Getting It Done

Designed by Apple in California
Assembled in China

Those eight words are found on millions of boxes.  On iPods.  On iPhones.  On the products that have dominated the landscape for nearly 10 years in a way that no others have.

While lots of people in the product development community almost venerate Jonathan Ive and his design team, less is known about the manufacturing operations that create the Apple products—although there are the occasional news reports about the factories hiring underage workers (which, incidentally, was revealed in Apple’s own “Supplier Responsibility, 2010 Progress Report,” which includes the following: “Apple’s procurement decisions take into account a facility’s social responsibility performance, along with factors such as quality, cost, and timely delivery.  When social responsibility performance consistently fails to meet Apple expectations, we terminate business.  By measuring what’s important to Apple and by holding suppliers accountable, we motivate our suppliers to improve these key metrics. In this way, Apple continues to increase awareness of social responsibility and to drive improvements in conditions and practices further into our supply chain.”)

But here’s the point about this: Given the nature of global competition, design is arguably more important than ever.  It is what the consumer sees.  It is what the consumer touches.  It is what the consumer interacts with.

This is not to minimize the importance of manufacturing, because looks get you only so far.  If the product doesn’t perform well or falls apart sooner than expected, then any visual, tactile attractiveness becomes a moot point.

While there will continue to be significant manufacturing in the U.S., and while there may actually be an increasing amount of manufacturing given exchange rates and prevailing wage structure modifications, let’s face it: For many things, electronics and otherwise, serial production wherein labor is a big factor is likely to be performed elsewhere, be it Asia or Eastern Europe.

So what’s a company to do?

Simple: Improve design capability.  Improve process capability.

It really isn’t optional.  Global competition is too aggressive.  Even Apple has to keep rolling out with new products on a basis that makes some of us frustrated (i.e., “Damn! I just got that model and now there’s a better one.”).  You’d think that if there is any company that could rest on its laurels it would be Apple, but they are relentless in product development.

Of course, while it is simple to say “Improve design capability.  Improve process capability.” it is not so readily done.

But there is something that can facilitate it.  That’s attending the PDx/amerimold technical conference and exposition that we’re holding in Cincinnati May 11-13.  (You can get all of the details at pdx-amerimold.com.)  There are going to be people talking about design and innovation.  There are going to be companies exhibiting the latest technology that can accelerate design and innovation.  There are people going to be talking about how they’ve improved process technology.  There are going to be companies exhibiting the latest technologies that can boost process capabilities.

Will that be enough?  Probably not.  Because getting better isn’t a spot solution, something that you do once and then coast.  It doesn’t work that way.  It never has.  But do you think that people in other countries are going to be satisfied reading “Designed in California.  Assembled in _____________” or do you think they want to do the design, as well?

You know the answer as well as I do.