The challenges of today's global marketplace are forcing companies to look at doing things differently in order to get that extra edge over their competition.
According to Makino, a global provider of advanced machining technology, companies doing things the same way they have been doing them for the last 10 to 15 years are probably in a "recurring uniform trap," or "RUT," while the global market is passing them by.
Why do something differently? Productivity is a big reason. A 21st century equation explains what productivity requirements will be for the future; the concept
being half the number of people, making twice as much money, but doing three times the amount of work.
In manufacturing, this concept is coming true today. Companies are looking under every rock for opportunities to improve productivity, increase efficiency and lower costs.
In many machine shops, machining centers sit idle while manual work is still being performed. By doing things this way, the companies are not getting the most out of their machine nor their personnel investment.
In today's competitive environment, companies must identify if they are stuck in a RUT. In order to improve, they must be willing to step outside their comfort zones and create solutions.
Culture change takes place gradually, and everyone, especially the people who are out on the floor, must first have a high level of confidence that new technology will work and work reliably before they embrace it. Reliable, high-performance machines not only produce results but also eliminate your business RUT.
Being Competitive in a Global Market
Accenture's Global Technology Growth Continues in India
The new delivery center represents not only the further expansion of the company's global delivery network, but the dedication and commitment that Accenture is providing to the continued investment in global business growth.
The Pune delivery center is Accenture's fifth city presence in India, and will utilize technology graduates and IT professionals with skills in the technology sector. By August 2006, Accenture plans to employ a maximum of 1600 employees.
"This new facility in Pune will support our growth plans in India, which is a key node in Accenture's Global Delivery Network," said Karl-Heinz Floether, Accenture's group chief executive for Technology & Delivery. "Our employees here will work seamlessly with their colleagues around the world-sharing the same training, methodology and tools to ensure consistent, high-quality services for our clients."
Accenture's focus has always been in management and consulting, and their global expansion division is no exception. The launch of this technology delivery center is a further commitment to India to tap into the large pool of high-quality talent within the country.
Through the Global Delivery Network, Accenture has grown its headcount in India from fewer than 4000 in 2003 to a current level of over 17,000. That is a tremendous and significant increase in committed resources and talent as a testament to the potential global market. India is one of the few countries that are predicted to see an increase in the labor market in relation to expected population levels. Unlike most of the developed countries, India should not begin to a decline in their workforce for another 50 years. This presents a valuable opportunity to companies like Accenture looking to India as a point of global presence.
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A Heavy Global Industry
The global demand for heavy construction equipment has increased dramatically over the preceding years. This demand of heavy construction equipment is highly accredited in part to the recovery from a recession in assorted Asian countries, as well as in Latin America, Russia, and Africa. Regardless of the fact that the heavy construction equipment industry is not as heavily concentrated as it had been in previous years, acquisitions are still going strong and substantial partnerships between competing companies are on the rise.
As technical advances in the heavy construction equipment design and security help marketing efforts get ahead, the price increases have a tendency to remain modest in retrospect. This also speaks for all new, used, rented or leased heavy construction equipment alike. Each year the heavy construction equipment industry is meeting a global demand of turnout at about six percent each year. The heavy construction equipment industry has been sharing in the worldwide drive with a number of countries to construct new projects and to restore older public and private structures.
Heavy construction equipment mainly consist of the following main categories: mixers, cranes, loaders, trucks, tractors, graders and rollers, just to name a few, as well attachments and parts. All heavy construction equipment is used in a wide range of applications from major infrastructure projects to office buildings and from housing to factories, power plants and mining. The extent of use of heavy construction equipment is so broad that key measures in demographics, such as the population growth, along with ample growth in economics, are the main influence of the demand for heavy construction equipment in the world today.
Projects that require the sporadic use of heavy construction equipment also call for significant amounts of capital investment. In privately funded projects, investors seem more receptive when interest rates are low and when there is a reasonable rate of return. Most public works programs are ventured upon during recession as part of a broader financial turnout. In developing countries, the rate of sustainable economic growth is a major concern as sporadic trends tend to be shorter and more under consideration in mature markets. This may influence a country's ability to attract external capital or to generate its own.
Heavy construction equipment and its components can be manufactured in fewer locations to service the global market. Heavy construction equipment can now move without any obligation between mature markets, while some emerging countries still require exports to qualify for liberated imports.
Regions and countries vary widely in their demands of heavy construction equipment to perform tasks of building and re-building. The need for heavy construction equipment in these regions are more related to upgrade and maintenance of the existing infrastructure and buildings than it is to new projects. In other developing regions, the need for heavy construction equipment is used to build new projects such as highways, airports and urban buildings, etc. With a growing global demand of heavy construction equipment, the possibilities of building are endless.