Flexibility is a necessary competence

Outsourcing. Embrace it or perish. When business heads met at the recently held World Economic Forum, this topic was one of many raised against the backdrop of changing economies, and discussions invariably covered strategies that governments and businesses should adopt to cope with emerging trends.

The most profound argument focused on the fact that the economy should be viewed as a force of nature. Nothing that governments do can prevent the impact that emerging trends have on businesses and the economy in this “boundary-less” world. Outsourcing, which could mean the loss of thousands of jobs in the developed world, can be viewed as a “dirty” word to countries affected, but rather than adopt protectionist measures, such countries should examine how they could refocus on their core competence and synergize with new dynamics in this global economy.

One example of adaptability that cemented my belief in this ideal was presented to me on a recent plant visit to the Fujitsu Siemens plant in Augsburg, Germany. How does one go about producing computers economically in a high-wage country? Well, one leverages on one’s technology. And around this technology is built a modern management system. The next step is to convince employees that by letting the technology and system take precedence, there is a winning formula that counts on the flexibility of man and machine.

The electronics manufacturing team at Fujitsu Siemens consists of about 280 people, including planning and purchasing, and the whole department must prove its high level of productivity against competitors every day. And this it is doing, judging by the quality of products it produces. In fact, the quality of its products are so high that various inspection steps like AOI, AXI and SPC are deemed unnecessary, reducing all this to a single test after final assembly.

This near perfect example demonstrates that companies cannot only survive but thrive in a competitive environment, as long as they focus on what they do best and are willing to make necessary adjustments along the way.