Who will have the greatest opportunity for export?--by Timothy O'Keeffe

Mr. Timothy O'Keeffe, owner of G.L. Huyett, will attend the Fastener Trade Show held at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center during September 23-25, and will deliver speech at the 923 Banquet.

For companies in China looking to export industrial fasteners to the United States, it is important to recognize some of the differences between the two countries. The United States is a consumer-driven society as opposed to what I see as producer-driven societies in other parts of the world. In a producer-driven society, producers typically mandate the buy/sell rules. Consumers (customers) in producer-driven societies are motivated to purchase quantity of product, because there are typically more consumers than there are producers. In this model the producers are motivated to sell as much product as possible at the lowest possible price. The producers organize their production based on the availability of inputs and the efficiencies at which they can produce product. Typically the transactions that occur in a producer-driven society are governed based on product price, with a lesser regard for on-time delivery; precise packaging or labeling; in some cases product quality. In producer-driven societies you usually see more people waiting in line to buy product; you see less emphasis on product differentiation and service; and product quality tends to be no more than average.

In consumer-driven societies the customer mandates the buy/sell rules. Consumers will purchase products based on other perceived values than just product cost. Consumers expect product to meet or exceed standards of quality and returns are considered out of the ordinary and not acceptable. Consumers will rarely stand in queues and some consumers actually prefer higher priced goods because they are perceived to have higher quality, even if such higher quality does not actually exist.

Chinese manufacturers who recognize that the United States is a consumer driven society will have the greatest opportunity for export. The most successful exporters in the industrial fastener marketplace will be ones who:

1.Never ship non-conforming product.
2.Recognize and manage non-product costs.
3.Manage the production floor based on what customers want to buy, as opposed to what is the easiest to make.

Manufacturers who adopt these tactics will ship the correct parts, in well-labeled and secure containers, on time and in the precise manner that the customer requests.

ABOUT AUTHOR

Timothy O'Keeffe, owner of G.L. Huyett, a North American manufacturer and distributor of non-threaded industrial fasteners.

Mr. O'Keeffe has owned G.L. Huyett for sixteen years, during which time the firm has grown from one employee to over 140 today. He previously was an investment banker with his own firm in Kansas City, Missouri, and prior, was a regional sales manager for the consumer products firm, Procter and Gamble. Mr. O'Keeffe is an economist from education, and is an advisor/participant to the United States Federal Reserve Bank economic forecast for the Kansas City region.

In addition to his duties at G.L. Huyett, Mr. O'Keeffe sits on the Board of Directors and is the current Associate Vice Chair of the National Fastener Distributor's Association, which is the leading and only national trade association for industrial fastener manufacturing and distribution in North America.

Mr. O'Keeffe sits on several non-profit charitable Boards. He is the father of five children and has been married to his wife, Carol, for 24 years.