Today's competitive market, it is difficult to maintain stable relationships with suppliers, customers, brokers, distributors, and even your own company personnel. Competitors are stealing your best customers. To maintain the edge entrepreneurs need to sychronise their production process, capacity, and delivery schedule. 

Layout 

Plan out your work area keeping in mind the requirement of your business. More often than not the area available to small businesses is limited and within that area all the work needs to be carried out, right from storing the raw materials to the final product. The space for each of these should be clearly chalked out. The distance between one facility and another or one machine and another should be fixed. Design the work place so that there is least amount of repetitive movements, the place is safe for workers  and area is properly allotted for each process. You (or your technical adviser) should work out where exactly each facility like raw material storage, individual machines, packaging, finished goods storage and quality control unit will be located.  The flow of the production process and the space requirement for material handling as well as manpower requirement determine the layout. 

Capacity 

The total capacity of business needs to be planned beforehand keeping in consideration the market demand and future supply and demand condition. While purchasing machinery the capacity should be such that there should be provision for future expansion. 

Delivery Schedule 

In the initial phase of setting up an enterprise to establish the credibility in the market make it a point to deliver in scheduled fashion.  There should be no or least amount of damage to the product, if the product is fragile package and mark it accordingly. Ensure that it reaches its destination in time.  

Quality 

In present environment commitment to quality is essential for a small business to compete against its competitors.  

TQM FOR SMALL BUSINESS 
A new company or a small business has limited financial, personnel, and capital plant/equipment resources and is especially vulnerable to instability brought on by rapid changes in customer behaviour. One way to ensure business success is to make quality number one priority for all employees in your company. 

• Quality work and customer satisfaction must be a commitment of all employees. 

• Improving quality and customer satisfaction must also be a commitment of all employees. 

• Every company activity must incorporate quality and customer satisfaction, including all communications with customers and suppliers. 

• It doesn't have to cost more to make quality and customer satisfaction your priority. 

• Significant changes may be required to make quality and customer satisfaction improvements. 

• Small advantages in all company functions can set your quality and customer satisfaction apart from the competition. 

Government of India encourages and offers incentives to small scale industries to get ISO 9000 certificate. Govt. of India also helps them to set up their own R & D centre. 

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