Be Thankful You Only Have a Couple of Clocks to Set Back…  

by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA

 

Even with an ever-increasing number of our “clocks” smart enough to change themselves on daylight saving time, most of us have to take a few minutes to remember how to change the time on our ovens, microwaves and cars. Or maybe we just let them be an hour off until the clocks switch back in a few months. Either way, it’s a minor annoyance. For most of us…

Managing a Plethora of Timekeeping Advices

But what if you had 1,000 clocks to adjust? That’s the situation Minnesota-based 3M—one of the largest corporations in the country—has faced twice per year at one of its main campuses in Maplewood, Minnesota. Until now. “Minnesota-based 3M is taking advantage of the end of daylight-saving time and removing about 1,000 wall clocks at its 400-acre Maplewood campus. For decades, nearly two dozen people worked in 12-hour shifts for two weekends a year to adjust the time and put in new batteries,” according to an Associated Press article published by the St. Paul Pioneer Press. That’s not just an annoyance, that represents real costs.

“Plant engineering supervisor Tom Berg told Minnesota Public Radio that the cost of the time changes averaged about $35,000 a year. Berg said this is a way for the global manufacturing company to be more efficient and get rid of something it doesn’t need.”

Minor Adjustments Can Mean a Big Deal

The profit formula for any business is pretty straightforward. While factors like financing, tax liability and other accounting considerations have an impact on a company’s bottom line, profit is essentially revenue minus costs. We’re very familiar with the lengths companies go through to increase their revenues, because they are constantly crammed down our throats in the form of television commercials, billboards and those online ads that are so creepily personally tailored.

But businesses also spend a lot of time, effort and creative energy finding ways to reduce costs. These might come from complex process improvements, employee training, improved technology and better quality control, among other tools. And as the timely (pun intended) example from 3M illustrates, even simple adjustments can end up saving big money and leaving more revenue left over to pad company profits.

What small changes could you make that might add more margin to your bottom line?

 

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Strategic Communications, LLC, works with B2B clients to help them achieve their goals through effective content marketing and management with both internal and external audiences. We work with clients to plan, create and publish high-quality, unique content. Whether on- or offline, or both, we’ll help you achieve desired results.

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