MEP News
What We’ve Learned
BY JOHN CONNELLY
Between January and November 2007, the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) surveyed 4,960 manufacturers around the country who had completed a service with their local MEP centers in 2006. The purpose of the survey was to determine the impact of services provided by local MEP centers. As Minnesota’s MEP center, Enterprise Minnesota takes the results seriously.
It has always been our goal to help companies grow their businesses, whether that be through leaning up or expanding out to new markets. Survey results, like those provided by NIST/MEP, allow us to evaluate the progress toward growth.
Here’s what we’ve learned.
On a national level, the survey found that in fiscal year 2006, 82 percent of respondents were more competitive as a result of services provided by local MEP centers. Sixty-seven percent improved the work environment for employees, and 95 percent were satisfied or very satisfied with the services they’d received. In addition, MEP services led to $1.1 billion in overall cost savings.
Here in Minnesota, over the last 12 months, 117 manufacturing companies received business assistance from Enterprise Minnesota and participated in the survey process. Those companies have seen a positive economic impact of more than $59 million in savings, nearly 11 million in cost savings, more than $20 million in investments to their bottom lines and created or retained 1,263 jobs as a direct result of working with Enterprise Minnesota.
Helping businesses control their costs through lean, for example, has an immediate return, and is something that Enterprise Minnesota has been committed to since the beginning.
Concurrently, we know that efficiency services are only a part of the equation of creating successful businesses. Our goal is to help manufacturing customers achieve real growth in sales volume and earnings.
Bottom line? With any improvement opportunity you pursue with Enterprise Minnesota, you ought to be able to justify it with expectations of how the business will be better off—whether that be in sales, cost reductions or investments.
As we regularly review the results of the NIST/MEP survey, we realize it’s not enough to look at the work we’ve done together and pat ourselves on the back. We at Enterprise Minnesota, like you, are continually looking for ways to improve our processes and make for a better return on your investment.