RE: NU Ideas

Resending

Prepared by: MLS

Entrepreneurship

New Ideas

NU6 – 1: Serendipity Walk           

I usually do my morning runs and bike training at Nuvali Sta. Rosa Laguna, and I would like to share the things I observed in terms of the rapid growth in the development of residential and commercial establishments.  The existing development in the area includes the ETON properties, Nuvali, and South Forbes City.  These location will soon become a busy area and the following are some of the  business opportunities that can be considered.

1.    Service Centers for air conditioning equipment  - with the number of commercial, industrial and residential market, there is a big opportunity to station a service center for airconditioning. Distribution of equipment can be added as it captures a wide customer base in both segments.

2.    Training camp (marathoners/triathlete) – this venue has become the playground of runners, bikers, and triathletes.  Setting up a training center facility which specializes in coaching beginner and serious athletes will be a good venture in order to provide proper guidance to those who would want to improve their performance.

3.    Bike rentals – the Nuvali area is a good place to spend the afternoon with the family. Setting up a bike rental business will add to the adventure of people spending time to relax.

4.    Gourmet sandwich bar – healthy food options for the fitness conscious. Currently there is no concept that is exclusive in terms of healthy food offering.

5.    Laundry pick up station would be a convenience to all factory and office workers.

Given that it is a busy place and a lot of establishments are open. The above are some of the additional features that are good business potential in the area. 3

NU6 – 2: New Business Idea – Centralized Delivery Service

In a busy residential and commercial area, the distribution of products are very prominent from food, water, laundry services, packages, and even online products.  One business idea would be to set up a centralized delivery service company where the business concept is to offer a dispatch service to all establishments (such as fast food and restaurants) who are currently offering a delivery service to their customers both in residential and industrial firm.  This company will handle all deliveries of all restaurants in the area and will handle all orders coming from the customers.

This business idea is more of an outsourced delivery service where all restaurants can tap the service of this company in order for them to focus on their core business.  The delivery service will have to focus on fast response time and on time delivery as their key business metric and commitment to its customers.  Among the advantages of setting up this concept are;

1.    Reduced transport cost – there can be multiple pick up and delivery for all orders in different establishments based on a specific window time.

2.    Improved delivery lead time – route plan can be rationalized in order to maximize trip and to prevent longer route for one delivery.  Dispatch crew can be assigned per zone.

3.    Customer service – the company can provide customer service and managed customer concerns and suggestions. 

4.    No maintenance cost to establishments – because dispatch operation is outsourced, customers need not invest on delivery equipments. The delivery system for some fast food has been done in this manner (outsourcing na rin.  The guy who does the passport. 3)

NU6 – 3: New processes: Lean Supply Chain Delivery

In a manufacturing setting, one of the competitive advantage is to implement a lean manufacturing concept in order to manage properly the material flow and information flow in their operation.  Because the operation is lean, it helps a lot in improving the way inventory are managed and controlled, better process, more productivity, and lesser cost.

One process improvement that a manufacturing company can implement is to extend the lean manufacturing concept to its supply base.  A lean supply chain is important as well in order for the business partners (suppliers) benefit also from this program.  All suppliers, especially those within 10km radius from the factory are encouraged to do short and frequent deliveries.  It may appear that it would be costly in terms of delivery cost, but when the program is executed properly, the cost of inventory, damages, delay, and customer claims are eliminated.

The following are lean delivery processes that the supplier can implement to follow the Lean Concept. 3

1.    Kanban delivery system – use of kanban cards

2.    Sequential Call delivery system – use of notification email, web instructions.

3.    Window time management 3

NU6 – 4: New Business Idea

Health is the new rich as what my friend use to say.  True enough as there are more runners, bikers, triathlete, and other sports enthusiasts that are active nowadays.  Some are doing it for the fun of it and to just simply shed those extra pounds, while others are very competitive who would want to have a podium finish or simply beat their personal records.

Because of this, a business idea came across which is basically to set up a  cardio-gym which will focus more on spinning and threadmill.  Unlike the traditional gym where strength training is the focus, this gym will be more for those who would want to improve their running and biking skills.  Being a runner and biker myself, I know that it would be more interesting to run outdoors, but in some cases, you would need to consider doing your indoor workout on a time most convenient to you and on any weather.

This gym will hold a group session and will basically monitor the progress and fitness level of the athlete.  Coaching would be part of the services of this gym which can be both for  group and individual session. An indoor tournament will also be held to add more fun on group sessions.  You can visit the gym with your friends and have fun doing a long run or bike together.3.5

NU6 - 5: New Business Idea/New attitude

I am currently on training for my planned triathlon races this year, one half ironman distance, and a full ironman hopefully by end of the year. Part of my program is to lose weight in order to achieve my desired race weight.  My diet basically is based on calorie counting and uses a website (www.myfitnesspal.com) to help me track my calorie intake and be mindful of what I eat.  Monitoring what you eat is an effective tool to help you be aware of what you eat and make sure that you are not exceeding the daily requirement. To date, I have lost 19 lbs in 3.5 months just by simply tracking the amount of calorie that I take.

In the past, even if I was training, I was not mindful of my diet and it took me a long time to actually lose weight. My thinking before was that since I am active in my training, I can definitely burn what I eat. However, assumptions are not conclusive, it is always best to measure it and track it in order to get better results.  One lesson that helped me changed my paradigm was that it is always best to be objective in measuring your performance in order to clearly determine where you are in terms of meeting your goal. 

In line with this discovery, a business idea also came into mind which is to design a meal plan for athletes in order to help them achieve optimum performance. It is not only to help them achieve their desired weight but also to provide them with organic means of supplementing their diet by providing the right choices of food.  The meal plan, just like any other diet plan, includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and mid day snacks.  A race day pack will also be included in the meal plan so that athletes can choose on what combination they would want depending on the race that they will compete with.  The meals are all organic and will not rely on supplements.  Part of the service would be to monitor their progress in terms of weight management and performance. 

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NU6 – 6: Process Improvement

One of the major problems in a production line which affects productivity and quality is excess inventory at line side. In some cases inventory level stored at the production rack are more than a day’s output requirement.  The inventory level for raw materials at line side depends on the usage of the material, its size, commonality, and uniqueness.  Because line of sight becomes an issue in managing the production line due to excess inventory,  the following problems exist.

1.    Poor housekeeping

2.    Chances of missing parts/materials.

3.    Lines top due to delay in replenishment of the correct material needed.

4.    No flexibility in supporting sudden change in production schedule.

5.    Risk of damaged components.

6.    Poor productivity due to impact in operators motion.

7.    Materials are not located in its proper place.

In order to address this issue, there is a need to implement a defined line side inventory, say every 2 hours worth of output. Warehouse conveyance personnel will have to replenish the materials every 2 hours or on a specified time depending on the size, usage, and pack quantity of each material.  In order to effectively implement this, the following needs to be considered.

1.    Define the minimum and maximum level of inventory based on production output and sequence.

2.    Determine the pack quantity for each component.

3.    Design the packaging of materials based on the designated output per cycle time.  This packaging will become a returnable packaging which will be used by the warehouse personnel as trigger to replenish.

4.    Install a trigger/alarm device at production site in order to notify warehouse personnel to start preparing the next batch of materials for replenishment.

5.    Define production route delivery plan depending on the nature of the operation.

6.    Implement the direct to line side delivery. This will help eliminate the staging area in warehouse which is an unnecessary process that contributes to a longer processing lead time. 3.5