Product Strength Tests

04 April 2013 Timothy Howard 0 Comments

Reusable Shipping Crates

This past summer I had the privilege of taking my family camping. We have this great spot tucked away in the Rocky Mountains next to a small lake where there are tons of trout. This was also a time of great revelation for me. You see, the day before the camping trip, rather than purchasing a real cooler or icebox, I bought one of those two-dollar Styrofoam coolers. When we reached our camping spot the whole corner of that cheap cooler was blown out, just from the weight of the food inside, and a couple of sleeping bags on top. That day I discovered that I would never buy one of those cheap coolers again, and that when you buy something cheap, your wife interprets it as that, you’re cheap. In other words, nobody wants to buy products that aren’t strong enough to perform their job, and if you use products that don’t perform properly, it reflects badly on you.

Having a product that nobody wants to buy may as well be a tombstone for a business. However, there are also a lot of benefits that come with having a product that is well tested. Some of these benefits include:

More confident sales team – it helps to know your selling a good product
Creates Positive word of mouth exposure
Creates customer loyalty, which equals more sales.
A strong product means less damaged goods and happier customer

Here at SnapCrate, strong product design is something we are very passionate about, and we dedicate ourselves to implementing strong and designs for wooden shipping crates. But I’ll try not to get on my soapbox. Still, it is so easy to see that taking a little time and even some money to strength test your product is worth it, and we have found two great ways to do it:

First, have your product tested by an unbiased third party that will properly investigate your product and give you the results. Third party testing will let you know what your product can handle, giving you confidence in what you can expect from your product, and show you areas to improve it.

Second, test your products in-house. At SnapCrate we have a lot of fun testing our the strength and durability of our wooden shipping crates in-house. This kind of testing gives us a fun way to present our product, while uniting our whole team, and collecting great feedback.

If you want, go ahead and check out some of our strength test videos to see how we have done this. If you have any experiences or tests of your own, we would love to know about it.

Saving Money = Asking Questions

07 March 2013 Timothy Howard 0 Comments

With the recent economic challenges, one thing on everyone’s mind is how to save money. So how do we save money? One common strategy is to simply eliminate as many expenses as possible, which can be very effective, but often times forces us to compromise the quality or method which we make our product. A better strategy is to question. Rather than trying to accomplish the same tasks as before, but with fewer resources, ask employees and customers how to make the most of the processes, materials, products, and services you currently use. This more proactive approach is a great opportunity to save money without reducing the value of your products or services.

Converting a company into a money saving machine is usually not a task that just one person can handle. This is why a great place to start is to ask employees and customers where they see areas that could be improved. Some good ways to go about this are to conduct a survey targeted for feedback about processes that can be improved or to have an employee meeting to openly discuss challenging or wasteful processes. You might be surprised at

When to Change Your Product

07 February 2013 Timothy Howard 0 Comments

wood shipping crates

When people start talking about redesigning a product, I know it can be scary, but thinking proactively about how to improve products is critical to the survival of a company. With changes in the economy, and the way markets are changing accordingly, it is more important than ever to give your customer a reason to choose your product. Besides, product changes can give you access to a customer you weren’t previously able to reach, save money, and create a safer work environment. So pay attention to the warning signs that your product needs to change, and ask questions to make sure you make the proper changes.

Warning Signs that your product needs to be redesigned:

Customers Like Choices

10 January 2013 Timothy Howard 0 Comments

reusable shipping crates

Custom Options

Everywhere you go it is easy to see that both consumers and businesses are looking for products that are catered to their specific needs and tastes. Although it is not the best answer for every situation, offering custom crating options to your customer is a great way to capture their attention and show how you will meet their specific needs.

Even if your product doesn’t seem like the kind of product you would add custom options to, I want to encourage you to think it through. Because, while custom options are a great way to meet your customers needs, they are also a good way to reach new markets. For example,

Lean Manufacturing: A Business Model with the Consumer in Mind

24 May 2012 Gentry Simons 0 Comments

Lean Manufacturing: A Business Model with the Consumer in Mind

Hearing a company pride itself on being committed to good faith and fair dealing above all else is refreshing. Many companies are beginning to realize that dedication and loyalty to the consumer first and foremost is actually what drives business, not the hunt for profit. This is where a recently popular manufacturing model known as Lean Manufacturing (Lean) plays a huge role.

First introduced by Toyota, Lean is a progressive way to give customers what they want, how they want it and when they want it by eliminating waste and maximizing efficiency. Seems rather simple right?