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.

C. Eliminate customer activities with low value to the customer

Reduce ICDs by eliminating activities for which customers either will not pay or will not pay enough to cover their costs.

2.
Products and Services

No.	Industry SIC	Year	Notes
1	2043	2004	General Mills says it will eliminate 20% of its food items as the company struggles with the higher cost of raw ingredients and weak sales in its bakeries and food-service division. Officials said the cuts will affect all of its brands, suggesting it will focus on unpopular flavors instead of entire lines. The products to be eliminated account for a very small percentage of its sales.
2	3651	2006	Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. is taking efficiency to new heights to counter low-cost rivals. To compete against low-cost rivals in Korea, China, and elsewhere in Asia, Matsushita is rearranging factories so they can quickly shift gears to make gadgets that are hot, and ease up on those that are selling more slowly. Its strategy is to get a product out on the market earlier than rivals. Then when the low-cost manufacturers come in and try to beat it on pricing, Matsushita gets out.
3	4512	2000	AirTran has built up cash by ditching money-losing routes, launching early discounts sales to fill planes, and pushing customers to buy tickets over AirTran's cost-saving web site. Higher-fare travelers account for 60% of revenues up from 40% in 1999.
4	5945	2001	KB has dramatically scaled back the old Etoys' voluminous offerings of 64,000 items to about 8,000 after discovering that the company was losing money on a vast majority of its products.
5	6211	1999	DIR is cutting back on advertising because it is not clear that it increases awareness.
6	7372	2004	As a result, retailers also faced significant risk of purchasing cartridges and were unwilling to place orders for expensive new Nintendo titles that might flop. So retailers allocated shelf space only to a limited assortment of well known and proven game titles or sequels. This allowed Sony to develop a new market where it maximized variety.
7	8111	1986	Gaston Snow & Ely Bartlett cut out unprofitable branch offices.

<<Return to Reduce Unique ICDs in Process