Things you would never expect to happen in manufacturing – how it relates to Kick starter
Banded flat corrugated boxes
I could write a book. I got a call at 8 am this morning from a fulfillment center out in the midwest. I have now taken to giving them my cell number – because delivery problems require immediate decisions and 8 am calls are something I don’t mind and would hate to push off onto any of my staff. They like to sleep at night and they generally don’t want to get bothered before they get to work. Although to be honest they are all getting as bad as me – working on weekends – working at night – answering emails at all the weirdest times.
So this morning I get a call at 8 am from the manager out there – we have an interesting relationship – he only calls when there is an issue and I figure out how to make him happy. A giant delivery of corrugated boxes for a client mailing came in – but the boxes were not packed on pallets (sometimes referred to as skids) the way they were supposed to be. The way they ALWAYS are. They had been “pushed” into the trucks in banded lots with some sort of a pushing – slip sheet machine – and they actually need to be unloaded the same way. Only problem – the center does not HAVE a machine like that – they need things to come in on pallets.
So – fortunately – anticipating ongoing issues forever – I set it up so that the different boxes are actually made locally to all of the three fulfillment centers we are using for this job all over the US and so the boxes will go back to the plant and be repacked onto Pallets and re delivered.
When I called my guy at the box company at 8:25 as I was driving my daughter to school (oh yes – surprise – the job DOES come into play during normal living hours) he was very surprised to hear from me that early (I have literally EVERYONE’s cell phone) and I was very cavalier about it and he was pretty horrified that his shipping department would even have shipped it like that.
Is it laziness? Is it stupidity? It is apathy? It is a mistake? What is it with this? I have no idea – I don’t even think that “what it is” is relevant. The point is that it was COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED and something one could NOT anticipate no matter what.
The unexpected in manufacturing is something I deal with – and learn from – everyday. I do not like surprises per se – but I have learned to appreciate how to work with them.
When my kick starter clients – who are generally NOT experienced with either manufacturing or dealing with people (their backers) call me and say they need their games to deliver by Christmas and it is the end of October – I have to try to explain the entire PHENOMENON of the UNEXPECTED to them without it sounding like I am trying to find a way to make excuses. No excuses here – just solutions. And honesty. I actually told a potential client yesterday that if he wanted me to tell him that his order was definitely going to deliver in plenty of time for Christmas – he either had to send some by Air or find someone else who was OK with telling him what he wanted to hear.
LISTEN UP KICK STARTERS _ we want to tell you the truth, things can go wrong – things can get delayed – art can go through 8 rounds of proofs sometimes. It is the nature of a PROCESS called Manufacturing. It is not an art and not a science. It is a little of both. We are both artists, scientists, and psychologists here – trying to help people control not only their own emotions but that of their sometimes rabid backers. Remember the expression “with friends like that who needs enemies?” My mother used to say it once in a while. That is what the backing situation reminds me of sometimes. They are your backers – then they are threatening – then attacking – then – when they get their wonderful game – they are your best friends again.
My staff and I can see what these kick starters are going through on a daily basis. Incredibly talented and artistic individuals forced to deal with people and business in a way they are just learning to handle. I can sympathize. Kick starters are not for everyone – it takes a strong constitution and I respect people who take it on. Likewise – it takes a solid partner in manufacturing to pull off some of these things. And a genuine understanding that you need to always expect the unexpected.
That’s my 2 cents for today.
Tagged as: board game manufacturing, kick starter, kickstarter, kickstarter manufacturing, manufacturing