Jim Pinto - Business & Marketing Commentary

Business & Marketing Commentary

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Most business news comes from something everyone already gets - company news-releases. Except in financial circles, strategic analysis and commentary is muted by obligations to sponsors and advertisers.

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Global Collaboration	Global Collaboration — Worth Striving For Today, collaborative enterprises with global scope are winning the game. They streamline end-to-end business and supply chain processes, distribute information across various businesses to boost mutual responsiveness, agility, and customer-centricity. Published by Automation World - April 2006.

People are Primary assets	People are your primary assets In today's competitive global market automation end-users and suppliers alike are under increasing pressure to improve return on assets. Many companies tend to forget that people are their primary assets. Published by Automation World - January 2006.

Vendor Choices	What automation end-users need to know about vendors The selection of a supplier, especially for large control systems, is a complex undertaking. To help end-users with automation vendor selection, here’s a checklist organized in 10 categories. Published by CONTROL magazine - December 2005.

Innovation Wins	Automation Plus Innovation Wins To achieve sustainable advantage, manufacturing efficiency must be coupled with innovative new products. Companies that go beyond manufacturing low priced commodities and offer improved customer values are the winners in the new global environment. Published by Automation World - November 2005.

Price/Margin/ Volume Mindset	Price/Margin/Volume Mindset Inhibits Growth Industrial automation companies traditionally market higher priced products in low volume. The problem is that no one wants to break price barriers because of the mindset - the self-fulfilling prophesy. You can open new markets by changing pricing structures and sales channels. Published by Automation.com - November 2005.

Automation Services	Services - growth on a slippery slope End-users are scrambling to reduce costs and many have even eliminated engineering and maintenance services. Reacting to this demand, automation suppliers are expanding their service offerings to “total solutions” responsibility, which puts them into competition with some of their own local integrators - a slippery slope. Published by Automation World - October 2005.

Flat World	Tom Friedman's book - The world is flat Technology has changed the shape of the world. Cheap and abundant communications and broadband connectivity have made it easy for knowledge work to be done from anywhere in the world. This has created a "flat" global political, economic, and cultural playing field. Published by Automation.com - October 2005.

Performance-based compensation	Performance-based compensation Today's compensation systems were originally developed during the era of hourly-paid factory workers. For today's knowledge-based employees, performance-based compensation is necessary. And it's important to include team-success factors. Employee-ownership has the best results. Published by Automation World - July 2005.

Exhibitions Decline	The Decline of Large Automation Exhibitions Large, central automation exhibitions used to be major events a couple of decades ago, attracting hundreds of thousands of attendees from all over the world. Today exhibitions are steadily declining because there are more effective ways to disseminate information and provide opportunities for customer and supplier networking. This article was published by Automation.com - July 2005. A shorter column was published in Automation World - May 2005.

Enterprise Web Services	Managing Enterprise Performance with Web Services Web delivery of business and manufacturing process data enhances collaboration between multi-location plants. The facilities that yield the best performance can share results across the enterprise – learning about what works, and what doesn’t. Enterprise performance management using key performance indicators is becoming reality. This article was published by Automation.com - June 2005.

Productivity Race	Cheaper, Faster, Better - The Productivity Race Productivity has now become a global race. It’s a fierce, head-to-head competition between regions and nations for the single reason that it is the source of the wealth, the key to improvements in living standards. Those who can make things cheaper, faster, better – win! This article was published by Automation.com - May 2005.

Energy partnerships	Partnerships can develop energy alternatives Technology leadership is needed to develop practical energy alternatives. Automation companies have knowledge and experience that applies in this arena. End-users and automation suppliers can develop partnerships to tackle the opportunities. A version of this article was published by Automation World - March 2005.

China Solutions	Solutions for the China Challenge It is well known that China is grabbing significant manufacturing market share in US and world markets, and is already moving strongly into high-tech. Here we'll discuss ways and means for America to maintain its leadership against China and other emerging global competitors. Published by Automation.com - February 2005.

China Syndrome	The China Manufacturing Syndrome Manufacturing is tending to migrate away from the U.S. for a variety of factors. In the meantime China is attaining pre-eminence in global manufacturing. America needs to have its entrepreneurs and home businesses succeed. Perhaps that is America's best response to the China manufacturing syndrome. A version of this article was published by Automation World - January 2005.

Future of Automation	The Future of Industrial Automation (2005) Since the turn of the century, the global recession has affected most businesses, including industrial automation. After four years of the new millennium, here are my views on the directions in which the automation industry is moving. Published by Automation.com - December 2004.

ISA Rimbach Lecture 2004	Automation Unplugged - Global Shifts in a new age Outline of the slides presented at the Rimbach Lecture Series, Keynote speech at ISA, Houston, Texas, October 6, 2004. Review of automation business, with predictions of continued consolidationss. Discussions of new technologies and trends. How Outsourcing and Offshoring will impact future business as China and India emerge as global competitors. Keys for success. Future global challenges.

M2M - OEM advantage	M2M - the OEM advantage The next major inflection point of Internet usage is machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. Within the next few years, more machines will be connected via the Internet than humans. This will add significant value for businesses and consumers. Published by Automation World - July/August 2004.

Enterprise decision-making	Decision-making across the enterprise Today, a plethora of software tools and web services are available for enterprise integration. Perhaps the key job for the future CEO is simply to determine and monitor the key performance indicators (KPIs), letting local decision-making achieve results for the integrated enterprise. Published by Automation World - June 2004.

Using Global Resources	Using Global Resources to Succeed In today's global business environment, products must be developed quickly and inexpensively, and manufactured at the lowest cost. Where the products are developed is irrelevant – productivity is the key. The companies that can utilize global resources effectively will generate growth and success! Published by AutomationTechies.com - June 2004.

Systems Integration	Automation Systems Integration – the realm of specialists Automation systems integrators serve big markets. But most of them are unable to "scale up" beyond about $5-10m in annual revenue because their markets are fragmented, have specialized requirements and are geographically spread out. Published by AutomationTechies.com - May 2004.

Real-time productivity	A realtime boost for productivity Today, real-time enterprise applications are cutting through several layers of previous inefficiency, allowing all segments of a business to interact in ways that were previously unthinkable. The resulting productivity boost is perhaps the key factor behind the so-called "jobless recovery". Published by Automation World - April 2004.

Broader Horizons	To succeed, broaden your horizons When growth is elusive in traditional markets, it behooves good companies to look for expansion and growth in other similar markets. Industrial automation companies must extend their existing products, and develop new marketing and sales channels, to attract new "commercial" customers. Published by Automation World - March 2004.

Think Globally	Think globally, act locally There are lots of new things that your company must do to remain competitive in the global environment. People in all parts of your company must be encouraged to become more globally oriented. Global customers must be met at their home locale, to find out specific local requirements. And the company must respond by adapting products to meet those local needs. Published by Automation World - February 2004.
Disintermediation	*Disintermediation Stirs up Industrial Automation* In the post-internet world, intermediariess are disappearing rapidly. Here we review how and where disintermediation affects the industrial automation business and, with a positive perspective, how those most affected can "reintermediate".

Disintermediation-II	*Disintermediation-II - the Customer Perspective* The Internet provides direct-connections between suppliers and customers, disintermediating conventional sales and distribution channels. As an end-user, a customer, what are your choices? Should you stick with the people you know? Or, start buying direct from the suppliers website?

Manufacturers get Disintermediated	Disintemediation-III : Distributors in the driver's seat, Manufacturers get disintermediated. In past years manufacturers were considered "upstream in the food chain". Intermediaries (sales channels, distributors, retail outlets) were considered "downstream" links, generating lower margins. Today, no single product supplier can compete against local specialists in all geographies. So, the big switch occurs - the product manufacturer gets disintermediated. A version of this article was published as: Industry View, the back-page of ISA - InTech, March 2003.

Products vs. Services	Automation: Products Vs. Services With the recent worldwide decline in the automation business, many major suppliers are trying to generate growth by becoming "total solution providers", rather than just product manufacturers. In my opinion, while this strategy may generate additional short-term revenue, in the long haul it is a business mistake. Published by AutomationTechies.com Oct. 2002.

Automation: directions	Automation: Old dead-ends, new directions The consistent stream of industrial automation mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, re-organizations and layoffs is happening because US industrial automation markets have been declining for the past several years. To understand the decline, we must recognize that several important strategic factors that have changed over the past decade. Published by AutomationTechies.com Sept. 2002.

Never be the lowest bidder	Never, never be the lowest bidder A hard-hitting but realistic view of price-cutting - meant to encourage business people not to allow devaluation of their business knowledge and experience. Discounting is a loser’s game, especially in the industrial automation business, which has a high level of applications knowledge and specialization. Published by AutomationTechies.com Aug. 2002.

Relationship management	Relationship management The Internet has brought major changes to the way business is being done. Old-style intermediaries are being replaced by infomediaries. Relationship management is the key to success. Published by AutomationTechies.com - June 2002.

Automation - The Japanese players	Industrial Automation - the Japanese players With $3b in annual revenue and 20,000 employees worldwide, Yokogawa is certainly one of the top-10 industrial automation companies in the world. Omron has worldwide revenues of $4.5b (includes components and other businesses) with 25,000 employees. Other major Japanese industrial automation companies are Toshiba and Mitsubishi though they are second-tier automation players in the US and Europe. Extracts from JimPinto.com eNews, April 26 '02, and 9 May, '02.

Siemens - an American manager's view	Siemens: American manager's view Siemens - current revenues about $75b - is easily the largest industrial automation company in the world. What is it like working for Siemens? I asked several managers who have worked fairly high up in the US Siemens organization. This is a summary of their collected insights. Extracts from JimPinto.com eNews, April 18 '02, and 9 May '02.

New Growth	New growth in old markets Industrial automation business is in a general decline - many products have become commodities. Growth and success will result for leaders who recognize the advantages that new technology brings, and for those who have the ability to provide new products and advances for old and new markets. The original version of this article was published by automationtechies.com, December 2001

Whither Rockwell Automation?	Whither Rockwell Automation? JimPinto.com eNews, May 31, '01 - plus later updates. Rockwell Automation is a leading supplier of industrial automation products - Allen-Bradley and Reliance are the major companies in the group. Rockwell, with aerospace roots, moved into industrial automation with the purchase of A-B (which up to that time was privately held). The current management group (CEO Don Davis et al) originated at A-B. During 2001, Rockwell spun off their Avionics business as Rockwell Collins, to focus on industrial products as Rockwell Automation. These extracts from JimPinto.com eNews trace the news and developments at Rockwell Automation from 2001.

Invensys Decline	The decline of Invensys JimPinto.com eNews, June 29, '01. Invensys was formed by Allen Yurko, after UK-based Siebe merged with BTR. Siebe had previously acquired Foxboro, Wonderware, Eurotherm and several others, hoping to generate growth from industrial automation. When growth eluded Yurko, and Siebe was a target for Emerson, he merged Siebe with BTR, another UK hodge-podge, and changed the name to Invensys. With further decline, Yurko bought BAAN, a bankrupt Dutch software company, a risky move that didn't pay off. Now Invensys continues a downward spiral towards an eventual break-up and piecemeal sale.

C=PxV/U Pinto's Law	Pinto's Law of Market Confusion In the race for market dominance, everyone wants to be "the standard". The major suppliers promote the networks that give them the advantage, leaving Users totally confused. A simple formula that demonstrates the relationship between Confusion in the marketplace and the number of Vendors and Happy Users. Published by Vanguard Group - Dec. 2001.

3 Technology Laws	The three laws of technology The combination of the three technology laws will soon bring startling changes.Within the next decade many people will have a couple of hundred computers embedded in their clothes, communicating through a "personal-area-network" (PAN), with wireless connection to the Internet. Published by Vanguard Group - Dec. 2001.

Open standards dichotomy	The dichotomy of open standards The definition of a "standard" is simple: operating characteristics that everybody follows. Therein lies the rub. Someone has to be the leader, to develop the standard that others follow. Conflicting objectives continue to cause endless debate. To help clear the confusion, we must understand that technology developers need to recoup their investment through one or more of the rules for open standards. Published by Vanguard Group - Dec. 2001.

Intelligent Appliances	Intelligent, Connected Appliances Embedded processors continue to penetrate and populate virtually every product. Advances in wireless technology will allow low-cost, high-speed connections for hand-held devices. So in the next few years almost everything will become an intelligent, connected "appliance". Published by Vanguard Group - Dec. 2001.

Never Low Bid	Never, never be the lowest bidder! When business is tough, some people feel that price-cutting may be the best way to generate business. But that is a loser’s game - especially in the industrial automation business, which has a high level of applications knowledge and specialization. The original version of this article was published by Electrical Equipment Co. Oct. 2001

Pay Daily Dues	Have you paid your daily dues? Today, major industrial automation companies are consolidating and laying-off. What’s a budding young engineer or technician to do? Or, if you’re already in the instruments business, should you simply wait for the ax to fall? Here, I propose more practical directions that combine your own personal strengths with new thinking in a new economy. The original version of this article was published by ISA - InTech - Oct. 2001

ISA InTech Pinto's Points	InTech eNews - Pinto's Points ISA InTECH publishes a regular (weekly) eNews, which includes a link to a brief Pinto Point. Each point is an item which I think will stimulate your thinking - technical trends, market musings, sales solutions, business briefs. Here you have links to the ISA archives on the items that have been published.

Staying ahead of the powercurve	Staying ahead of the powercurve In the new economy, Internet communication has brought major changes to the way business is being done. Make sure that your business is staying ahead of the power-curve. The original version of this article was published by *Electrical Equipment Co. Sept. 2001*

Automation eBiz	Automation eBiz : The new business environment Almost universal business e-mail provides closeness that breeds startling new effectiveness. The old, bulky snail-mail catalog is becoming obsolete and most companies are now providing access to product and pricing information on the web, with many going beyond, with true B2B interaction. The original version of this article was published by *Electrical Equipment Co. Sept. 2001*

Honeywell GE buys then abandons	Honeywell for Sale - GE Buys - than abandons. eNews : 21 October '00 - with later updates The Honeywell saga started first as the sale of the controls division to Siemens, then the merger of the whole enchilada with United Technologies and then ended a couple of days later with the sale to GE - it all happened in less than a week! Finally, after finding that Honeywell was not really desirable, GE backed out of the merger. Few industry journals and financial newspapers tell the whole, unbiased background and story. Read it here.

The wreck of the Mike Bonsignore	Lyrics : The wreck of the Mike Bonsignore. Sung to the tune of The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald By Gordon Lightfoot There was a lot of employee unrest and turmoil at Honeywell, as a result of the GE merger and subsequent rejection. A Honeywell employee (name witheld) sent me these lyrics, which you'll enjoy.

Troubled Companies	Companies in Trouble Expected gains through consolidation are just not developing and several industrial automation companies are in deep troble. This article traces the decline of past industry leaders and points out the patterns that are developing as industrial age companies enter a new era. It offers predictions, warnings and advice. First published in Controls Intelligence & Plant Systems Report, October 2000.

Marketing Speed	Marketing Speed in the Internet Age In the age of Internet marketing, Time is a key ingredient. Conventional printed catalogs and price lists, snail-mailed with expensive postage, are simply too slow and too expensive. As customers, we all expect more.

Development Speed	Product Development Speed in the Internet Age In the last century, new products took years to develop. In the Internet age Time is critical and clearly a competitive weapon. With accelerating technology, some products are obsolete within months. Move fast - or become history.....

Automation Changes	The Changing Face of Automation The new century has arrived as a benchmark of change. Everyone has recognized that business has moved into a new era where the ground rules are intrinsically different. Here are some of the causes behind the effects.

Writings Index	*Index of all JimPinto writings* Take a look at a chronological index of all JimPinto writings and poetry.

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