Give your stakeholders a raise - increase asset productivity!

Written by Frank Williams


You have pushed your cost cutting measures torepparttar limit. Competitive pricing still keeps a full-court press on every move you make. You have launched new products, but this initiative barely keeps you inrepparttar 104637 game. Clearlyrepparttar 104638 explosive, seemingly easy, growth-rates ofrepparttar 104639 90's have drawn to a close. Finding more ways to drive profit appears daunting. Remember that capitalism requires two things - growth and profits from any business wishing to remain viable. As you enterrepparttar 104640 21st century, how will your firm cope withrepparttar 104641 financial expectations of your stakeholders?

Improving asset productivity may be part ofrepparttar 104642 answer.

Enhancing stakeholder value is tougher in a growth-restricted economy, however strong management of asset productivity will give most organizations more financial options. When many companies are pulling in their horns, seeking ways to protect profits, and basically trying to survive, finding ways to make idle or under-utilized assets work harder will strengthenrepparttar 104643 company's financial health.

Total asset productivity is basically sales divided byrepparttar 104644 average difference between operating assets and operating liabilities during a given period of time expressed as a percentage. Financial people understand this concept well, but somehow it doesn't easily translate into line management -repparttar 104645 very people responsible forrepparttar 104646 effective use of corporate assets. Global Marketing finds that many companies work hard at portions of asset management such as inventory control, but this is more of a piece-meal approach. Asset management including improvements, timetables and expected results should be a key part of any company's on-going business strategy.

Case in point...

A mid-size industrial instrumentation company benefited from a new strategy that focused on increasing asset productivity. After a number of years of explosive growth,repparttar 104647 sluggish economy significantly reducedrepparttar 104648 growth-rate ofrepparttar 104649 firm. Profits came under pressure, cost-cutting measures were implemented, but shareholder value continued to decline. Together with senior management, Global Marketing benchmarked present asset productivity. The results yielded a stunner! Barely 40% ofrepparttar 104650 company's assets contributed to 100% ofrepparttar 104651 profits. Basically, 60% of their assets were idle or significantly under performing.

There is a strong reason to pay attention to, and better manage all corporate assets. Improving asset productivity infuses more financial flexibility into any organization. Stakeholder value improves, but many less obvious benefits occur. Can you imagine that an increase in customer service level will result and drive renewed growth-rates? It's all connected.

What is Shareware?

Written by Dan Housley


What is Shareware?

by Dan Housley

What is Shareware? Shareware is software that you can try before you buy; shareware is a kind of marketing method for software. Software developers post trial versions of their software on websites. Consumers can then downloadrepparttar trial version to their computer and evaluate it. Ifrepparttar 104636 consumer likesrepparttar 104637 software they can purchase it. Shareware is also called try before you buy.

Today almost every big software company including Microsoft, Winzip, and AOL use trial versions or a form of shareware to market their software.

Why is shareware better than any other marketing method? Shareware is a good way to market software. It allows consumers to evaluate an application prior to making a purchase decision. They can easily determine if it meets their business or personal needs, which usually results to a satisfied customer. In addition because shareware companies are often small they can provide personalized service that is not found in larger companies. Shareware also allows for instant gratification, there is no need to wait for a shipment. Consumers can download and userepparttar 104638 software immediately.

Freeware vs. Shareware. As you know shareware is a marketing method for software. Freeware is also a way of marketing software. However, freeware is free sorepparttar 104639 developer does not ever request any money. Shareware is free to distribute but cannot be used for an unlimited amount of time, unlessrepparttar 104640 developer is paid. Freeware can be used an unlimited amount of time and can be freely distributed; payment is not required. Many developers use freeware to draw attention to their shareware applications.

What is software piracy? There are several kinds of software piracy. One kind of software piracy is hacking into software and disablingrepparttar 104641 copy protection. Software pirates then distribute or sell repparttar 104642 hacked software. The developer does not receive any money forrepparttar 104643 softwarerepparttar 104644 hacker distributed. This is an infringement onrepparttar 104645 developer's copyright.

Another technique used by hackers is to illegally obtain a registered copy of software. Pirates purchaserepparttar 104646 software once and use it on multiple computers. Purchasing software with a stolen credit card is another form of software piracy. Unfortunately there are many kinds of software piracy that has slowedrepparttar 104647 industry's growth. In order for developers to continue to develop software and provide supportrepparttar 104648 software needs to be profitable.

Cont'd on page 2 ==>
 
ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005
Terms of Use