Chapter 1: Manufacturing and Business Excellence

The Scene

Kaohsiung Industries, an international manufacturing company, has recently made substantial inroads into US and European markets, shaking the confidence of investors in competing US and European manufacturers. Around the globe, manufacturers like Kaohsiung are capitalizing on lower trade barriers, a growing global economy, and substantial growth in the Asia-Pacific economies, challenging other manufacturers' long-standing position in their traditional markets.

Beta International, a large manufacturing conglomerate, is under intense pressure from domestic competitors with newer technologies, from foreign competitors with cheaper products, and from within there's so much politicking that much of the work that's done by many individuals is related to positioning for survival in a streamlined organization. They have just named a new CEO, Bob Neurath, who is determined to get the company back on track and reestablish itself as the leader in its markets, especially its chemicals sector.

On reviewing current marketing plans, the new CEO has found that the marketing division is really more like a set of sales departments, focused more on selling whatever products R&D develops for it than on understanding and targeting markets and then developing their marketing and sales strategy accordingly. The R&D department has lots of neat ideas, but too often these ideas are not fully linked to a thorough market analysis and understanding of customer wants and needs. Manufacturing is not integrated into either process. There seems to be a "silo" approach...