Recently to Qingdao furniture exhibition, Nankang furniture fair when the judges, to rethink a phenomenon:
Exhibits of the two places, the formation of the "block", such as high density, a lot of factory big stupid coarse wood sofa, which is a piece of; in high density and "a" Nordic design; the same in Jiaodong, styles similar to the bedroom furniture, pine children bunk beds "plate".
As well as in Nankang, even a township do a class of products, but also the formation of massive, so it is difficult to comment on design award. A place where the design is the same, even materials, manufacturing processes, machinery and equipment are similar, can only choose a large scale, the process details do a better award. Commented, most will say: the product can not be too homogeneous. Products have no difference, is bound to undercut prices vicious competition, fighting in the Red Sea, and so on.
The theory of business management, all in all, nothing more than:
- a lower cost
- the quality of stability
- differentiation
In fact, it is easy to say, these three things are not so easy to do.
Lower than the cost of others, we are very low, how low? Like IKEA Supplier, is required annually to "low cost", is a low price to at the end of those suppliers grievances, or even collapse, low and low, is not easy.
Of course, there are people who can cut corners, but this is not the scope of our.
Stable quality, we do not speak of the highest quality, is because "not guilty"". In the industrial age, the use of industrial products are age, such as cars, the general design of 10 years, because most countries, the legislative restrictions on the use of cars is not more than 10 years, the same as the furniture. The ancient furniture, procreation, it is agricultural era, people's aesthetic idea change very slowly, the material is relatively scarce. Today's Europe and the United States, the furniture as "Fashion", less than 10 years on the exchange, such as the kind of IKEA products, 3-4 years will have to change, so the quality requirements, that is, 4 years is enough.
Of course there are some artisan spirit producers, still pursue centenary product, also has a lot of "Scholar", cries can be transmitted to the descendants of the products, can by antique shops, pick up rags to collect, and people willing to buy, even at home "show."
Of these, I do not mind, but also do not encourage it, after all, this is a niche market.
The most difficult is the difference.
Related reading Lin Zuoxin: the development of the furniture industry is still the key differences
In theory, most of the differences are innovative, my products and others are different, because of different, so there is no comparability, price competition is not so intense, the so-called blue ocean market.
But most of the furniture enterprises, can not be differentiated, and why?
-- there is no design talent. China's design talent is relatively lack, to design a "good sell" and can sell for a long time the product, is very few.
- no grasp of the market. A design, after a long time of training can be recognized by the market, if make a half day, the market still don't agree, that medium and small businesses will so cannot recover after a setback, or even go bankrupt, so there is no courage to attempt differential design.
-- regional cooperation mode of production, such as Shandong high density, roughness, Malaysia Muar, even Italy, Japan and other countries, factory specialized production can produce only a category, such as production of chair, even produce only a part, such as desktop, ran in the area you supporting, specialization, the production of a single, so the efficiency is very high, but the result is: styles only 2-3 kinds, too much to implement this kind of production mode, the result is:
Production efficiency is improved, the cost is reduced, but the price is very low, the profit is very low due to the homogeneity.
Of course, no one would dare to compete in the world. But from the view of the enterprise, those done from scratch the end, only the production of their own styles (differentiated), total profits will never be more than above the efficient enterprises low, or even higher, but from the product design, production to market, the process is difficult, full of uncertainty, is not an ordinary enterprise can do this.
Therefore, we often advocate regional cooperation in production and differentiated production, a lot of time is contradictory.
From this, I often think, our industrial cluster, is Michael Porter described the kind of economic model? Or product cluster? Just the same style, the same kind of product set together, the formation of homogeneous competition?
Industrial clusters, as Potter described, is a senior economic model, vertical and horizontal linkage collaboration, and cluster products is to market through sales of two kinds of products in the production of collaboration to form low.
But it is a serious homogenization.