Welcome to the December edition of Manex ViewPoint, our quarterly e-newsletter.  Each issue provides a wealth of information on innovative solutions to maximize your business performance.

In This Issue:

Client Results
• Results of Our Work with Clients

Upcoming Events
• Manex to Exhibit at PLASTEC West, January 29th – 31st, 2008
• Manex to Showcase Services at Upcoming CLFP Expo, February 5th & 6th, 2008

We invite you to read our previous issues on our website at the following link.

Goodman Ball, Inc., sp3 Diamond Technologies and Wessdel Win Complimentary Peer-to-Peer Executive Consulting Sessions
Congratulations to Goodman Ball, Inc., sp3 Diamond Technologies and Wessdel executives, who will each receive up to four hours of peer-to-peer consulting time with a member of Manex’s senior executive team. These sessions provide an opportunity to assess their company’s current business and identify initiatives to increase top- and bottom-line growth.

Each winner was randomly selected from attendees in Manex’s two educational sessions at the November 13-14 Pacific Coast Machine Tool Expo, the premier regional event for machine tool and industrial manufacturers. Manex was proud to be the exclusive sponsor for the educational sessions and to present two manufacturing sessions. Nearly 2000 manufacturing professionals attended the Expo and dozens attended the seminars focused on Lean and Six Sigma key concepts.

Manex Launches Benchmarking Service
Manex is now offering a benchmarking and business assessment service to assist organizations in making better, more informed decisions to drive company value. This service is based on the "Transforming Planning" tool developed by the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC) which has been recommended by a number of leading industry associations including, Precision Metal Forming Association, the National Tooling and Machining Association, and the Association of Manufacturing Technology.

This service is designed to:

• Compare financial performance against competitors within an industry segment
• Contrast cost structure against other "like" companies
• Assess company performance across 12 key operating metrics
• Identify areas with the greatest opportunities for improvement

Using an in-depth questionnaire, Manex conducts a comprehensive evaluation and analysis of a company's financial and operational metrics and systems. The company's performance is ranked across 12 separate metrics in direct comparison with equivalent organizations. This common set of metrics includes:

• Operating margins (as a % of sales)
• Inventory turns
• Scrap and freight
• Run hours
• Employee turnover and Value-add per FTE

With this critical information and analysis, a company can better understand its position and performance in the industry, resulting in meaningful targets and objectives for future performance.

For more information, please contact Jonathan Lee, jlee@manexconsulting.com.

Tim Dean Joins Manex to Lead its Marketing Efforts
Manex is pleased to announce the addition of Tim Dean to lead its marketing efforts. Tim is responsible for all aspects of Manex’s marketing, including brand marketing and communications, client intelligence, and outbound marketing initiatives.

Tim comes to Manex from Catalyst Connection, an economic consultancy and MEP (Manufacturing Extension Partnership) center for manufacturers in Pittsburgh. PA, where he drove all aspects of their business development and marketing efforts to help local manufacturers grow their business on all levels.

A seasoned executive with more than 20 years of marketing and business development expertise, his previous experience includes senior marketing management roles with Development Dimensions International, a global human resource consulting firm, and Westinghouse, the world’s pioneering nuclear power company.

Tim holds an MBA, with a concentration in marketing, from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University and a BS in Industrial Engineering from Penn State University.

Strengthen Your Supply Chain, Protect Your Brand
*Through its content partnership with IndustryWeek (IW), Manex is pleased to provide an excerpt from this IW article directly to you.  More IW columns and articles can be found on Manex’s website.

Whether your supply chain is domestic or outsourced overseas, you are probably aware of the many negative results of poor supply chain management. Proactively managing your supply chain is the only way to ensure consistent product quality and safety. When choosing a supply chain management program, you should focus on five key elements: traceability, measurement, certification, efficiency and organizational buy-in.

In addition to these five elements, you should understand that your end user is the main driver for any management program. Consider who uses your products, as well as how and where they are used in order to assess all risks.

Supply chain management is not only beneficial to your production executives; its benefits should be known among your sales and marketing departments as well. Brand management, reputation and respect all result from producing and selling safe, quality items. As the news media point out, consumers feel very strongly about product safety issues. Reinforce the benefits of supply chain management from the top of your organization downward by highlighting the profitability and marketability that comes with quality.

The full article can be found at the following link.

Results of Our Work with Clients
In our most recent independent survey of “client impact” conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), our clients reported the following significant benefits as a result of retaining Manex as their strategic consulting partner:

• Increased Sales by $100 Million
• Saved $14 Million in Operating Costs
• Prevented $25 Million in Expenditures
• Secured 912 Manufacturing Jobs

While many manufacturers engage consultants for cost savings initiatives, our holistic approach has advanced both top- and bottom-line performance.

Manex to Exhibit at PLASTEC West, January 29th – 31st, 2008
Manex will exhibit at PLASTEC West, the only plastics processing show for the West Coast’s $25 Billion marketplace.  The event will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center on January 29th – 31st, 2008. Come visit us at booth #3882.

PLASTEC West includes attendance from more than 45,000 manufacturing professionals and 3000 exhibitors, and is a feature of the West Coast’s largest advanced design and manufacturing tradeshow. As a result of the co-location with the world’s largest medical manufacturing show and the West Coast’s premiere packaging event, admission to PLASTEC West includes complimentary admission to seven industry-related shows taking place all under one roof: MD&M West, WestPack, Pacific Design & Manufacturing, Electronics West, Automation Technology Expo (ATX), PTX West, and Green Manufacturing.

For more information and to register, please read more.

Manex to Showcase Services at Upcoming CLFP Expo, February 5th & 6th, 2008
Manex will showcase in booth #225 at the California League of Food Processors (CLFP) Expo.  The event will be held at the Sacramento Convention Center on February 5th & 6th, 2008. 

This annual tradeshow is exclusively designed for California’s dynamic fruit and vegetable processing industry and includes two days of informative industry meetings, workshops, and seminars. The event provides suppliers unparalleled access to key industry representatives and decision makers from food processing facilities throughout the state.  More than 200 exhibitors from processing facilities throughout the region attend the event.

For more information and to register, please read more