Enabled Services from Pakistan

Pakistan has been unable to produce software developers in increasing numbers, but does possess skilled workers in reasonable numbers in other fields that can provide services to clients all over the developed world through the Internet. These services range from data entry to telemarketing to insurance claims processing to payroll management to computer-aided designing to financial analysis and forecasting.

Keywords:
outsourcing,ITES

The IT revolution can still change the destiny of Pakistan, but will require a readjustment of the sights. This readjustment will require her to work with what she has, and not what she currently doesn’t!

Pakistan has been unable to produce software developers in increasing numbers, but does possess skilled workers in reasonable numbers in other fields that can provide services to clients all over the developed world through the Internet. These services range from data entry to telemarketing to insurance claims processing to payroll management to computer-aided designing to financial analysis and forecasting.

Pakistan’s doctors can be employed for medical data analysis; lawyers can provide legal advice over the Web; graphic designers can produce animations. The possibilities are numerous and the opportunities lucrative. The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Net Present Value (NPV) numbers for many of these opportunities are similar to those for the software export business.

As an example, look at the function of an insurance claims processing company. Say an automobile accident takes place in New York City. The claimant fills a paper form describing the incident and providing his particulars and submits the form to the insurance company’s office in New York. The company scans the form and sends it to the offshore company in Lahore, Pakistan. That form will be automatically routed to the computer terminal of a claims examiner. The examiner goes through the form and (using some simple business rules) determines the validity of the claim and sends his decision to the insurance company in New York. End result: the New York-based company saves 50 per cent of the processing cost!

The customers for such IT-Enabled Services (ITES) are looking for more than one benefit: on the one hand, they want to achieve cost reductions of around 50 per cent, and on the other, they want an improvement in the current level of their services. By outsourcing the non-critical tasks, they also want to focus all their energies on the processes that form the core of their businesses.

Canada is the easiest market to get ITES work from, as it has the highest percentage of businesses that use outsourcing services. Number two on the list is Australia, followed by the US. A higher percentage of companies in the energy sector outsource, followed by the financial services and then, technology companies.

Companies that outsource look for service level guarantees, a proven track record and specialization in the business process of interest from the providers. Many outsourcing relationships fail because of organizational resistance in the client company, unclear performance metrics, or the client’s loss of control over the outsourced business process.

The primary advantage that Pakistan’s ITES businesses enjoy is the relatively low cost of labor. Secondary advantages are zero corporate taxes and low-cost infrastructure. The time zone difference between Pakistan and the US can also be an advantage in certain ITES businesses.

The key challenges that an ITES entrepreneur faces is marketing the service that he or she is striving to provide and ensuring the confidentiality and security of the client’s data. Another challenge is ensuring the quality of the service that can only be achieved by having a clear and continuous organizational focus on the training of the service providers.

Pakistan-based ITES businesses face three types of competitors. The most significant competition comes from prospective clients carrying out the non-core tasks themselves. However, if clients focus on non-core tasks, they suffer from higher costs and lower efficiencies. Hence, they can be enticed by offering high-quality service at a lower, fixed cost.

The second type of competition comes from developed-countries-based outsourcing operators. They run very efficient businesses but are hampered by higher labor costs. The final type of competition comes from outsourcing operators based in low-labor-cost countries like India and Philippines. Pakistan-based ITES businesses don’t really have any advantage over them, but can ignore that competition for now as the demand clearly exceeds the supply.

In summary, ITES is Pakistan’s irresistible value proposition because of the availability of the trained human resource in reasonable numbers. Moreover, increasing the size of this human resource is easier as compared with what is required for software development.

ITES is a lucrative opportunity for forward-looking entrepreneurs. While selecting an ITES sector, they should look for human resource-intensive business processes in which the difference in the cost of labor between Pakistan and the target market is the largest. They should focus on utilizing their existing strengths and should also try to develop contacts with Pakistan-origin expatriates for marketing purposes. To achieve long-term success, they should look for value-adding partnerships with international companies and focus on organizational excellence and customer satisfaction.

The US economy as a whole is depressed, resulting in squeezed revenues for almost all companies. To meet their profitability targets, most companies have no option but to cut costs. Pakistan’s companies can benefit from this situation by offering IT enabled services and software development services at attractive rates. These should be the best of times for Pakistan’s companies.

The economic downturn in the US is an opportunity for Pakistan’s ITES and software development companies, not a setback!

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Pricing For Profit

In most instances (but not all!) you will have limited scope to buy at a lower price. For this reason your selling price is the critical variable – how you set you selling price will have a long term affect on the health of your business.

Keywords:
Chartered Accountants, Profit, Pricing

To improve your profitability you must either make a larger gross margin on each dollar of sales or sell more without increasing your fixed costs. It goes without saying that the greatest improvement will be realised when you achieve both simultaneously.

Remember your gross margin is the difference between the price of your product and what it costs you to buy or make it. Therefore, the only way to increase your gross margin is to sell at a higher price or buy at a lower price.

In most instances (but not all!) you will have limited scope to buy at a lower price. For this reason your selling price is the critical variable.

Without doubt, the biggest single barrier preventing small business managers from making an acceptable profit is their refusal to charge a price which will enable them to achieve this. You are not in business to match the price your competitors set, but you are there to service your customers.

In fact, studies of the factors people regard as important influences on their decision to deal with a particular business indicate that product and price are relevant in only 15% of cases.

It is the lazy manager’s competitive strategy to try to hold or win market share on the basis of price discounting. It is relevant and applicable only in the one situation where you have both a definite cost advantage (either variable or fixed) over your competitors and your product or service is one where customers are very price sensitive.

For example, if your gross margin is 30% and you reduce price by 10% you need sales volumes to increase by 50% to maintain your profit. Rarely has such a strategy worked in the past and it’s unlikely that it will work in the future.

The service you offer or the unique way that you add value to the clients you support are all sustainable ways to differentiate your business and support an ongoing pricing for profit strategy.

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Master Card Visa Merchant Account Options

Are you familiar with the many types of MasterCard / Visa merchant account options that are available for small business owners? You may be eligible to apply for a merchant account from a bank or other lender who will underwrite your account services in order to help your company grow. The service works much like a personal credit card account. You apply, get approved, and start using it in a responsible manner. You might be able to work with a local banker or the institution…

Keywords:
Master Card Visa Merchant Account Options

Are you familiar with the many types of MasterCard / Visa merchant account options that are available for small business owners? You may be eligible to apply for a merchant account from a bank or other lender who will underwrite your account services in order to help your company grow. The service works much like a personal credit card account. You apply, get approved, and start using it in a responsible manner. You might be able to work with a local banker or the institution with which you hold a personal credit card. Otherwise, you can apply with several merchant account vendors who are looking for serious entrepreneurs with whom to do business. To be eligible, your company should not have a poor credit history, you should not be carrying too much debt for your company size currently, and you should not be involved in an enterprise that creates doubt or suspicions for the underwriters.

When your merchant account status is confirmed, you can soon enjoy the benefits of credit card processing that the MasterCard/Visa merchant account options provide. For one thing, you can buy a credit card processor for a few hundred dollars and start using it in your shop or store to let customers pay by credit card if they prefer. Instead of fumbling to make change or suspiciously eyeing a new-account check, you can blithely swipe a credit card from dozens of customers and keep the checkout line moving smoothly. Even if you deliver goods or services to customers all over the city or in a multi-county area, you can take along a wireless credit-processing unit for point-of-sale transactions, thereby eliminating billing worries for months to come.

Another way that your MasterCard/Visa merchant account can serve your business is by providing a pager to help you keep in touch with clients or employees. Getting out of touch is a fast way to lose your customers’ business or to let employees turn careless. An exciting innovation in recent years is the telephone credit processing system that many companies are now using. Your customers are able to call a toll-free number, select options from a pre-recorded menu, and then key in a credit card number for payment. They can order and make payments in this manner either by day or night, since the system is operated and need not be restricted to access during business hours. A customer services representative can be available during selected hours to answer questions or provide assistance.

The electronic age is here to stay, and entrepreneurs realize the importance of keeping up with e-commerce trends. Not only are their competitors doing so already, but customers are expecting to use these methods as well; in fact, some may demand them or take their business elsewhere. A merchant account can provide up-to-date, affordable services to upgrade the quality of your company’s operations. Don’t be left in the Dark Ages while everyone else is flourishing with innovative business technology. Find out how your company can grow with the help of a MasterCard/Visa merchant account.

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Managing Stakeholders in the Requirements Process

Navigating the process of gathering business requirements and creating the business requirements can be hard enough without adding the issue of stakeholder management to the equation.

Keywords:
Business Analysis, Requirements Engineering, Business Requirements, Business Analysis Training, Requirements Training, Use Cases, Use Case Training, Requirements Elicitation, Requirements Documentation

Navigating the process of gathering business requirements and creating the business requirements can be hard enough without adding the issue of stakeholder management to the equation. Nevertheless, fulfilling the needs of the stakeholders is what the project is all about, so it is critical that the analyst keep them on his or her side throughout the project.

Tips for Gaining Stakeholder Trust

It is critical that all of the stakeholders trust the business analyst to complete the business requirements phase of the project accurately and professionally. Loss of stakeholder trust is a critical issue that must be addressed by the Project Manager the moment that any trust concern is raised.

Here is one key method for managing stakeholders during the requirements gathering process:

Conduct One-on-One Interviews – One-on-One meetings enable the analyst to create a strong relationship with each individual stakeholder in these ways:

· Draw out Concerns from Hesitant Stakeholders

Some stakeholders do not like to convey their concerns in group meetings, especially if very senior stakeholders are present or if he or she holds opinions or concerns that are contrary to the group’s. These stakeholders are more likely to communicate freely during one-on-one sessions.

· Better Manage Troublesome Stakeholders

Very often group meetings will be dominated by one or two stakeholders who are either disruptive or exhibit some other type of behavioral symptoms which affect the other meeting attendees in a negative way. Meeting with these people in a one-on-one environment gives the analyst the opportunity to gently bring the stakeholder’s attention to the disruption issues and, ideally, foster better participation in future meetings.

· Build Rapport – Building rapport by fostering personal relationships is crucial

Other Tips for Managing Stakeholders in the Requirements Process

· Never argue with any stakeholders, disagree in a diplomatic way.

· Never embarrass a stakeholder in a group meeting.

· Remember that some stakeholders may work against your goals because they fear that the project will eliminate or affect their job.

· Always communicate bad news the moment that it is discovered.

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ERP & DRP, Lean Manufacturing are not compatible.

How many companies are finding their IT investments are a major blocker to releasing the benefits of Lean Manufacturing and why a new planning approach is needed.

Keywords:
Supply Chain Optimisation, Supply Chain Optimization,Supply Chain Optimisation Software,Supply Chain Optimization Software,Supply Chain Management,Sup

Introduction
Over the past 10 years a great number of businesses ranging from SME’s to Blue Chips have been rolling out or updating their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Distribution Requirements Planning (DRP) and Advanced Supply Chain Planning solutions (APS). There are a variety of reasons for this intense activity, ranging from the need to consolidate IT following an acquisition, through to the desire to improve the IT capability in order to implement a particular supply chain strategy.
When the dust settles after the implementation many businesses, having spent a lot of time and money, are left with a very inflexible IT solution whose core planning principles are routed in the thinking of the late 60’s, and not compatible with the agile, flexible, supply chain processes required to be competitive today.
It seems that our understanding of what is required to build a competitive supply chain has evolved considerably over the past 40 years, however the range of IT solutions available to support our ambitions has not.

This white paper examines the key elements required to build a successful and low cost supply chain, how the majority of IT offerings fail to support these key principles and how a new approach to planning can enable the benefits of Lean Manufacturing without throwing away your IT investment.

The problem with Forecasts

Fundamentally, most ERP/DRP systems provide a very robust operational platform, on which the majority of a business processes are supported, from Finance to HR. Where they are weak however, is in the provision of planning tools. Most come equipped with a basic MRP (Material Requirements Planning) engine, and the more advanced ones may supplement this with predictive safety stock planning or re-order point logic, usually under the guise of an Advanced Planning Systems (APS) module. Or to put it another way, your multi-million dollar IT super-car has a tractor engine lurking under the bonnet. The fundamental flaw with all of these MRP variants is that the starting point for all calculations is a Forecast.

Most planners know that the best Forecasts are 70% accurate at best. APS systems may buy a few percentage points of improvement in exchange for a hugely disproportionate monetary investment, but have categorically failed to deliver the advertised benefits. The real problem is that MRP then compounds the situation by using this imperfect forecast to precisely raise planned orders and set predictive levels of safety stock. What this does is push wildly unplanned and unpredictable levels of inventory, effort and cost into our supply chain.

Where ‘Push’ meets ‘Pull’

At the same time as businesses are trying to tame their ERP/DRP systems, many have recognised that their customers are demanding higher levels of flexibility, responsiveness and reliability, and that these factors are becoming the differentiators in an ever more ‘me too’ marketplace. In order to compete and meet the challenge, many companies are leading a campaign to implement Lean Manufacturing principles.
“The interface between MRP ‘Push’ and Lean ‘Pull’ generates a lot of ‘Heat & Light’ in the planning and purchasing department”
Lean manufacturing is based around the principle of ‘pulling’ only the levels of inventory through the supply chain that are required to satisfy an agreed customer service level. Lean Manufacturing recognises that not all SKU’s are the same, and that different inventory replenishment rules are needed, based upon the volume and variability of demand. There is an obvious incompatibility here with the ERP/DRP IT systems, which take a ‘one size fits all’ approach to planning.
This is where the ‘push’ replenishment signals generated by ERP/DRP systems clash with the ‘pull’ signals required for Lean. This interface typically generates a lot of ‘heat and light’, normally in the planning and purchasing departments. The interface between these two methodologies drives a lot more resource into translating and managing the incompatibility. This increased overhead can minimise or even eliminated any of the cost benefits desired from Lean Manufacturing.

A ‘Back to Basics’ approach

Many of the latest IT planning offerings contain ever more complex statistical and mathematical solutions, all striving to improve our ability to forecast, and therefore make the rest of the MRP logic work. From the software vendor’s perspective this approach is understandable, given the amount of MRP based software currently in the market. Sooner or later we must face the truth that MRP planning logic is totally inappropriate for 95% of businesses involved in batch manufacture. In fact not just inappropriate but damaging to their profitability and growth potential.
“Sooner or later we must face the truth that MRP planning logic is totally inappropriate for 95% of businesses involved in batch manufacture”
We need to stop chasing the perfect forecast and take a step back. We need to consider the key elements required in a Best Practice supply chain design. Only once we understand these can we then select and tailor our IT tools to automate and support the new process.

Lean Planning is required to compliment Lean Manufacture

Whilst the past 20 years has seen a lot of Thought Leadership and energy around the implementation of Demand Driven Lean Manufacturing, there has been a distinct lack of activity around the development of planning tools to enable the benefits of ‘Lean’ to be realised. To the extent that MRP is still considered amongst the vast majority of companies to be leading edge.
What is required is ‘Lean Planning’. Lean Planning fills the gap between the legacy Forecast Driven MRP based ERP/DRP systems incumbent in most companies, and Demand Driven Lean Manufacturing. Without needing to discard the current IT investment, there is now a set of processes and software tools that provide the missing link. Lean Planning will fundamentally support the 10 key elements of Best Practice Supply Chain.
The concept of Lean Planning encompasses the two key areas of planning, i.e. Conditioning and Execution. The principle being that Planners should set a plan (or condition) and then execute against it. Workload and Inventory increase when planners try to do both Conditioning and Execution at the same time, by the way, a characteristic of MRP logic.

Conditioning – Build and Agree the Plan

Conditioning is the range of planning activities designed to support the Sales & Operations Planning process. Conditioning is about building and agreeing a capacity and inventory plan. Lean planning requires a toolkit that will segment large numbers of SKUs along the lines of Forecast Volumes and Historical Demand Variability. Depending upon this combination of volume and variability a Lean Planning tool should enable the correct replenishment rule to be applied and a target maximum level of inventory to be calculated.

Execution – Generate and manage Demand Driven Orders in line with the agreed Plan

“A Lean Planning Tool must be designed from the perspective of the planner and not the programmer”
Once the Conditioning is complete, the rest of the month should be spent raising and executing orders in line with the agreed plan. The conditioning process may have led to the need for a multitude of replenishment rules and techniques, from Make to Order through to Cyclic Replenishment. Once again Lean Planning should provide a software toolkit that interfaces into an existing ERP/APS system and enables the generation of Orders in line with whichever replenishment technique is appropriate for the SKU concerned. Lean Planning should provide for the configuration of current MRP systems so that they can mimic the action of a true Demand Driven planning tool where appropriate.

Orchestr8 Lean Planning

Lean Planning is the answer to all those companies struggling to implement a Demand Driven supply chain in an ERP/APS dominated environment. Lean Planning web-based software tools are now available through Orchestr8 Limited.
Orchestr8 is a UK based supplier of software and consulting services to support the implementation and operation of Lean Planning techniques.
Orchestr8 offer a 5 module solution;

“Orchestr8 is the world’s first and only supplier of Lean Planning tools”
Orchestr8 – supporting Lean Planning – Conditioning and the processes required to generate an inventory and capacity plan, achieve SKU segmentation and inventory target calculation. It also contains a suite of tools and reports necessary to run a successful Sales & Operations planning process. It also contains some of the best tools available for Lifecycle management and Seasonality.

Oper8 – supporting Lean Planning – Execution and the tools needed to generate and manage orders in line with appropriate replenishment rule identified through conditioning. Oper8 is an order management environment designed by planners. Orders are controlled by exception allowing one planner to handle three times the number of SKUs normally possible with traditional ERP/DRP systems.

Simul8 – a software workbench that enables complete business cost simulation models to be built in order to analyse the impact of any number of planning strategies, rolled up to any level within the organisation. Simul8 can extract data from one or many planning locations.

Collabor8 – a web portal containing comprehensive reporting, metrics and issue logging tools, designed to provide a multi-faceted view of supply chain information for all supply chain partners involved. Collabor8 links multiple instances of the other lean Planning modules to achieve a complete cross company view, spanning multiple sites or even continents.

Configur8 – a dynamic configuration tool allowing any configuration of the other four Lean Planning modules to be achieved. This allows for the support of any client supply chain, no matter how complex. In addition Configur8 interfaces seamlessly with all of the Communic8 web services designed to import and export data with all of the major ERP/DRP products.

For more information contact sales@orchestr8.com or visit our website at www.orchestr8.com.

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Pallets – Cut Your Pallet Costs

Can you save money by switching from new timber pallets to some other type? How many new pallets do you purchase each year? How many times is each one used? Is there a more environmentally friendly alternative?

Plastic and wooden pallets for storing and moving produce save businesses time, expense and energy. A wide range of durable pallets has become more readily available as local pallet producing companies expand their services to the Internet.

Therefore you are like…

Keywords:
pallets, warehousing logistics, plastic pallets

Can you save money by switching from new timber pallets to some other type? How many new pallets do you purchase each year? How many times is each one used? Is there a more environmentally friendly alternative?

Plastic and wooden pallets for storing and moving produce save businesses time, expense and energy. A wide range of durable pallets has become more readily available as local pallet producing companies expand their services to the Internet.

Therefore you are likely to have a choice between new, reconditioned or recycled pallets, timber or plastic construction. Common sizes for pallets are between 20 times 28 inches up to 48 times 72 inches (800mm times 1200mm and 1000mm times 1200mm.)

Other desirable features include stackable pallets, pallets made with hygienic materials that are practical for use with food products, UL fire safety rated pallets, lidded or belted pallets and high strength reinforced pallets.

If your business works with food or agricultural produce in the United States, it is important to make sure the pallets are compliant with the Food and Drug Administration and The United States Dairy Associations standard of pallet safety. Pallets should also be lightweight and easy to lift and handle to limit the possibility of injury to your employees.

With more and more industries and customers becoming concerned with the environmental impact a business has, re-using and re-cycling pallets is an increasingly commonplace and cost effective alternative to buying new.

Environmentalists are particularly concerned with the use of wooden pallets, as the amount of softwood employed by industry in some countries is not sustainable, and much of it goes into the manufacture of wooden pallets.

However, since many businesses find themselves with excess pallets (wooden and plastic) depending on the season or market fluctuations, it is very simple to buy pallets used or to sell your own used pallets.

Some companies will buy used pallets for up to four dollars each, depending on how many there are and the condition the pallets are in – and additionally of course whether there is such a company convenient to the location of your business. Alternatively, buy long-life pallets that will not need replacing as often.

There are said to be two billion pallets in circulation worldwideso re-using good quality pallets makes a lot of sense.

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Figure Them Out

Brochures have been around for quite sometime and they have been efficient in promoting a product. They help improve your business visibility in the community.

Keywords:
brochures, printing, services

They are crazy about video games, rebellious towards their parents and apathetic about politics – so far, typical. But these cell-phoning, karaoke-singing post-Generation X-ers are setting the trends at increasingly younger age. They even comprise most of the buying public these days. From funky cell phones to the latest in fashion, they just want to spend most of their money on these products.

The teen market is very confusing and diverse. Teens live in their own world with their own set of values, likes, dislikes and attitudes. That is why it is often difficult to reach this elusive market. Hence, business owners seeking to increase their teen market need to carefully consider and plan their marketing strategy to be able to effectively entice these kids to buy.

Brochures have been around for quite sometime and they have been efficient in promoting a product. They help improve your business visibility in the community. You can send them out to potential and existing clients or display them in your store reception area. These way kids can browse through them and see if they spot something that interests them. So if you are selling more mainstream products from clothing to home furnishings, you may find that high school and college kids are worth sending your brochures.

Teens who make brochure purchases are often first time buyers developing long term brand loyalty. So if you are able to get hold of them on their early shopping spree, you can have their loyalty for longer periods of time compared to the one-time older buyer. Perhaps the best place to look for teen customers is to look through magazine listings because many teenagers subscribe to magazines. But teenagers often change address frequently so catching up on them to send your brochure can be quite difficult. Nevertheless, keeping an update of their address once in a while can greatly help in keeping contact with them.

However, to keep your teen prospects really interested you have to create a brochure that appeals to their style. Teen fashion is highly diverse but you need not measure up to this diversity. Just remember the old marketing tactic: simplicity. It is still better if you are able to create a brochure that is simple and informative. Offering extra percentage off can also make your brochure more effective. Keep in mind that teens love receiving offers through the mail, so by getting right in their faces, you can create brand awareness.

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What Do You Mean You Don’t Have Anything To Write About?

One of the questions I’m repeatedly asked is how to use article marketing when you’re not a writer and don’t have anything to write about. If you say you have nothing to write about, I think you’re wrong. I’m willing to bet you have more topics to write about than you have time. But, here are a few suggestions to help you get over that writers block.

First, don’t stare at a blank computer screen waiting for an idea to come to you. You’re probably putting too much pressure …

Keywords:
article marketing, free marketing tips, inexpensive marketing ideas, power of article marketing

One of the questions I’m repeatedly asked is how to use article marketing when you’re not a writer and don’t have anything to write about. If you say you have nothing to write about, I think you’re wrong. I’m willing to bet you have more topics to write about than you have time. But, here are a few suggestions to help you get over that writers block.

First, don’t stare at a blank computer screen waiting for an idea to come to you. You’re probably putting too much pressure on yourself. What I want you to do is first think of your target market. What do they want to know? Take a blank piece of paper or that blank Word document and just start brainstorming. List topics that you think your target market wants to know about. Just keep writing them down.

Here are some examples for you:

If you are a dog trainer, you’re going to want to talk about how to housebreak a dog, how to teach a dog to sit, stay, fetch, etc. There are at least four article topics.

If you’re a virtual assistant, your target market probably wants to know how a VA will benefit them, the cost savings of a virtual assistant or the various tasks that a business owner can delegate to a VA. There are at least three topics for a virtual assistant.

Next, I want you to think of business related books that you’ve read, services you’ve subscribed to, or informational products you’ve bought. Were they beneficial to you? Yes? Write a review! Do you use http://Stamps.com? How does it work for you? What are the benefits? Is it worth the monthly fees?

On a separate sheet of paper I want you to list all of the products that have helped you succeed in business, either by increasing your knowledge or helping you to run an effective and efficient business. Keep writing until you’re all out of ideas, but keep the sheet handy, because I guarantee you that you’re going to think of another one while you’re trying to fall asleep tonight.

Do you still feel like you need some more ideas to write articles?

Ok, here we go.

Visit every forum and message board that you are a member of. Yes, every single one of them. Look at the posts that you’ve written. Have you taken time to post a lengthy response to someone else’s question? Great! You now have the start of an article. Flesh it out and use it to market your knowledge and expertise.

Here’s the last idea for you and it’s by far one of my favorites. Interview someone. That’s right, I said interview someone. If you’re a virtual assistant, ask your clients if they would mind taking 15 minutes out of their day so that you can interview them. Ask them about how they use a VA. Ask them how a VA benefits their business. Come up with some additional questions to ask. When you’re done, draft it in to an article and use it!

If you have 10 clients, you’ve got 10 articles! (Even better, you could put it together for potential clients to download from your site as a bonus for signing up for your newsletter.)

There are many more ideas on how to come up with article content and then how to recycle your content so that you get the most out of it!

For the record, this article started out as a response to one of my subscribers. Before you knew it, I had an article. See how simple that was?

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