Have Rotational Molders Joined the Paper Chase?
by Robert Dunne
Developing new markets for rotomolding expands the pie
and creates more opportunities for everyone.
While some people may contend there is an excess of
attorneys, you might be surprised to learn that on my first
day of law school, the professor urged each of us to take a
good look at the people sitting next to us because one in
three would not be there to start year two. Students weren’t
expected to drop out due to financial hardship or an inability to
learn the law. Rather, they were expected to drop out due to an
intentional process of weeding people out, a well-honed system
built on competition pitting each student against the other.
This hyper-competitive environment was revealed superbly in
the movie Paper Chase, which followed the day to day lives of
a group of students struggling to survive their time in Harvard
Law School.
With grades, clerkships, law review positions and other
achievements based on a comparison against other students,
the pressure to succeed at the expense of one’s own roommate
often drove otherwise honest, trustworthy young adults
into some shady territory. One example shown in the movie
depicted a group of students breaking into the library in the
dead of night to tear critical pages out of research books.
They would know the required case law to pass the next day’s
exam or homework assignment. but everyone else would be
left in the dark.
Now that the majority of required case law and other class
materials are available online, you might think these tactics
would be obsolete and the playing field leveled, but not so.
Some of today’s students seem to intentionally post fraudulent
class notes and false information on blogs and legal websites
to throw students who miss class off the case, among other
tactics. Regardless of the school, industry or century, wherever
people compete for limited resources or opportunities,
whether it’s a prized internship, a promotion or a customer,
some people will sublimate their virtuous values to the desire
to win against rivals at any cost.
There may be similarities in rotational molding. Rotomolders
enjoy being part of a small, relatively close-knit community.
We discuss issues at association meetings and at specialized
SPE conferences, but once back in the office, some of us
seem to inadvertently conduct business in ways that may
harm our industry without even being aware of the impact
on other businesses.
Bid Process Issues
Consider the process of a competitive bid, for example.
Typically, a customer would prefer to make an apples to apples
comparison of one rotational molder to another. Yet in the
course of trying to be perceived as the “lower cost molder,”
many molders may exclude key items from their bids. Costs
for product design and engineering, quality control and testing
(including ISO documentation), research and development,
traffic and freight and design analysis for continuous product
improvement and other services are often hidden from the
customer. In some cases, molders may not account for these
costs as actual costs on their books and
therefore do not address them in their
bids. In other cases, molders do actually
incur these costs but decide not to
address them in their bids, sometimes
with the intent of buying the job and
raising the price shortly thereafter to
reach profitability. No matter how
these services are labeled internally,
they still represent costs.
Confining the purchase decision to
a litmus test based solely on the price
per piece of rotomolded product in this manner
effectively devalues and commoditizes every
facet of a rotomolder’s operation. From the
excellence of our customer service to the
creativity of our design engineers, to the
tenacity of our own purchasing teams,
constantly contending that these costs do
not exist or are unnecessary and then failing
to itemize and recognize them as costs,
implies their corresponding value is zero.
This adversely affects the perception of
rotomolders and makes an accurate apples to
apples comparison of bids virtually impossible
for even the most experienced purchaser.
Customers with little experience in hiring a rotational molder
may be confounded by the disparity of one bid to another
from seemingly comparable companies. This is the purchaser
who suddenly stops returning calls and emails after six
months of work in product design and preparation for tooling
development only to eventually reveal the hiring of a "lower
cost molder". The fact that this molder does not offer design
services doesn’t even enter into the equation. Neither do the
impressive improvements your team has made to the design
nor the slick 3-D model you developed overnight when the
customer needed it for the board meeting presentation.
Customers with more experience may study their bids with a
far more watchful - and skeptical eye. Especially when working
with a complex part, skilled purchasers analyze the cost of the
entire project life cycle and read between the line items of
bids to assess every facet of the project including initial design,
lead time, quality, freight, track record and other areas, both
qualitative and quantitative, to better differentiate one bid
from another and more precisely determine the true costs of
the project and of conducting a business relationship.
Expert purchasers understand the difference between the
"low bidder" and the low cost provider. When the low bidder
delivers an inferior or unattractive part or product, it carries
a cost that did not appear on the bid, but will surely impact
whether the product sells as anticipated or withstands the
punishment that is required. Such failures affect the brand
of the customer’s company and leave the rotational molding
process left to bear the blame. The molder in question will
likely exit the industry in a short time leaving untold numbers
of purchasers believing it wasn’t the vendor personally, but
rotomolding itself that caused the project to come up short,
and leaving the rest of us to suffer the consequences. Over
time, many purchasers will simply cease to consider rotomolding
as a viable process and fewer and fewer projects will become
available for bid no matter how seemingly low the cost.
The Rotomolding Community Worldwide
Actually, it isn’t necessary for rotational molders around the
world to hold hands and sing by the campfire as one big, happy
family. We are rivals often competing for the same business.
But for our industry to thrive, we need to pay careful attention
to how we present ourselves in the marketplace and how we
praise or criticize each other when among customers and
suppliers. Fairly representing our capabilities, the capabilities
of other rotomolders and the strengths of rotomolding versus
other processes helps ensure the project is awarded to
the rotomolding company that can deliver most efficiently,
effectively and truly at the lowest cost. Rather than highlight
the shortcomings of a rival rotomolder to capture a slice
of the pie at any cost, we need to take a more expansive,
forward-thinking look at the market and recognize that our
true competitors are not only other rotomolders. Our primary
competitors are the blow molding, injection molding, metal
fabrication and other processes that are more entrenched
in the minds of purchasers. Despite the fine efforts by
several trade associations to promote rotational molding,
many product designers still lack a true understanding of the
process or when it makes sense to specify it instead of another
process. We think of elegant point of sale displays. They think
of underground tanks hidden from view. Similarly, our true
secondary competitors are wood, metal and other materials. At
a time when environmental groups are working to brand plastic
as a hazard to the world, it may be more important than ever
that we accurately promote the benefits of plastic as a material
and remind both consumers and product designers of its
history as an important and influential material. Making it easy
for product designers to specify plastics creates more projects
that may suit the strengths of rotational molding and effectively
enlarges the pool of potential customers. Everyone then enjoys
more opportunities to bid on more projects.
I am not judging whether our current state of competition
is good or bad, or whether some of the practices in play are
fair or unfair. But they are not always very useful in helping the
customer select the ideal vendor or effective in yielding the
finest part or product in an efficient manner. If we continue on
the current path without considering the bigger picture, we will
only have ourselves to blame when long term customers leave
for another process.
Then at the next annual meeting, just as in my law school,
we’ll be taking a good look around at each other knowing that
one in three in attendance will likely not be back for the
next meeting.
If you have comments or questions, I would love to hear from
you. Send comments to Bob Dunne at rdunne1@usa.net or
see www.Rotomolding.com/bobdunne.shtml. Meese Orbitron
Dunne Co. is the first rotomolder in North America to invest in
the Leonardo system. Its parent company, Tingue, Brown & Co.,
Saddle Brook, New Jersey, has a history of bold moves since
1902 that include pioneering the use of plastics for rotomolding
laundry handling products.
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