Competitive Information Technology

Few people know it but Henry Ford picked up the idea for an assembly line from an abattoir. He simply took the principle of a disassembly line and reversed it. By implementing mechanisation and standard procedure in a process he achieved economies of scale. The system was known as mass manufacture.

When the Japanese decided to produce cars in large numbers, they took the principle of mass manufacture and questioned where waste could be removed. They call it ‘lean manufacturing’. They focus on the value adding part of a process and then set about removing everything else.

In previous blogs I have discussed a common theme of efficiency, innovation and strategy. I have written about transposing information; exploiting the power of databases; controlling costs and improving quality. All these equate to establishing and maintaining a competitive advantage but for me, at the very centre of these issues and the real key to success for a service company is how we collect, control and processes data. Just like Henry Ford’s production line there are huge advantages in developing standard procedure and automating processes. As in the Japanese principle too, if those processes are lean and efficient in adding value they deliver maximum benefit.

At the end of the day we have to be realistic and recognise most people can drive and many chauffeurs offer a quality service. However, what a large number of chauffeurs neglect is the streamlining and efficiency of their data acquisition and information processing. Further still the majority fail to facilitate remote processing of that data. For me this is critical! It is the key to achieving economies of scale, maintaining quality and reducing cost. After all, isn’t that what being in business is all about?