Fernald Business Association

Archive for the ‘Manufacturing’ Category

Decide whether to tender or not.

Duplicate the required number of copies.

Produce a tender timescale diary.

Safely store two copies for the tender response.

Read the tender document and send off for any relevant reference documents stated in the document.

Log the date of request for this documentation and ensure its speedy receipt.

Decide what team of experts in required to complete the tender.

Circulate reference documentation on receipt.

Call an initial meeting of the tender team.

Formation of Tender Team

This may include input from your design, production, finance, legal, commercial and sales personnel. It is important to include any sales personnel who have knowledge of the client; they are likely to appreciate from their past contact, any requirements the client feels are important. These may not be obvious from, or even stated in, the tender document, but when addressed in your tender are likely to be positively considered. This sets your bid above those of your competitors.

First Tender Team Meeting

The initial meeting agenda:

Read through the tender documents.

Reconsider decision to tender.

Assign different aspects of the tender to appropriate personnel present.

Denote clearly on each copy who is responsible for each item.

OK, so how many times has this occurred: someone asks you what you do for a living and you tell them that you are a Product Manager and they fire back at you “Oh, so you manage projects?” Grrr, it’s really no fair – the two disciplines really have nothing in common. Well wait a minute, maybe they do. No, no they really are different. Dang it. What’s the difference between the two?

A lot of the confusion comes from the simple fact that the two jobs do share a lot of things in common. However, never fear, they really are completely different no matter what your friends or your boss tell you. In a nutshell, the differences fall into three different categories: scope, execution, and results.

Scope: A project manager has the somewhat enviable benefit of having the hope of there existing clear cut boundaries that define what he/she is responsible for. They are responsible for a project that uses resources, has a schedule, and has a clear set of deliverables. A successful product manager on the other hand has a less defined job of creating a successful product. The product will be driven by no so much a set of requirements, but rather a customer need which may be fickle and change over time. A product manager has to be able to see through requirements and determine what the root cause of the customer’s issue is and create a product that solves that.

Execution: The project manager is responsible for basically reporting on the status of the project and he/she has a whole host of tools to do this with. However, the product manager is not responsible for designing the product. In fact the product manger does not have to be a subject matter expert – they can mange projects that they know nothing about the underlying technology. A Product Manger on the other hand desperately needs to know everything about how the product works. They need to know the motivation behind every design decision so that they can explain it in non-technical terms to a customer. A product manager is going to have to be able to sell (something a project manager never has to do) his/her product to others both internally and externally.

Results: How is a project manager judged? If a product follows a set schedule, delivers what was requested when it was promised and does not exceed its budget, then it is considered to have been a success. Basically, the less attention a project attracts, the more successful it is deemed to have been. The product manger on the other hand is expected to have created a product efficiently (similar to a project manager’s project), but has the additional burden of having to be successful no matter if it is delivered to an internal or external customer. If the product is a runaway success and gets lots of vocal praise from the customer than the product manager is deemed to have done a good job.

I’ve been in private practice for almost 10 years, now. I am living my dream; I do what I love to do, the hours I work are the hours I choose to work, and I can often take time off to play with my family or enjoy a friend, if I wish.

But, as most self-employed people, I’m a hard boss, and as a female small business owner, I have much more to do than just ‘work’. As I type this, I am also making lasagna so my husband has something he enjoys eating while I’m out of town for the next few days, working. I also need to fold the laundry that is in the dryer so I can take care of some last minute clothes I want to pack for my trip. Tomorrow I will get up a little earlier than necessary so I can get a quick workout in, then be sure I have my suitcase packed and in the car before I see my first client in the morning, because when I’m out of school, I will leave directly for the airport for my trip. During the trip, if I have all my studying for classes done, I can then start working on my articles and newsletter that will be due soon. I should have all my charting done for my clients before I leave tomorrow, too.

If you are in business for yourself, this probably sounds pretty familiar. If you are just starting out, yes, it sounds scary, and there definitely are days that you will wonder what the heck you are doing, but I am still here to tell you it’s all worth it.

Businesses owned by women are the fastest growing segment of small business owners in the country. Between 1997 and 2004, the estimated growth rate in the number of women-owned businesses was nearly twice that of all businesses. According to the Small Business Association, there are currently 9.1 million women-owned businesses, which employ 27.5 million people and contribute $3.6 trillion to the economy. If you are female and have considered starting up your own business, the time couldn’t be better!

Women are diversifying into all industries, too. Construction, manufacturing and transportation have been the largest recent increases in women-owned firms, although services and retail still make the largest share. Women are more prepared today for running business. The amount of managerial experience, education, business revenue and employment profiles these women have after 10 years of experience equals what took 20 years in the past. Women in business now equal men in these respects.