We are living the Back to the Future experience today.
2012 will be remembered as the starting point for the transformational change in the lighting industry
Remember the hit trilogy in the mid-80’s “Back to the Future”? For those of you that don’t, it sparked the careers of Steven Spielberg, Michael J Fox, and coined the term, “Hello, McFly!” The basis of the film is a teenager is brought 30 years back in time in order to change his parents’ future. You have to be asking, what the heck does this have to with FSG and Operations Corner?
We are living the Back to the Future experience today. 2012 will be remembered as the starting point for the transformational change in the lighting industry. LED’s have already started to penetrate the market. Here at FSG, we have started some initiatives that will change the methods in which we conduct our day-to-day business. Topple these forces together and today, we are getting the glimpse into the future.
We’re all blessed to be on the forefront of the biggest changes the lighting industry has ever experienced. We will experience the biggest wins and losses we’ve ever seen…hopefully fewer losses. The challenge facing all of us is how we embrace these changes and new technologies. Do we embrace them or do we fear them? Change, when embraced, is a beautiful thing.
In the first quarter of this year we implemented two big initiatives that brought plenty of fear and apprehension. The first, elimination of non-stock products, had twenty-nine years of momentum that caused plenty of apprehension. With a little IT help, a beta test group, and simply hitting the RED BUTTON, we launched forth. Of the many benefits, this change will help us identify emerging products and trends as head into the LED-world.
The second, FSG Contacts, will enable us to have one central point for all Contact information in the Digital Age. We’ve struggled mightily with Contact being dispersed among cell phone, CMSN, Outlook, Gmail, and so on…. The challenge for all of us is to buy-in and simply make this a part of our daily habits to maintain this database. In a few short months, we will have the ability to tell who our client-base is (not the company, but the individual). In addition, we will be able to tell what locations they buy for, and what products they purchase. As emerging products become available, we will have the ability to market to these individuals via e-mail campaigns like never before. There are countless other benefits that will help us all operate faster, better, and more efficiently in what we do.
Both of these are glimpses into what the future holds for FSG. From VOIP phones, to Telephany, to mobile credit card acceptance, to electronic invoicing, all are technologies viewed as cutting edge that will become the “norm” in a few years. Any of the forth-coming changes that we make all have the goal of FSG servicing the market better and making doing business with us easier. The world moves fast today, and FSG is not immune to this speed. We are simply touching the edge of what “could be” and each of you will play an integral part. Tap into that youthful exuberance and embrace the changes as we progress towards the future!
And, if you didn’t get it, “Hello, McFly!” See you in the Future!