Reduce Unique ICDs by Redesigning the Product or the Process

The objective of this activity is to reduce the number of ICDs by reducing the occurrence of an ICD in producing a unit of Output, or by reducing the number of separate ICDs used in the Output. A unique ICD is one of the key activities in the work center's contribution to the final product (O). It is separate and distinct from any other activity in the work center. For example, the fastening of a part onto a subassembly and a quality control check of the subassembly would be unique ICDs.

B. Redesign the process of producing the ICD or Output

Change the process used to produce the ICD or Output to eliminate activities.

4. Reduce movement of an Input (People, Purchases or Capital)

Reduce movement of both people and ICDs:
Place functions closer to where the product is used to reduce communication difficulties

No.	Industry SIC	Year	Notes
1	0	1992	Multinational corporations are increasingly moving headquarters of business units abroad. In doing so, they risk a loss of control, but are able to operate near key customers and tough rivals in fast-changing markets far from home. AT&T moved its corded-telephone business to France. DuPont shifted its electronics operation to Tokyo, nearer its big base of Asian customers.
2	0	1993	ABB Asea Brown Boveri keeps products flowing swiftly by doing more than 90% of R&D in business units rather than in an isolated central lab.
3	253	1989	Traditionally the egg business has been concentrated in the South because of the relatively warm temperatures year-round. But with temp-controlled chicken coops, the Midwest is gaining – cost incurred by heating made up with lower distribution.
4	2086	2004	Under new management, Cott, the Toronto-based company that is the world's biggest supplier of retailer brand soft drinks in terms of sales, is taking its growth to a new level. Cott also plans to keep adding production capacity. Last month it announced plans to build a beverage manufacturing facility in the Southwest. Once the facility is up and running, Cott will have nine beverage-making plants in the U.S. and 20 world-wide. The new plant serves an area in the U.S. where Cott doesn't have a lot of excess capacity at the moment, and it's an area where the ethnic population growth has been expanding rapidly. Cott says that building a plant in the Southwest is an efficient way for Cott to ship and transport goods in the region, where there are a number of major retail customers.
5	2800	2006	The rise of mobile workers has companies rethinking how to utilize their office space. Architecture and interior design firms such as Archideas Inc. are creating offices for companies by mapping informal networks in organizations and then structuring space around concepts such as who employees bounce ideas off of and who they like to hang out with. Mapping helps managers throw resources at the spaces where people connect rather than where they work alone. Procter & Gamble Co. revamped one of its Cincinnati offices to imitate a bar after talking to some of its employees about where they felt the most open and creative.
6	2820	1992	DuPont announced the shift of its world-wide electronics operation from the U.S. to Tokyo, nearer its big base of Asian customers.
7	3312	1985	While competitors expanded across the U.S., Inland stayed in Chicago, concentrating on nearby customers like Deere and Caterpillar. Nearly all of its customers were within a 300-mile radius of Chicago.
8	3500	2007	Infosys and other low-cost Indian technology firms are hiring aggressively in the U.S. as their clients demand more complex applications and local know-how. These firms once hired Indians and brought them to the U.S. on a temporary visa, a practice that is increasingly expensive, due to the costs of housing, benefits and increased wages in India ,and politically controversial.
9	3571	1987	Except for a small factory overseas, all of Everex's products are manufactured in Fremont. So Everex keeps inventory costs down as goods are moved quickly.
10	3674	1998	During the past 20 years, a number of non-U.S. Firms have established R&D facilities in the United States and other developed nations outside their home region.
11	3711	2006	BMW's strategy in sharing the wealth, listening to even the lowest-ranking workers, and rewarding risk has made it one of the most successful companies in the industry. BMW encourages networking by having teams from across the company work elbow to elbow in open, airy spaces, helping them to create informal networks where they hatch ideas quickly and resolve disagreements. Also, from the factory floor to the executive suite, everyone is encouraged to speak out their ideas.
12	3993	1991	To increase productivity of sales staff, Best Instant Sign moved its headquarters from Hawaii to Florida. It is no longer hampered by the time difference and small window of communication.
13	6799	1993	ABB Asea Brown Boveri keeps products flowing swiftly by doing more than 90% of R&D in business units rather than in an isolated central lab.
14	7378	1994	At Siemens Nixdorf, HQ was restructured, cutting personnel in half to place expertise out in the field near the customer.

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