Suppliers and R&D
We have the very finest R&D Department at Applied Process, so this editorial in Automotive News from February is no surprise. Keith Crane writes “Suppliers from around the world are creating the innovations and inventions that automakers integrate into tomorrow's models. Suppliers also seem to be offering exclusivity for a while to brands that adopt their innovations first. … The r&d has shifted dramatically from auto manufacturers to suppliers. … For suppliers, being able to present their latest and most exciting ideas in an atmosphere of cooperation and security is an essential part of that new relationship.”
This is very true – there has to be a level of trust when a supplier and customer collaborate on a new innovation. Maintaining that trust helps all parties move forward. Betraying that trust results in loss of customer value and tattered reputations. Do please read the whole thing.
Editorial in the Economist (April 26 – May 2 Issue)
Engineering and Economics are similar disciplines in that they both assess ways to optimize results under a given set of boundary conditions. Engineers find optimal solutions and put them to work. They seldom make the mistake of advocating a moral dimension to the project because the optimized solution is by definition the most efficient allocation of resources. If the boundary conditions change, then OK … the engineer will go back to the drawing board and find a new solution. On the other hand, economists get in trouble when they stop saying what is happening and start saying what should happen.
The latest issue of the Economist offers a case in point. The lead editorial takes on aging world demographics, stating “… Wealthy old people will accumulate more savings, which will weaken demand. Inequality will increase and a growing share of wealth will eventually be transferred to the next generation via inheritance … One likely response is to impose higher inheritance taxes. So long as they replaced less-fair taxes, that might make sense.”
Where to begin? Alas, I’ll just back to work on another casting conversion. That way I can better serve humanity until they move the boundary conditions again.
This is awesome
I hate it when I like something in the Times. But this is awesome.
Vasko’s Reading Pick
Attention technical salespeople … put down the golf clubs and read the book “Value Merchants: Demonstrating and Documenting Superior Value in Business Markets”. Dr. Anderson and his colleagues will show how to properly demonstrate what your market offering is really worth. Whatever it is worth, you should know it. The methods here will uplift you and your customers. Then you can go golfing.