2126 results found

1. Project Control

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2. Procurement Lesson learn

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3. Problems with moisture

   Pneumatic conveying system is the most preferred material handling method for powders. Cement and flyash are commonly conveyed pneumatic ally in the plant.
   Distance of conveying, conveying rate and properties of conveyed material are important factors affecting determinants like pipe diameter, air quality and quantity, selection of system components and power consumption.
   Performance of one of my system was substantially reduced due to poor air quality than specified - presence of moisture. The impact of performance reduction was so large that it threatened the plant operation.
   This was due to the property of material being conveyed. Hygroscopic material needs to have completely dry air. Little moisture in the air reduced the operating diameter and ultimately chocked the pipe.

   Pneumatic conveying system is the most preferred material handling method for powders. Cement and flyash are commonly conveyed pneumatic ally in the plant.
   Distance of conveying, conveying rate and properties of conveyed material are important factors affecting determinants like pipe diameter, air quality and quantity, selection of system components and power consumption.
   Performance of one of my system was substantially reduced due to poor air quality than specified - presence of moisture. The impact of performance reduction was so large that it threatened the plant operation.
   This was due to the property of material being conveyed. Hygroscopic material needs to… more

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4. 5 ways to cut costs without cutting quality

   You have a great product idea, but it’s just too expensive. Fortunately, there are ways to cut costs and maintain your product’s integrity.

   1. Material cost. What materials are you using? Are there comparable materials at a cheaper cost? If the answer is no, shop around for a better price. Consider making an agreement with the seller, such as more materials upfront for a cheaper cost.

   2. Evaluate the design. Is everything on your product necessary? Is there an additional feature or visual aspect (ex. Chrome plating) that you can remove? Even small changes positively affect overall cost.

   3. Crowd fund. Crowd funding through sources like Kickstarter is a viable option, especially for start-up companies or sole inventors. Those interested will offer their money and advice—perhaps giving additional solutions to make the product better.

   4. Find the right company. Look for a company that has several locations nationally and internationally. Companies like Pivot International also help their clients reduce costs by finding deals throughout their global manufacturing network.

   5. Utilizing just-in-time production. Consider manufacturing the product on as needed basis. This reduces costs by cutting overstocking in inventory and only ordering what is needed when necessary.

   Hannah Nava loves writing about any topic, and product creation is no exception. She currently writes about business topics on behalf of Pivot International. When not marrying words, Hannah enjoys reading science fiction, fantasy, and dystopian works; sipping margaritas (always frozen); and trying to make the world a happier place. Tweet her @hannahmnava or see what's new at hannahnava.com.

   You have a great product idea, but it’s just too expensive. Fortunately, there are ways to cut costs and maintain your product’s integrity.

   1. Material cost. What materials are you using? Are there comparable materials at a cheaper cost? If the answer is no, shop around for a better price. Consider making an agreement with the seller, such as more materials upfront for a cheaper cost.

   2. Evaluate the design. Is everything on your product necessary? Is there an additional feature or visual aspect (ex. Chrome plating) that you can remove? Even small changes positively affect overall cost.

   3. Crowd fund. Crowd funding… more

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5. The Evolution of HR Audits
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6. Applying Financial Strategy Concepts To Media Companies

   Leveraging financial strategy knowledge and experience in the world of small & medium media (film, video, music, gaming, etc.) companies is an art that can bring significant gains to all parties involved.

   Learn how to adapt and modify some of the classical concepts to ensure strong client engagement and accelerated revenue growth & profitability.

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7. Precision Drugs

   PRECISION DRUGS
   Karel Petrak, D. Phil.

   Abstract
   Precision medicine is an approach to prevent and treat diseases that takes into account people’s individual variations in genes, environment, and lifestyle. In the first approximation, precision medicine may provide a more accurate diagnosis of the disease such as cancer, but may not offer improved therapies.

   The aim of drug targeting is to generate pharmacologically effective drug concentration at the site of disease while keeping a very low/minimal drug concentration in the rest of the body. Targeted drugs could be the “precision drugs” needed to bring precision medicine into the clinical practice. However, a new paradigm needs to be adopted to make “precision drugs” a reality.

   Introduction
   More than 100 years ago, Professor Paul Ehrlich discovered Salvarsan, an arsenic compound that killed syphilis-causing bacterium; however, the compound was also harmful to human host [1]. Prof. Ehrlich prophesized in 1906 that chemists “would soon be able to produce substances that would seek out specific disease-causing agents” [2]. He used the term “magische kugel”, a “magic bullet”.

   Very few drugs have been developed so far to act as “magic bullets”, with a notable exception of antibodies having therapeutic effect [3-4]. Conventional drug-development process produces drugs that distribute broadly throughout the body and act on their pharmacological targets associated not only with the disease but also the normal cells. Consequently, both desirable and undesirable drug effects are elicited. The vision of Paul Ehrlich inspired, excited and motivated scientists over a century. One of the approaches that have been given a considerable effort over many years has been to deliver, “target” existing drugs to specific disease sites. These efforts have been largely unsuccessful [5-6]. Looking for “magic bullets” is a flawed concept – we cannot rely on “magic”, and thinking of an “intelligent” bullet is an oxymoron. Instead, we need to adopt the concept of “precision drugs”.

   Precision Medicine is a medical-research area aiming to amass population genetic data with the aim of “discovering genetic causes of disease and finding new drugs that will target dangerous mutations” [7]. The aim of precision medicine is to “generate the scientific evidence needed to move the concept of precision medicine into clinical practice” [8-9]. The issue that is not being addressed as yet is that putting into practice the mechanistic and diagnostic findings of precision medicine will require the availability and use of corresponding precision drugs, precision therapeutic agents.

   In the first approximation, precision medicine may provide a more accurate diagnosis of the disease such as cancer, but may not have the means to offer an improved therapy. Targeting cells in which a precisely diagnosed mechanism drives disease, such as for example any particular cancer, will very likely need “precision drugs” / “precision medications” that are yet to be developed.

   In a recent publication [10] I critically reviewed this topic and concluded that the most plausible paradigm for the future development of site-specific drug-delivery systems is to combine monoclonal antibodies (or other targeting entities such receptor ligands, etc.) with drugs that meet the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic requirements of this application. A new paradigm needs to be adopted that centers on “self-targeting carriers” such as antibodies combined with “high-potency” drugs specifically selected or developed de novo that fully meet the specific pharmacokinetic requirements of targeted drug delivery.

   References
   1. Michael P. Sherman. Historical Perspective: Perinatal Profiles: Elie Metchnikoff: Probiotic Pioneer. NeoReviews 2011;12;e495-e497.
   http://neoreviews.aappublications.org/content/12/9/e495.full
   2. http://www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in-history/themes/pharmaceuticals/preventing-and-treating-infectious-diseases/ehrlich.aspx
   3. Scott AM, Wolchok JD and Lloyd J. Old LJ. Antibody therapy of cancer. Nature Reviews Cancer 12, 278-287 (April 2012) | doi:10.1038/nrc3236.
   4. http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/treatmenttypes/immunotherapy/immunotherapy-monoclonal-antibodies
   5. Petrak, K. Nanotechnology and site-targeted drug delivery. J. Biomater. Sci. in Special Issue on Nanobiomaterials (Vasif Hasirci and Karel Petrak, Eds.), vol. 17, no. 11, pp. 1209-1221 (2006).
   6. Petrak, K. Targeted Drug Delivery––Quo Vadis? Drug Development Research Volume 73, Issue 2, pages 59–65, March 2012. Article first published online: 29 DEC 2011. DOI: 10.1002/ddr.20492.
   7. http://www.nih.gov/precisionmedicine/
   8. http://www.nih.gov/precisionmedicine/infographic-printable.pdf
   9. http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/precisionmedicine/initiative
   10. Petrak K., Precision Medicine and Site-specific Drug Delivery. Archives in Cancer Research, Volume 3, Issue 3 (in press).

   Postscript
   Precision Medicine will need Precision Drugs. I am keen to discuss, collaborate with or mentor anyone interested in working towards this goal. KP

   PRECISION DRUGS
   Karel Petrak, D. Phil.

   Abstract
   Precision medicine is an approach to prevent and treat diseases that takes into account people’s individual variations in genes, environment, and lifestyle. In the first approximation, precision medicine may provide a more accurate diagnosis of the disease such as cancer, but may not offer improved therapies.

   The aim of drug targeting is to generate pharmacologically effective drug concentration at the site of disease while keeping a very low/minimal drug concentration in the rest of the body. Targeted drugs could be the “precision drugs” needed to bring precision medicine into the clinical practice. However,… more

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8. The Expert Witness - Key to Winning

   The role of the expert witness in costruction litigation.

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9. The Alphabet Soup of Laboratory Informatics

   Have you heard of companies who think they need a LIMS when they really need an ELN? Or, possibly, you don't even know what all the acronyms mean. Well, join the club - they continue to evolve and confuse even the experts. This article will discuss how to swim with the alphabet soup without getting schooled by making the wrong selection.

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10. YOU MEAN ONE MORE SOFTWARE IS REQUIRED FOR RUNNING YOUR SOFTWARE ?

    It was circa March 1999 and I was working in a small software company (CITIL – Citicorp Information Technology Industries Limited) which was specializing in core banking products. This company went to become a giant in the core banking space and was subsequently acquired by Oracle in 2005. In the late 90’s if you were working in a software company by default you would land up in US or UK on a project.

    I had an eventful association with CITIL for a long time and approximately 90% of its core banking business was coming from Africa. So by default if you travelled from this company on a project it was to Africa. My friends used to be bewildered when I used to say that I am going to an African country on a Software project – Reason being Africa and Software never went hand in hand together for many in those days and I guess it might be the truth today also.

    Amidst this background I had gone to office one day and it was business as usual suddenly when one of my bosses ( I never used to know who my boss was in those days – as we resources were in a pool and the cherry picking bosses used to pick the right fruits for the right assignment) called me with all his 32 pearly whites visible and said “ I WANT YOU TO TRAVEL” – I just dreaded the moment as I had just returned from Ghana (For those of you wondering where Ghana is – it is in West Africa) after a 8 month assignment. I contained my emotions but in vain – My boss could see the pain on my face – so he made a ‘Project sweetener” and that was I would be travelling to Vanuatu – an island – a paradise. I had never heard this name before “VANUATU” – I wanted to be sure I heard it correctly – I asked my boss which country it was the second time he said Vanuatu and it is in pacific islands. He said he is going for lunch and will speak to me after lunch about the project.

    In those days in the absence of google or any online search engines – I went to the library to figure out where Vanuatu was. I took out the Atlas and sat next to the globe which was there in the library. After a microscopic search I realized it was a small island in the south pacific ocean. Next my mind was on the travel route and I realized I had to travel either via Sydney or Auckland – Excitement had sky rocketed inside me.

    Finally the “D” Day arrived I travelled to Vanuatu (Bangalore –Singapore-Auckland-Vanuatu). I was simply blown up by my first impression of Vanuatu – It was simply a paradise – the pristine beautiful beaches, the lush greenery and the happy go lucky locals, I reached the hotel where I was supposed to stay and then the reality stuck me that I had come for a software project and not a holiday.

    The next day armed with my software kit and my ubiquitous bag I set out to start my first day on the project. I was welcomed by an elderly Aussie who was in his 50’s. After a brief introduction he introduced me to the management team of the bank who were all Aussies incidentally. So post the formalities I was supposed to commence installation of the software on the banks server. The operations manager introduced me to the IT head (Local Vanuatu) and said he will show the server where the software had to be installed.

    As I was walking with the IT head – I asked him what kind of server is there which is used for production – His response was it was “white server and a big one”. His response sent some shivers down my spine as I was getting the enormity of the task in front of me. Finally I got hold of the server with which my fortunes and life were to be associated for the next 7 months.
    I started my work in all earnest and downloaded the contents from the CD to the server and typed the required commands in the server. The Banking software – Microbanker (MB) – (Microbanker was the earlier avatar of current FLEXCUBE software) was not getting installed even after giving the necessary commands and I started my investigation process. After a brief investigation I realized the environment software necessary for running our banking software was not installed on the server. I enquired about the same to the IT head.

    The discussion went somewhat as below between me and the IT Head:
    Bank IT Head : What’s the issue? “You mean you need something called operating system and Environmental software to run your software?”
    Me : !@#$ u….. maan… (I was pretending to smile)

    I was on the verge of losing my cool, I thought it might not be prudent to get in to a direct confrontation on Day 1.I spoon fed him or rather pigeon fed him that operating system and Environmental software are mandatory to run our application. To be fair enough to the IT head he seemed to have understood what I had said fairly quickly and he in turn escalated it to the Operations manager.

    All hell broke loose when the issue was escalated as the bank blamed me and the company for not having informed them earlier that certain environmental software need to be in place. I had to recover lost ground as I was being blamed for no fault of mine. My presence of mind in spite of the mounting pressure made me tell the bank that this would have been mentioned as part of contract. To my bad luck contract never made any mention of it and it took some persuasion skills to pacify the bank.

    The issue here was the project implementation had to be completed in a certain timeline and the environmental software (Business Basic BBX) which was required was not available easily of the shelf. We had to reach the supplier in US who said it will take 3 weeks to deliver the software and on top of it was costing the bank 200K USD – This was something the bank had not budgeted for – again the entire brunt of this was borne by me as the bank was not ready for this kind of spend all of a sudden. They knew that if the environmental software was not procured the actual project could not commence. Finally the order was placed and the software arrived after a month or so.

    What happened further on the project made me go through several emotions over the next 8 months – angry, laugh at myself, frustration, inspired, helpless, determined to make things work against odds… I can probably write a book or even make a short film on my experience in Vanuatu. Coming back to the main story the implementation project went in full swing post the installation phase and had its own share of challenges. In between I managed to enjoy the local Melanesian hospitality and visit some of the local islands and the world’s only living volcano.

    To know more about Vanuatu and core banking projects reach out to me Prakhash@bfsiconsulting.com.

    It was circa March 1999 and I was working in a small software company (CITIL – Citicorp Information Technology Industries Limited) which was specializing in core banking products. This company went to become a giant in the core banking space and was subsequently acquired by Oracle in 2005. In the late 90’s if you were working in a software company by default you would land up in US or UK on a project.

    I had an eventful association with CITIL for a long time and approximately 90% of its core banking business was coming from Africa. So by default if… more

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11. Corn Output Up in the U.S. published in September 2, 2014 by Zintro

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12. A History of the Reverse Auction

    Some believe that reverse auctions are the latest fad and at the forefront of modern thinking.

    This is incorrect, as the following shows that even in the years before the birth of Christ, downward bidding was a well know practice.
    Excerpt from Histories of Herodotus (born 484BC), translated by George Rawlinson.

    “The richest of the Babylonians who wished to wed bid against each other for the loveliest maidens, while the humbler wife-seekers, who were indifferent about beauty, took the more homely damsels with marriage-portions. For the custom was that when the herald had gone through the whole number of the beautiful damsels, he should then call up the ugliest and offer her to the men, asking who would agree to take her with the smallest marriage-portion. And the man who offered to take the smallest sum had her assigned to him.”

    Scholars have since argued that Herodotus was simply recounting a myth and never visited Persia yet there is no doubt he was describing – A Reverse Auction!

    I conducted my first iterative supply competition in 1982 (a forerunner to reverse auctions).

    I needed to obtain 50+ Heavy 360° excavators per annum for various UK locations and to source them at the most competitive prices.

    These machines needed to be fully guaranteed and maintained and supplied complete with sophisticated attachments such as grapples and electro magnets.

    The contract that I placed was for a £20 million rolling five-year contract and included guaranteed buybacks set at 85% of the purchase price.

    It wasn't many years later and well before the Internet was created that I was undertaking reverse auctions for power supplies using Killer-Stream lines as the method of instant communication.

    In the late 90’s I designed and my firm developed the most advanced interactive reverse auction software available in Europe and encouraged leading organisations to use reverse auctions to purchase all manner of goods and services.

    These converts included prestigious organisations such as:

    ThyssenKrupp, BMW, NHS Trusts, Ministry of Defence and our Office of Government Commerce.

    I asked buyers if they had encountered suppliers questioning them why they had lost contracts when price was the issue. The feedback was that this did happen and disgruntled suppliers had often commented, “If only we had known the amounts you had been offered we would have reduced our prices by…”

    In modern parlance, the reverse auction is the final part of an interactive and iterative process that allows suppliers to refine prices, in a fair and equitable way.

    However buyers need to ensure ongoing harmony so it is unwise for a reverse auction to be used as a crude tool simply to reduce prices.

    The commercial benefits of auctions is maximised when buyers interact with potential suppliers and procurement advisors to ensure that the tender and auctions processes address real commercial needs rather than historic perceived needs.

    It is surprising how often competitions follow historic contract terms that do not involve the latest or the most commercial supply solutions. Reverse auctions are complex and should only be used when you are aware of all relevant factors including projected commercial costs. When you compete a supply by auction you need to understand the price level at which you should expect the contract to be placed before you start the auction process. All good purchasing software and buying consultancy’s have procedures that enable them to remove spurious bids that have forced prices to uneconomic levels and are able to reinstate bid prices submitted to the commercial bid level attained prior to the unrealistic prices being entered.

    To understand the opportunity reverse auctions can bring to the buyer and the supplier it is essential to appreciate the way the processes work. I have conducted auctions covering hundreds of thousands of items and can say without contradiction that following my auctions:
    · Every winning bidder has honoured their contract commitment
    · No existing supplier has refused to take part in any auction.
    · The savings were real and averaged over 30%
    · The largest saving in a competition that I can publicise was over $165 million
    · I was able to successfully conduct purchase auctions no matter how complex the need
    · The largest auction my we conducted was for a supply valued at $2.4 billion +

    Some of the basic auction facts: (there can be variances dependant upon the software)
    · Reverse auctions can be live and held at any location
    · Bids can be received using the Internet, phone or other controlled communication
    · It helps when auctions follow a convention paper or e-tender
    · In auctions suppliers can see their bid and the lowest bids
    · You are able to view the bidding as it happens
    · Auctions include rating factors to produce “Best Value” (not always the same as the lowest cost)
    · Relationships with suppliers need not be affected provided the process is fair and open and all communication is 100% truthful and reliable
    · No service or supply is exempt from benefits of the auction process
    · Auction software is important, but often the auction itself does not create the majority of the savings
    You can insist that your auction detail is confidential, however be mindful that you cannot restrict the distribution of information that you have put into the public domain during the tender/auction process.

    The following is in the public domain so I am authorised to use the detail to demonstrate benefits auctions can generate and to help you fully understand how.

    I refer to the first auction ever commissioned by the commercial arm of The UK Treasury. We were commissioned to undertake an auction to teach The Office of Government Commerce how reverse auctions worked. Our contract was with their operational arm, OGCbuying.solutions.

    I was asked to evaluate current contracts for the supply of tissues for Army ration pacts. In this process I was requested to show them how I would commercially structured this competition at each stage.

    Prior to competing this requirement I had to fully understand their procurement needs and they needed to understand the savings opportunity. To do this my team expended circa 20-man days researching the need prior to issuing the e-tender.
    We had investigated the current supply including the product specification, the ordering process, quality of supply, labour usage, delivery and competition in the market place. We product-tested tissues offered by potential suppliers and recommended to MoD/OGC that the following contract changes be made.

    · Increase the pack sizes from 9 tissues per pack to 10 tissues per pack
    · The MOD order sizes be regularised
    · Packaging should be simplified
    · We should introduce additional suppliers
    · The contract should be issued as a framework agreement.

    A case study produced by OGCbuying.solutions highlights that we created savings of about £750,000 on a £1.1 million spend (66%) and produced a betterment of 80%. See http://dld.bz/cbJGD

    What can be auctioned? I have been unable to find any supply or service that cannot be successfully auctioned and even a major refurbishment contract saved $17 million on a projected $32 million contract. Provided the purchase or supply can be specified in detail it can be auctioned and if you cannot accurately specify what you need then you cannot tender for the supply in any European country.

    www.cygnetconsultancy.com

    Some believe that reverse auctions are the latest fad and at the forefront of modern thinking.

    This is incorrect, as the following shows that even in the years before the birth of Christ, downward bidding was a well know practice.
    Excerpt from Histories of Herodotus (born 484BC), translated by George Rawlinson.

    “The richest of the Babylonians who wished to wed bid against each other for the loveliest maidens, while the humbler wife-seekers, who were indifferent about beauty, took the more homely damsels with marriage-portions. For the custom was that when the herald had gone through the whole number of the… more

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13. 5 Roadblocks to strategy execution

    Strategy process by nature is

    Evolutionary (Intended vs. Emergent) and
    Dynamic (Ever-changing macro & micro environment
    Because of this inherent nature, more often than not it becomes fairly complex and this complexity is potent enough to derail the execution. However there are other factors which play a crucial role in successful execution of any strategy at any level. If these factors are not contained, they become barriers.

    In my opinion, some of the key roadblocks in strategy execution are following:

    Extended time frame of strategy formulation:Strategy formulation should be time bound to ensure the assumptions are valid and the strategic options that one chooses as the outcome of the process are relevant. In my opinion, 3 months is a fair time for this process. However, you can fine-tune the strategy as per changing realities over a period of time.

    “Mis” communication: Change in strategy at any level is accompanied by multitude of changes in process, business models etc. If the impending changes are not assessed and managed well, the outcome is at risk. The most crucial aspect of change management is communication. Communication should ensure common understanding of strategy across all the levels in the organization. It will not only help in ensuring buy-in at all levels but also ensure commitment from all.

    Ownership shift: If the team which is entrusted with strategy execution is different from one which developed the strategy then this will prove to be a deterrent during the execution. Ownership is usually shifted down the hierarchy considering execution as a lesser mortal as compared to strategy development. In my opinion, the same team should develop as well as execute strategy. This will ensure the strategy which is put on the table is practical at the same time there is no room for misunderstanding.

    Demotivated executioners: Half the battle is lost if the team responsible for execution is not motivated. Demotivation can creep in from multiple dimensions such as limited access to resources, missing capabilities, deficient empowerment, confusing action plan and misalignment of awards with the outcome.

    Priority drift (leadership) and lack of measurement: This is the most important roadblock during strategy execution. There is a lot of fanfare when the strategy gets developed. Senior management allocates lot of bandwidth to this exercise but focus shifts to other activities by the time it comes to execution. Execution usually is pushed to a corner because of the fact that execution it is a time taking process and senior executives have a shorter attention span. Also, the outcome of the strategy execution in the initial stages is not tangible and this might be the causal effect of this priority drift.

    Strategy is not as good as it is developed but it’s only as good as it is executed.

    Do you have a similar observation? Do let me know.

    To read more click https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/24316550

    Strategy process by nature is

    Evolutionary (Intended vs. Emergent) and
    Dynamic (Ever-changing macro & micro environment
    Because of this inherent nature, more often than not it becomes fairly complex and this complexity is potent enough to derail the execution. However there are other factors which play a crucial role in successful execution of any strategy at any level. If these factors are not contained, they become barriers.

    In my opinion, some of the key roadblocks in strategy execution are following:

    Extended time frame of strategy formulation:Strategy formulation should be time bound to ensure the assumptions are valid and the strategic… more

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14. How I Learned Not To Fear Russia and Made Lots of Money

    How I Learned Not To Fear Russia and Made Lots of Money by Stanislov-Krapivnik

    Many business executives have looked towards Russia and have wandered….is it worth it…and then they switched on CNN or Bloomberg or picked up the NY Times or the Economist and got a fill of Russophobia. This is a horrible way to base key business decisions on but unfortunately, this is how many if not most initial such decisions are made in the context of Russia.

    Like any possible target for overseas business expansion, those looking at Russia need to go through several key steps.

    Flush the stereotypes down the drain…especially those that deal with Russia, as they are often 20-30 years behind reality.
    Do key distance research. This should be non-emotionally, mass media information, such as the Ease of Doing Business ratings or other abstract economic publications.
    Do research on the spot. While this may include meeting a possible key supplier or customer or partner, this should be done more to the reality of the country and region in which you are considering working. This is a form of business tourism and should be done with a knowledgeable guide.
    Hire a sound representative to help develop the base for your market entry. This should be a person who understands not just English and Russian but one who also soundly understands both cultures, particularly business cultures. If this person already has a range of market contacts, all the better.
    Use your contact person to find partners to help you enter the market if you are moving in to sell or build and suppliers if you are seeking to source.
    With your new found partners in a Joint Venture, begin your market entry…good luck.
    While this can of course be done with in house resources, without a proper guide/representative, chances of success are severely lowered. So why take the chance, when Step 3-5 are absolutely crucial to any success?

    I am one such experienced person, with vast market contacts and ability to generate more as needed. A person with full understanding of Western corporate culture as well as Russian corporate culture and the experience to back it.

    So if you are looking to make this positive and crucial move, do not delay, now really are the times to grab the reins, times that have not been here since the early 90s. I can be reached at stas.krapivnik@gmail.com

    Sincerely

    How I Learned Not To Fear Russia and Made Lots of Money by Stanislov-Krapivnik

    Many business executives have looked towards Russia and have wandered….is it worth it…and then they switched on CNN or Bloomberg or picked up the NY Times or the Economist and got a fill of Russophobia. This is a horrible way to base key business decisions on but unfortunately, this is how many if not most initial such decisions are made in the context of Russia.

    Like any possible target for overseas business expansion, those looking at Russia need to go through several key steps.

    Flush the… more

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15. How to attract customers to your products and services. By Menissen-Mootien

    A retailer, a wholesaler or a businessman are always ready to sell their products or services but very often their main problem is a low sales of their goods. Most of the people who want to do a business think only about how much money they can get and not what to sell to achieve the amount of money they want. ' WHAT TO SELL' OR ' WHAT TO PUT IN FRONT OF THE CUSTOMER' is the main idea to define if you want to attract customers and have your share on the market. Many people or company will say, marketing is the main part to elaborate or to put in practice If we want to attract customers, there is only one truth in it; it is important but not at all the main part. So what is the magical way to think in order to create a high purchasing demand for us. The first question that every businessman or company ignore is ' what is a customer?', for example if we are in a class and the teacher ask us to use a word like key in a paragraph, we would not be able to use it unless we know the meaning of the word; 'key'. So it is the same here in case of the customers, we would not be able to attract a client unless we know, what is a client? So the subject is very important to be understood before we can pass in it and make it one of our expertise. The answer to our question is; a customer is a person, male or female, who want to buy a particular product or service which is very important to them as it will be very effective for them in what they want to do. If you read the answer carefully you will see I said a customer is a person firstly, you must understand that a person is someone like you and not an object which you must gain. A person is a human who is alive on earth and always looking for good commodity or service which will really help them, and a human being want always to be in a place where there is trust. So a company or businessman must firstly create a product or service which is really important and helpful for a human being, and secondly the commodity must be good and not made with bad raw material, it must be made with good material and well build or develop, a service must also be the same; helpful, adding something valuable to the person's life and a service they can trust throughout their life. By producing a good which is needful for the people and where the condition is being trusted, automatically people will come to buy the particular product because it is obvious that they will buy something that will help them. So a product in order to be sold, it must be helpful and trustworthy. Lets say you start producing milk in bottle and selling it, this is a helpful commodity and important one, everyone need to drink milk, but it must be also in good quality! As soon as the commodity is important and in good quality, its very natural that you will attract customers, as they say in economics, customers passes information of good products to each other. The same theory will happen here if you have these two aspects in your good or service, and week after week you will gain more customers over the market. Moreover we should also know that a product price must equal it's value, we can not sell a pair of shoes for $100,000, it is not worthy at all unless it is made with diamond and gold, still it is not important to have such shoes. The percentage of people on earth who will not buy such kind of shoes is much more greater than some 10 people who want to buy it. A 2 litres bottle of good quality milk can be sold at $2.50, so we need to produce an important and quality good in order to be able to build trust between us and our customers and thus be able to attract them easily. It is to be noted that marketing is a process to communicate the value and information of a product to a person so that the person know what is being proposed to them, but if the product has no value to them and will not help them, we will not be able to attract them, in fact many people will try to run away from us as information of bad products is also spread rapidly. As a whole we will say there is nothing about fooling the people in order to make them to buy our products as it will not last long, we must rather say that it is all about selling the right and good commodity to our people, and thus our business will definitely shine.

    By Mr Menissen M K Mootien

    A retailer, a wholesaler or a businessman are always ready to sell their products or services but very often their main problem is a low sales of their goods. Most of the people who want to do a business think only about how much money they can get and not what to sell to achieve the amount of money they want. ' WHAT TO SELL' OR ' WHAT TO PUT IN FRONT OF THE CUSTOMER' is the main idea to define if you want to attract customers and have your share on the market. Many people or company will say,… more

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16. Self-Adhesive Paper Reel Calculator

    I was searching the Internet for a practical solution to calculate the diameter of self adhesive reels and I found an article named "Methodology for Calculating of the Diameter and the Length of Pressure Adhesive Coil", by Prof Dr Marcos Georges http://bit.ly/1w0mXUC from which I adapted the spreadsheet ,which is available in Portuguese and English on http://1drv.ms/12XGgDq.

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17. What thread sealant to use with PVC fittings!

    This is a common question that is asked by installers when assembling PVC tapered pipe threads in a piping system. There is a common misconception that Teflon sealant or tape is the best for ALL threaded joints.

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18. Effects of making the right decision.

    I have one dollar and I can buy one soap but I do not really need a soap for the time being. What will be my decision? I buy it now so that I can have it for the future or I do not spend on it as I do not need it for now. Making the right decision in your life is very important, by taking the right path you will stay on a good track and thus be more profitable. If we take the case of the soap, most people will say if i do not need it , I do not have to buy it, this is in fact a very good decision because there are so kind of people who just buy goods and then do not use it at all, it just because it is good looking, so they just buy it. One way to recognise those people is most of the time they will say they have debts and despite saying it several times, you will always see them at a store buying some expensive goods. Its ridiculous, right! But its a big truth! Coming back to the soap situation, how will we take the right decision in this moment; first thing we should consider is if we buy it will we prevent ourself buying something more important after, if no then we see if the commodity is on sale and if the sale is worth it, because if it is not on sale and we do not need it for now, so why we will buy it, you must always have a good reason, remember this! If it is on sale and we are not going to have the same price in the future so it is worth that we spend on it as we will save money and will not have to pay the soap more expensively in the future. Futhermore if the price is not good and you can have it similarly in the future or even if it will become more cheaper then it is not worth buying it. As we have seen taking the right decision can make you save for the future in the present and it is just not for one product or opportunity in your life, it could be for several and thus making great profit and achieving good result in your life. Making the right decision affect many areas of your life; business, marriage, growing profits, making money, leading a happy life and many more. Thinking well and attentively and using your mind smartly will always help you. But do not worry, we will be discussing more on making the right decision and detail steps to take to make it in future coming articles.

    By Menissen M K Mootien.

    I have one dollar and I can buy one soap but I do not really need a soap for the time being. What will be my decision? I buy it now so that I can have it for the future or I do not spend on it as I do not need it for now. Making the right decision in your life is very important, by taking the right path you will stay on a good track and thus be more profitable. If we take the case of the soap, most people will say if i do not need it… more

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19. Health Care

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20. Evolution in Marketing strategy and Consumer insight - Mahesh Rao (msrao@hotmail.com)

    Evolution in Marketing strategy and Consumer insight

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