Posts Tagged ‘manufacturing’
How To: Get a Manufacturing or Wholesale Distribution Job After College
Monday, October 27th, 2008
A recent study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers revealed that in light of an economic downturn, employers plan to hire 1.6 percent less college graduates than they anticipated in August
But while more than half of the 146 organizations surveyed also said they planned to cut hiring, the study revealed stark differences in hiring expectancies between the manufacturing and distribution industries. While manufacturing industry plan to hire nearly as many college graduates as they did two months ago,the distribution and utilities industry expects to hire 17.6 percent less.
The association typically conducts its job outlook survey annually, said Andrea Koncz, its employment information manager. Researchers felt compelled though to poll the respondents again for more than a week in October, seeking more up-to-date information.
"We kept hearing more bad news coming from Wall Street," Koncz said, "and with the original projections in August… we didn’t feel comfortable going with that."
Despite expected cuts, today’s employers still plan to hire 1.3 percent more college graduates than they did from the class of 2008, In response to the study’s findings, Heath Weems, National Association of Manufacturers director of education and workforce policy, and Phyllis Russell, Power Transmission Distributors Association Foundation executive director, talked with goWholesale about these industries’ abilities to hire and how college graduates can find jobs in both.
The Current State of the Industries
In general, manufacturers are downsizing unless they export or carry a product with a niche, Weems said. He attributes this trend to increasing global competition, though he also argues that its full impact has yet to be seen.
In a National Association of Manufacturers survey conducted three years ago, 81 percent of manufacturers responding said they faced a moderate to severe shortage of qualified workers. About 65 percent of them said also that they could not find enough scientists or engineers. Not much has changed since, Weems said.
Meanwhile, because of their close ties with manufacturers, distributors are just as affected by the economic downturn, Russell said. But college graduates can also look forward to a number of job openings to come, due to, at the very least, the number of baby boomers retiring.
"This year’s tough everywhere, but that is not a long-term trend," she said.
"Homework" Assignments for College Graduates and Industries
From a manufacturer’s perspective, "just because you’re unemployed doesn’t mean you’re employable," as Weems said.
A lot of positions available in the industry now require some sort of post-secondary training, by either working toward a two-year degree or participating in some other credential program. The great question then becomes, "How do we target resources to the unemployed to give them the training and skills employers are looking for?" as Weems said.
With that, the time for an answer is now. Since training programs take anywhere from six months to two years to complete, Weems says that the manufacturing industry needs to make them more readily available as soon as possible.
"If we don’t try to address those challenges now, we’re going to be back to where we were before, in need of those skilled workers. It’s going to hurt our ability to rehabilitate."
Meanwhile, Russell assures college graduates that they still have a number of job opportunities available – but they cannot wait for them to come knocking.
College graduates first need to look beyond the bigger distributors, to the smaller ones located outside of the cities.
"We still hear from many industrial distributors that they are hiring, that they are interested … that they are looking for folks," Russell said. "But those companies are not always located in the biggest cities."
In such an economic environment, college graduates also need to be assertive. They need to be seeking employment in those smaller distributors, for they "are not going to be showing up necessarily at college career days," as Russell said. Graduates can also still approach the bigger distributors, or any distributor they wish.
"If you know that you’re prepared for walking in and introducing yourself, not waiting for those openings, but rather saying, ‘this is the work that I want to do’ … that is tremendously appealing for an employer."
Bottom line: whether college graduates want careers in manufacturing or distribution, they must understand the industry and develop the necessary skills. As for the industries themselves, they may need to prepare themselves as well for the class of 2009’s arrival.
"Now may be a great time to snatch up some talented graduates," as Modern Distribution Management said last week .
Tags: Andrea Koncz, christina lee, college graduates, distribution, employment, Heath Weems, manufacturing, Modern Distribution Management, NAM, National Association of Colleges and Employers, National Association of Manufacturers, Phyllis Russell, Power Transmission Distributors Association Foundation, PTDA
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How to Get a Manufacturer Interested in Producing Your Product
Thursday, March 27th, 2008
Do you currently manufacture a product that you think would be the perfect addition to a brand-name company’s product lineup? Well, you’re not alone. Plenty of inventors have taken their idea from the drawing board to the manufacturing plant, only to find out that marketing a single product from an unknown brand is tougher than they thought.
If your product directly competes with products from a billion-dollar corporation with a virtually unlimited advertising budget, it doesn’t take a marketing analyst to figure out who’s going to come out on top, at least in the majority of cases. So, instead of letting your product be beaten by the competition, why not see if you can get the competition to buy your product and add it to their product line? Here are some ideas for getting your product seen by the right people:
Step 1: Make a list of the large companies that sell products similar to yours. Chances are there are more than you realize, so take the time to do a thorough search on Google and on several manufacturer directory sites.
Step 2: Prepare a two-minute quick pitch, which you will use when you call each of these companies. Don’t take this step lightly, as it can either make or break your chances of generating interest or getting a meeting. So, practice, practice, practice!
Step 3: Call each of the companies’ corporate headquarters and ask to speak with the person in charge of sales or marketing. Then explain who you are, what your company manufactures and how it can benefit them. Make sure your pitch is enthusiastic and includes compelling sales data. If the company contact isn’t familiar with the product, then ask them to log onto your website to see pictures or offer to email them.
Step 4: Be persistent and don’t assume that no really means no. If you’re not getting anywhere with your current contact, then find another contact within that company. Perhaps the vice president of marketing or the director of sales will be more open to hearing about your product. There may very well be no hope of striking a deal with a particular company, but don’t take the word of just one company insider.
It’s possible that your product would fit in perfectly with a larger company’s offerings, however, it’s also possible that you’re the only one who thinks so. If it turns out that you can’t find any takers to buyout your product, don’t worry, you still have plenty of other options. You can prepare a business plan and try to enlist the financial and marketing help of a venture capitalist to better compete in the marketplace. Or, you can apply for a business loan and attempt to grow your business on your own. There’s also the option of continuing to manufacture your product while trying to expand your market by perhaps offering OEM services, hiring manufacturer’s reps or working with distributors. Of course, you might also decide to work with a business broker to try and sell your entire company. So, the good news is, you have plenty of options!
Tags: advice, Carrie Hinkel, manufacturing, producing products, small business, Starting a Business, tips
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Getting Your Product to Production
Wednesday, November 7th, 2007
Getting your product into production certainly seems like an intimidating process, but if you take the time to plan everything out and do enough research, the process can actually be smooth and headache-free (or at least close to it).
Getting Started
1. Get a Product Mock-Up - You’ll need a prototype or at least some very detailed 3D or CAD drawings to correctly demonstrate or show your product and what it does. This is absolutely essential; describing your product idea over the phone or in a letter or email will definitely not suffice. Be sure to have your product design worked out 100%, before even thinking about calling a manufacturer.
2. Create a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) - To get your product idea into production, you will have to talk with several people and companies about your product. This agreement prevents them from sharing your confidential information with any third party. There are plenty of these templates available on the Internet, but to be sure your agreement is wiggle-proof, you should have it drawn up by an attorney that specializes in new products.
3. Have a manufacturing engineer look at your prototype or drawings - Ideally, you should show your prototype or drawings to a manufacturing engineer and have him or her look at and fine-tune your product design. An engineer will be much more familiar with the latest materials and devices that could make your product design even better.
4. Create a list of questions that you will ask potential manufacturers - This is absolutely crucial. You want to ask questions first, not be sorry later. Here are some examples of the types of questions you should ask: Do you have an engineer on staff? Do you specialize in certain materials? Do you work with small companies? What are your tooling capabilities? Talk to other inventors and product manufacturers. Go to online invention and product forums and ask around. If you do thorough research ahead of time, you’ll have less regret later. Be sure all your questions are specific, easy-to-understand and relevant. Ideally, you will have around 5-10 questions to ask the manufacturers you talk to. Also, you’ll want to ask for U.S. references and talk to each and every one to find out if their experience with that manufacturer was successful.
Okay, now you are ready to begin your search for a manufacturer.
Here are some great ways to begin your search for the right manufacturer for you.
Online inventor or manufacturer forums - Ask around, chances are you’ll find several great companies to talk to from people who have worked with them in the past.
Online search - Do a lengthy Google search for “product manufacturer” or your specific product category (for instance, “plastic bowl”) and “manufacturer”.
Go to trade shows for your industry - Chances are there will be some manufacturers with booths set up for you to talk to, as well as plenty of friendly inventors who would love to help you out with some manufacturing information.
The important thing to remember is to always protect yourself. That means having an NDA and making sure to have everyone you talk to sign it. It also means checking references and using a Letter of Credit if paying for goods from an overseas manufacturer. Also, with the recent rash of toy recalls, you’ll want to ask about the materials they use and then research those materials with regards to dangerous content (such as lead). A recall on your product after it’s been manufactured and put to market could spell almost certain death for your company.
Tags: Carrie Hinkel, entrepreneur, manufacturing, non disclosure agreement, producing products, Starting a Business, startups
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