Skiil set of an Entrepreneur
StrategicSourcing Solution This is the process of taking advantage of purchasing opportunities by continually reviewing current needs against purchasing opportunities.
Resiliency The ability to weather the ups and downs of any business since it never goes exactly the way the business plan described it. This skill enables the entrepreneur to keep going when the outlook is bleak.
Focus After setting a long term vision, knowing how to “laser focus” on the very next step to get closer to the ultimate goal. There are so many distracting forces when trying to build a business that this skill is not easy to master.
Invest for the long-term Most entrepreneurs are not patient and focus only on what comes next, rather than where the company needs to go. Overnight success may take 7 to 10 years. Entrepreneurs need to stop, pause and plan on a quarterly basis.
Find and manage people Only by learning to leverage employees, vendors and other resources will an entrepreneur build a scalable company. They need to learn to network to meet the right people. Entrepreneurs strive to guarantee they will get honest and timely feedback from all these sources.
Sales / Market Know-how Every entrepreneur is a sales person whether they want to be or not. They are either selling their ideas, products or services to customers, investors or employees. They work to be there when customers are ready to buy. Alternately, they know how to let go and move on when they are not.
Learn Successful entrepreneurs realize they don’t know everything and the market is constantly changing. They stay up to date on new systems, technology, and industry trends.
Self-reflection Allow downtime to reflect on the past and plan for the future. Always working only leads to burnout physically and emotionally.
Self-reliance While there is a lot of help for the entrepreneur, in the end, they need to be resourceful enough to depend on themselves.
LOTIF Line On Time In Full.
NPD (New Product Development)
In any business venture, product design is the 1st step immediately after accepting the concept of a product.
Product Design has direct bearing on Plant layout & in process material flow.
Prior to Product Design we have to consider place of use, substitute materials & plant equipment.
Therefor the purpose of Product Design & analysis is to determine that product will be profitable & will give human satisfaction.
Making use of standard parts is an important aspect of Product Design.
Aspects in Product Design:
- Design for Function.
- Design for Making.
- Design for Selling.
Risk Management
Risk Management is the process of identifying, analyzing and responding to risk factors throughout the life of a project and in the best interests of its objectives. Proper risk management implies control of possible future events and is proactive rather than reactive.
Risk Management Systems are designed to do more than just identify the risk. The system must also be able to quantify the risk and predict the impact of the risk on the project. The outcome is therefore a risk that is either acceptable or unacceptable. The acceptance or non-acceptance of a risk is usually dependent on the project manager’s tolerance level for risk.
If risk management is set up as a continuous, disciplined process of problem identification and resolution, then the system will easily supplement other systems. This includes; organization, planning and budgeting, and cost control. Surprises will be diminished because emphasis will now be on proactive rather than reactive management.
Risk Response generally includes:
1. Avoidance…eliminating a specific threat, usually by eliminating the cause.
2. Mitigation…reducing the expected monetary value of a risk event by reducing the probability of occurrence.
3. Acceptance…accepting the consequences of the risk. This is often accomplished by developing a contingency plan to execute should the risk event occur.
The purpose of risk management is to:
1. Identify possible risks.
2. Reduce or allocate risks.
3. Provide a rational basis for better decision making in regards to all risks.
4. Plan.
Cost Optimization / Negotiation
Project managers need to apply negotiation skills throughout the project life cycle. Early on in a project, as requirements are being captured and initial plans produced, the project manager may need to balance the time, cost, quality and scope requirements of the project and negotiate with stakeholders.
As resources are mobilised or procured, the project manager will need to negotiate internally with line managers who ‘own’ the resources and conduct more formal contract negotiations with potential providers.
As the project progresses, conflicts will arise. The project manager will need to negotiate solutions to conflicts, whether they are informal or contractual.
In some environments, there may be specialist support available. It is important for project managers to know when to ask for help from, for example, the HR or legal departments within the host organisation.
JIT (Just in Time) | It is a manufacturing philosophy.
Which aims at right part, at right time in right quantity go into the assembly.It is also known as, A philosophy of manufacturing based on planned elimination of all waste & continuous improvement of the productivity”.The primary goal of JIT is to achieve Zero inventory throughout the supply chain.JIT represents a goal which is the total elimination of inventory, minimum work-in-progress & is monitored by constant reduction in working capital.
ISO 9000 (International Organization of Standardization)
It is an International body which consists of representatives from more than 90 countries.BIS (Bureau of Indian Standard) is the Indian representative to ISO.These are non-governmental organizations which provides common standards on international trade of goods & services.ISO 9000 expect firms to have a quality manual that meets ISO guidelines, document quality procedure, job instructions & verification of procedure by third-party inspection.An organization needs to prove its ability to consistently provide product that meets customer demands & applicable regulatory requirements.
ISO 9000 series have five international standards on Quality management.
A. ISO 9000
B. ISO 9001
C. ISO 9002
D. ISO 9003
E. ISO 9004
Benefits of ISO 9000 series
1. This gives competitive advantages in the global market.
2. Documentation of Quality procedure adds clarity to Quality system.
3. This will help in increasing productivity.
4. The level of job satisfaction is more.
SIX SIGMA (6σ)
It is a vision of quality which equates with only 3.4 defects per million opportunities for each product or service.Six sigma level indicates that we are 99.99966% confident that the product or service delivered by us is defect free.This means that only 0.00034% of the product delivered is defected.A process is said to be at Six Sigma provided that the process is not producing more the 3.4 defects per million opportunities.Approach for Six Sigma
1. DMAIC: It means Define, Measure, Analysis, Improve & control. It is an important system for existing process falling below specification & looking for improvement.
2. DMADV: It means Define, Measure, Analysis, Design & Verify. It is improvement system used to develop new process or products at Six Sigma level.
Lean Manufacturing
- It is a management philosophy derived mostly from the Toyota Production System (TPS).
- The main aim of this philosophy is to create a “Success & Repeat” mentality.
- Lean is a production practice that considers the expenditure of resources for any goal other than creation of value for the end customer should be eliminated.
- Lean is a way of life to do only what customer wants.
- 5S, Six Sigma, Reduce Inventory, Kai-Zen, TPM are the Lean tools.
- There are main 7 types of wastes that Lean reduced:
1. Transport: Moving products that are not actually required to perform the processing.
2. Inventory: All finished components, In-process parts, R/M.
3. Motion: People or equipment is moving more than is required to perform action.
4. Waiting: Time lag for the next production step.
5. Over Production: Production more than the Plan / Req.
6. Over Processing: Resulting from poor tool or product design creating activity.
7. Defects: The effort involved in inspecting for the fixing defects.