IMPROVE COMPETITIVENESS - 12 steps 
concrete actions that will give your company a competitive advantage in local and international.
Mexican manufacturers must do whatever is necessary to compete globally. This is true whether or not exporters.
Free trade brought many advantages to Mexico, but has also meant that the local market is not protected from competitors external. No manufacturer is immune to the challenges of foreigners.
Design and implement strategies to become more competitive and increase sales. The first step is to modernize the administration and production and increase efficiency in many ways possible. This is not always easy or pleasant, may require courage to change the traditional way of doing business and always requires courage to criticize the operations themselves. The incentive is clear: what is at stake is not only the firm's future growth, but their very survival. Must make changes.
The second step is closer to the customer go beyond the competition and find ways to prevent items from becoming " commodities, to offer a unique package of products and services that no competitor can match.
Review procedures can be an exciting and creative exercise, and it is gratifying to see the results. find that many solutions cost little or nothing . Only by challenging every aspect of the manufacturing, marketing and administration una firma puede bajar los costos, acelerar los procesos, satisfacer a los clientes y mantener los resultados en números negros.
Los negocios de cualquier país enfrentan muchos problemas similares a los mexicanos, usted puede vencer a la competencia ¡si los resuelve antes que ellos!
Las siguientes sugerencias son pasos concretos que cualquier empresa puede dar para alcanzar un margen competitivo, sin importar que los rivales comerciales sean nacionales o extranjeros.
1. Revise sus propias deficiencias
No matter what the government does or does not do, you can improve internal productivity.
One of the first things that business people tend to do when they encounter serious obstacles "in Mexico and elsewhere, is to blame the government.
There are many steps that a manufacturer can take to improve their performance, despite what the government does or does not do. You can not rely on the government to respond quickly, or simply to do "to a problem facing a company or industry, so the logical place to
start looking for solutions is precisely inside the company.
2. Reduce or eliminate unnecessary processes
Conduct a budget year and an administrative review, both in zero-based, to eliminate unnecessary costs and bureaucratic procedures.
One of the most bitter complaints expressed by Mexican businessmen is that they are awash in paperwork. Bureaucracy, as we know, is the enemy of efficiency, because it robs time and weakens the power of productive activities. The federal government says it is working to reduce red tape imposed on business, but the results, at best, mixed.
Well, how about its own internal bureaucracy? Do you really need all these forms, signatures and other procedures, tax you, and not by the government. Many internal processes may be of dubious value. You can not do anything about excessive government bureaucracy, but they become something more productive by getting rid of yours.
The zero-based budgeting is an administrative exercise that became popular in the seventies. The goal of a corporation that employs him is to eliminate all budget allocations that are not useful or absolutely necessary. Each item goes through a screening and, if it can not be justified, it is discarded. Survive only essential expenditure or valid.
But it is possible to go beyond the budget reduction. You can find out useless forms and procedures with a thorough review (Reengineering) .
Many forms and processes are redundant, but if no one questions their utility is very likely to endure . It is also possible that other processes have been rendered useless due to changes within the company, or simply because times change. By an effective review is possible to identify and eliminate these processes obsolete.
3. Allow managers with initiative
Save time on high-level meetings by hiring the best managers and then Give them discretionary authority to make decisions.
One of the most barren of any company comes just in the conference room where they meet senior managers. In many companies there are taking too many-and small- decisions, where the stakes may not be as large or expensive. By concentrating the decision-making in the highest level, executives lose time-and productivity-of great value.
Who says that all decisions must be made by senior management? Committee decisions based on extending liability but time consuming. Senior executives are preoccupied with issues they know the best mid-level managers when they should be focusing on more important matters.
faster you make a good decision soon as one of her benefits. The more you postpone a determination, the higher the cost.
For most business decisions, more than one correct answer.
By empowering the staff (at different levels), you can speed up decision making and therefore increase productivity. This change may take some courage on the part of senior level managers and those in the middle levels. With appropriate reporting procedures, fewer joints are required and can be strictly necessary make shorter and, of course, with better results.
4. Maximize your IT
Find new ways to harness the power and productivity of your computer system.
Does your computer system is working for you all that matter?
No matter the size of their operations, to scrutinize the system and update specific goals in mind, you can achieve a quantum leap in the productivity of their technology information technology (IT) for the areas of production, marketing and administration.
The new IT tools may be beyond the reach of small businesses, but after a short period of time, once they have been improved and standardized, they are normally accessible. Thus, small businesses get the most benefits of the systems developed to the extent of big business, after they have explored the trial and error stage of development.
Even though the product may not have bought all the "extras" of a tailored, time to recover the money invested, that is, the return on investment (ROI, for its acronym in English) can be spectacular.
5. Train your staff
Increase employee productivity through training.
been shown in several studies that training at work can be one of the most productive investments, if done correctly.
Until recently, one of corporate activities was more difficult to measure training. People registered for a course, but what they learned? How is your new knowledge added to productivity? With e-learning , even this can be measured, evaluated and adjusted.
Employees at all levels, from the receptionist to the senior manager, can benefit. A training program may be more profitable if it teaches skills and does not focus only on improving the ability to perform specific tasks.
This means that our employees must be well trained to perform at world class level because that is where the competition. "
6. Avoid internal corruption
Make sure your company is not losing productive resources for corporate theft.
All managers expected that there internal corruption in its organization, but how can you be sure? If someone is withdrawing cash or inventory, that can be your worst enemy in the struggle for greater productivity.
In a country like Mexico, with a high level of corruption, do you believe there is a possibility that your company is losing money this way?
existing accounting practices can not always identify the fraudulent transactions, but are of great help to identify suspicious situations and assess the risk of fraud within the system.
should establish internal controls to increase transparency corporate. An audit can seem like an "extra" cost, but allows you to implement measures to prevent corporate theft, it makes up over and over again.
7. Forget the family
Delete the word "nepotism" from your vocabulary .
In a family business, those members who used company money to meet their needs all the way home are enjoying one of the privileges of owning a business. However, this practice is not consistent with the goals of a profit-oriented firm that, like it or not, must compete on the world stage. This erodes productivity, ROI and the ability to compete, and can be fatal when preparing an export strategy or a proposal to secure funding.
Nepotism is another delicate family matter. Hiring relatives or trusted friends to be done carefully if the reason is to increase productivity. Relatives well trained and highly motivated management team provide a level of security and commitment that would not otherwise, especially in positions of trust.
However, if the relative is not contracted at least as competent as the best external candidate may be a costly burden, the cost of having irate customers and lost business for errors and incomplete tasks costs more than the salary of a relative unproductive.
also deprives the firm of the vitality it needs to succeed when confronted with world-class competition and damages the morale of the staff concerned does not belong to the family and that could certainly be better qualified. The company would be better equipped to compete if you just pay the person to stay home and hired a replacement based on merit, someone who sees his future in the company in connection with its performance.
8. Invest in R & D
Implement a program of research and development (R & D) although it has a budget for it.
One reason why many Mexican companies have trouble competing is the reluctance to invest in R & D. No one doubts that it is difficult for a company to commit funds to this important issue while struggling to pay their bills, but could yield dramatic dividends in the medium term. All indicators point to the need to allocate at least a modest budget in R & D, if you want to succeed internationally.
One company even with tight margins and fierce competition, can each year to spend 5% of its budget in this regard.
If your company has not yet established an R & D budget, a review of procedures and strategies may being the first low cost!
9. Analyze the market
Make a market survey in order to better understand their customers.
A basic principle to sell successfully is to know as much as possible about their customers and their special needs. This is ratified when the goal is to maximize the value added components, such as product delivery and customer service.
Some firms may hesitate to pay to research their markets, but sometimes it is necessary to study and it is always desirable when there is a financial proposal. It's a way to approach customers, and the best way to discover the value added services they want is just asking!
10. Quality control
Check your manufacturing system to ensure we offer our guests a quality guarantee.
Another project
productive is to make a full and intensive review of all production processes in order to improve quality control. What value-added component could be more pleasing to your customers that the security of having a quality product?
There is another benefit: firms that provide quality assurance can charge premium price. The world famous quality is one of the reasons for the success of the Japanese to sell their products, and one of the reasons for the high quality is that most companies have adopted a continuous improvement program, where processes search efficient and higher quality never ends.
11. Communicate understandable
Be clear and concise.
inadequate internal communication can be one of the leading causes of errors, mistakes and misunderstandings in of an organization. Review and verify communication policies as necessary channels for sending and receiving messages can improve efficiency.
addition to ensuring that communication channels are working, it is important to ensure that messages are clear, concise and easy to understand.
12. Feel a winner (Attitude).
address the challenges and implement strategies with a winning attitude.
The most important strategy goes beyond the suggestions listed earlier. It is called attitude. If you and your management team approach to the challenge posed by its competitors with determination, persistence and a winning attitude, your chances of overcoming obstacles and achieving sustainable growth will increase.
FINAL COMMENTS .
All these suggestions are proven strategies to increase efficiency and many of them are not expensive.
