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4 Benefits of Using Bulk Bags

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StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article | 4 Benefits of Using Bulk BagsWhen you have products to sell, it is imperative to have the best storage and shipping materials available. Bulk bags- also known as Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (FIBCs)- support optimal storage and shipping. The following are just four of the many benefits of using bulk bags for your shipping needs.

1. Versatility and Durability

FIBCs are made from a woven fabric that is flexible enough to hold 500kg to 2000 kg. They come in different sizes and dimensions, making them perfect for toting all types of dry, flowing products. Some industries they work very well for include:

  • Agriculture
  • Engineering
  • Construction
  • Chemical
  • Mining
  • Fishing

Additionally, bulk bags can be custom-made according to your specific needs. This ensures that you get the right type and size storage bag.

2. Optimal Storage Usage

Thanks to their customizable nature and flexibility, bulk bags make excellent storage options. Traditional storage containers and boxes force your product to fit the available space. They do not move or budge, meaning you might be missing out on storage.

On the other hand, bulk bags actually move, stretch, and conform to the products they hold. If you only need to fill half the bag, you only have half a bag taking up space. Other storage options, like boxes, stay the same size no matter how much product is in them.

Skip the boxes, drums, and paper bags in your warehouse. Instead, choose bulk bags that allow you to optimize your storage space.

3. Lower Shipping Costs

It takes a lot of money to run a business, which is why it’s so important to cut expenses wherever possible. Bulk bags can save you money on shipping costs in a few ways. First, bulk bags do not need pallets or any secondary packaging, both of which add extra weight and costs.

Additionally, being able to fit more into a bag means having to ship less overall. For more cost-saving products, learn more here.

4. Reusable or Recyclable Material

Thanks to their general make-up, bulk bags do not easily rip and tear. This means that FIBCs can be reused for quite some time. They are also recyclable due to the materials they are made from. You can use bulk bags without concern about their impact on the environment.

Bulk bags are a great way to take control of your storage space and shipping costs. Visit website to learn more about how such a simple product can make a lasting impact on your daily operations.

Operations Management: What You Need to Know in 2021

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StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article | Operations Management: What You Need to Know in 2021Operations managers have a tough and challenging role, particularly in 2021. As we move towards a ‘new normal’, businesses are facing unexpected obstacles. As a result, innovation and ingenuity is more important than ever before. If you’re working in operations management, or you aspire to become an operations supervisor, take a look at some of the challenges you’ll be facing in 2021:

1. Supply Chain Uncertainty

There’s no doubt that supply chains were significantly impacted by COVID-19. Although firms were quick to respond to the upheaval, many companies remain concerned about the vulnerability of lengthy supply chains. However, the competing demands of globalization mean that long supply chains are often essential or advantageous.

Operations managers and supply chain managers can overcome this particular challenge by partnering with leading logistics firms. Choosing a logistics provider who can offer a wide range of transportation, such as HLOGCAM, ensures a variety of supply routes can be accessed at short notice. In addition to this, using more than one mode of transportation enables companies to have greater control over the speed at which their goods and shipments are moved from one location to another.

2. Cost Cutting

The on-going impact of the coronavirus pandemic means that millions of companies are slashing their budgets. After a year of disrupted cash flow and trading restrictions, it’s not surprising that firms are being forced to rethink their expenditure. While reducing costs and maintaining productivity has always been a key objective for businesses, it’s fast becoming a critical aspect of their long-term survival.

Within operations management, personnel are going to be under pressure to maintain or increase productivity while minimizing inputs. To achieve this, there is likely to be an increased focus on automation. By introducing new automated processes, for example, managers can maintain their operations with a reduced staff. In addition to this, automation can positively impact efficiency, which, in turn, will optimize productivity without substantially increasing costs.

3. Increased Sustainability

Although most companies will face financial and practical challenges throughout the year, environmental concerns will still be highly relevant in 2021. Indeed, the reduced emissions and carbon footprints seen at the height of the pandemic, when entire sectors were brought to a standstill, have highlighted the environmental impact that industry has.

As a result, there is public and governmental pressure on businesses to reduce emissions further. In order to achieve this, operations managers will need to ensure sustainability is a key issue during every decision-making process. By weighing the environmental effects against the financial impact of a new process, for example, operations managers can find solutions that meet a company’s needs without increasing the firm’s carbon footprint.

Building a Career in Operations Management

As you can see, operations management is an exciting area to be involved in. For current and future professionals, the competing priorities, emergence of new tech and practical demands ensure that a career in operations management will continue to be challenging, thought-provoking and, ultimately, highly rewarding.

Why is it Important to Have the Right Tools as a Business? 

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Why is it Important to Have the Right Tools as a Business? How long has your business been established for? Have you been operating for a few years or are you one of the almost six million SMEs that have recently set up on their own?

Whether you’re new to being in charge or you’ve been at it for a while, it’s important that you have the right tools in place in order to do the job effectively. This applies to all industries and roles, from office jobs to manual positions on construction sites.

But what makes having the right tools so important? Here’s a look at some of the main reasons to make sure you and your team are fully equipped.

Safety is vital

No matter what sector you work in, the health and safety of you and your employees is a key consideration. While meeting requirements, such as having a fire marshal and getting your team to carry out safety training, is likely to be top of the list, it’s important that you make sure that you’re providing the right tools too.

By working out what tools are needed early on, you can protect staff from workplace hazards and potential injuries that can happen when the wrong instrument is used for the task. For instance, if you’re managing a building site, you’ll need to make sure that fully functioning drills and drill bits are to hand. Old drills that have seen better days will need to be replaced in order to keep workers safe and complete the job.

Cost-effective planning

Planning out the tools you and your team need can seem like a significant expense at first, especially if you’re just starting out. However, by investing in good-quality machinery and tools early on, you are more likely to save money as you won’t need to replace faulty hand tools or second-hand computers shortly after paying for them.

So, if you need to buy a cement mixer for your building work or you’ve hired a graphic designer and need the very latest software and hardware, investing in new machines and computers now will mean you won’t need to think about updating them for a while. It’s worth keeping track of the tools and machinery you invest in so that you know when they might need a service, check, or to be replaced completely.

Boost productivity

Workers can’t do their job well if they don’t have the right tools. If they do have everything to hand, they can work efficiently and be more productive. Providing full socket sets for the mechanics on your team, for example, means that they are more likely to be able to easily replace tyres, getting through more jobs than if they had limited resources.

Maintain your reputation

The wrong tools or missing parts can also be time consuming and, in the worst cases, detrimental. For instance, if you run a handyman company and you and your team are working on a big project, the customer isn’t likely to be happy if their bannister can’t be completed due to a lack of good-quality handheld tools. This can impact on your business and your reputation.

Whether you’re just starting up or you’ve been established for a long time, take the time to assess what tools are required. Do any need replacing? What machinery would benefit the business? This will be time well spent.

10 Ways to Improve Service Industry Operations

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StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article | 10 Ways to Improve Service Industry OperationsRunning a restaurant, eatery, or any business in the service industry requires grit, determination, and intelligence, all rolled up into one. In any case, restaurateurs have to contend with a range of issues such as competition, the economy, and seasonality, to keep their businesses afloat and increase sales.

Nowadays, restaurants are no longer about cooking and serving meals alone, but also about consumer experience, ambiance, convenience, and good service.

If you want to see diners coming back to your restaurant every time, then you have no choice but to improve your operations. Here are a few tips on how to go about it.

1. Utilize Restaurant Technology

Any business in the service industry that is yet to embrace technology stands to lose a lot. Technology has improved operational efficiency by reducing workload, eliminating paperwork, streamlining services, and ultimately increasing sales.

With the emergence of digital menu boards and other restaurant digital signage, restaurants should expect up to 31.8% increase in sales. No. They do not work like magic. Research shows that 80% of consumers are likely to enter a restaurant after seeing attractive signage.

Moreover, these display systems allow you to incorporate full-motion videos into your menus so that you can reach and engage your customers easily.

2. Expand Menu Offerings

Expanding your menu offerings is another great way of improving operations and increasing sales. By giving your customers more options on the menu, they are likely to stream back and even invite their friends to your restaurant.

This brings us back to the use of digital menu boards. The benefits of using digital menu boards are almost endless. So dynamic are these digital boards that you can add more items to the menu display, include information about ingredients, or change the menu content at the touch of a button.

Nevertheless, you should be very careful when creating your menu and learn about the various digital menu board mistakes you should avoid if you want to attract more customers to your establishment.

3. Take Advantage of Social Media

Social media is a game-changer in almost every sector and the service industry is no exception. You can use social media to expand your reach and retain your current customers for free.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram allow you to connect with your customers by liking or replying to their comments. You can also encourage your fans to share your posts, photos, and menus with their friends for a wider reach and increased brand awareness.

4. Create a Loyalty Program

Many restaurateurs make the mistake of focusing on attracting new customers rather than keeping their existing customers. This can leave a huge dent on your sales as your most loyal customers begin to feel disoriented and start thinking twice about returning to your restaurant.

One of the most effective ways of retaining customers is building a loyalty program. It doesn’t have to be complicated. You can start by issuing gift cards, free dessert, or special discounts to your most loyal customers. By doing so, it won’t be long before you notice an improvement in operations.

5. Offer Online Ordering

Although eating out in a physical establishment is still fun and exciting, things are changing and more people now prefer to order their food online. With this in mind, you should change with the times and offer online ordering. This will not only improve your operations and increase your sales but also retain your customers. Your clientele will have no reason to buy food elsewhere.

6. Adequately Train Employees

If you want to improve operations in your restaurant, it is imperative that you employ staff with the right training. Look for employees who have the right mix of skills and knowledge to avoid spending more money on cross-training. You can also consider providing custom training to your staff to ensure they are competent to handle your specific requirements.

7. Turn Your Customers into Promoters

Your loyal customers are certainly your biggest fans, and they would be more than willing to promote your restaurant to their family, friends, and workmates. However, for this to work, you have to make sure that you prepare tasty, lip-smacking meals every time to ensure your new and existing customers keep coming back for more!

8. Consider Outsourcing

In some cases, your current staff may not be able to handle some aspects of a restaurant business. This is the point where outsourcing comes into play. You should consider hiring experts to help set up the right structures and provide suggestions aimed at improving your operations.

9. Leverage Analytics and Trends

Utilize various reporting and analysis tools to monitor current market trends and know what is happening in your restaurant. Leveraging on analytics and trends will give you an idea of whether you are on the right path to success or not. You can then make the necessary adjustments like employing more staff or scheduling the right software to improve sales.

10. Cross-Train Employees

Cross-training your employees prepares them to be able to do more than one job. For instance, you can cross-train your waiters to be kitchen staff or vice versa. This means your operations will not stall in case one of your most reliable staff is sick or away on leave. However, you should only consider cross-training your most loyal staff to avoid disappointments when they decide to seek employment elsewhere.

Strange Ticks Can Be a Sign of Trouble: 3 Things That Can Lead to CNC Machine Failures

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StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article | Strange Ticks Can Be a Sign of Trouble: 3 Things That Can Lead to CNC Machine FailuresSimilar to any other technological device, the majority of CNC machine problems are caused by insufficient or non-existent maintenance or user error. This means that most issues that a person will run into are within their control. The good news is, there are quite a few things that can be done to avoid these problems in the future.

When it comes to Heavy Duty Machining knowing what can go wrong is half the battle. Keep reading to learn about some of the most common issues that may occur.

1. Causes of Burning on the Exterior Edge of the Material

The good news is that while this issue is common, it is also a problem that is relatively easy to fix. Usually, the issue is the result of a feed speed that is too low or a blunt tool. The first thing to check is to see if the feed speed is right for the material that is being cut. Take time to look at the tool being used, too. Sometimes, all a person has to do is to replace a dull tool with one that is sharper or increase the feed speed if this issue is seen. Keep this in mind to deal with this common issue.

2. Making the Same Mistake More Than Once

The process of CNC machining is something that can take a lifetime to fully understand and learn. There is no point when someone can consider themselves to be a “master” who knows all there is to know about the process. There are new situations that will pop up all the time that require adaptation and new thinking -; even by people who have been using these machines for years or even decades.

This means that someone who wants to use a CNC machine should commit to always learning and taking advantage of new technology and new techniques. If a mistake occurs, see what can be done to change it so that it will not happen again.

3. Chatter

If the CNC machine begins to chatter, it means that it is vibrating while it is working. Chatter is going to occur to the entire machine or just to the tools that are being used. If chatter occurs, then it is going to harm the quality of the work, it will dramatically reduce the tool’s life, and can shorten the CNC machine’s life.

If someone wants to prevent chatter issues from occurring, be sure that the cut depth or width keeps the deflection under 1/1000th of an inch. The majority of CNC machinists will also react as someone slows down with the work that is being done. While this is not always a bad thing, there will be a better solution. Speeding up the work that is being done will also work -; so all a person has to do is to test various RPMs, to begin with.

Dealing with CNC Machining Issues

When it comes to CNC machining there are a lot of things to know. By knowing the various issues that can occur, it is possible to avoid them. Being informed and knowing what to expect when using a CNC machine is essential to make sure that accurate results are achieved.