|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Dolav An Open Letter 25 June 1997
To: Dear Dr. Klarman, Yair, the General Manager of Dolav and myself, the Marketing Manager, arrived at the JonahSM Course in Israel, knowing that Dolav was very much in need of a strategy for change. Dolav, a joint venture between two kibbutzim in the Negev, began to produce plastic bins more than 20 years ago. The factory chose the technological process of plastic foam injection and ordered tailor-made machinery. Today Dolav produces a heavy-duty box pallet of outstanding quality and long life span. "Unfortunately" bins from the first production runs are still being used by our customers even today - 20 years later. Meanwhile the market for plastic bins has become quite competitive and "congested". Dolav now has surplus production capacity. It's bins are comparatively expensive.... To put it simply: We need to change our strategy. The course began and our heads were already in the clouds.... the clouds of dilemma. The "clouds" that are so familiar to us all. Those looking from the outside see it as a light haze, and for one within the cloud it seems like a fog so dense you can barely see the tip of you nose. Now the time has come for dispersing the clouds; with Alex's guidance the liconstraint" is revealed. The constraint is the marketplace itself of course. Yair took a deep breath and for the first time began to thank me for "dragging" him to this rather strange course. "Yeh, as a matter of fact the material is interesting," says he. The "Mechdar" (injection) was simple like a good "mechdar" should be- it felt right, Rentina out Dolav box pallets. Dolav knows and believes that their box pallets are durable, long wearing up to a period of 20 years. So why not sell the bins to herself! Dolav sells 20 years of use, rather than selling the box itself. The buyer pays only for the actual use of the bin. The problem of high cost of the bin is eliminated. We sell the customer the same product several times and ... Wait a moment! Alex puts an end to my enthusiasm. Excitement turns to sweat. Now he wants us to put our ideas to practice, Past Reality Trees, Current Reality Trees and Future Reality Trees. After a short period of negotiations he lets go of Past Reality Trees. (Only now do we find out that Past Reality Trees don't really exist in TOC.) The atmosphere of the JonahSM Course is well known: no entertainment, no relaxation and no going home. The early hours of the evening turn into the late hours of the night. We are climbing the walls, the CRTs and the FRTs.with intermediate goals, obstacles, and the Prerequisite Trees. It seems that my job, as Marketing Manager, is three-fold: one set of "Trees" - CRT, FRT - for the customers, one set for the rental company, and one for Dolav. At moments like these I began to doubt my sanity, when I had suggested to Yalr that we should go to the JonahSM Course. Several of our lastest "tree" drawings are attached here. I am sure they can and will be improved. Goldratt trees lend themselves to the process of continual improvement and rejuvenation. The JonahSM Course was a great success - We had the exhilarating feeling you always get after using the TOC methods. The idea of renting box pallets was familiar to us before the course. But by using TOC suddenly they became applicable. TP gives one a strange ability of generating additional ideas, positive thinking and creativity. The "fruits" of the JonahSM Course are being "harvested" now by negotiations with an English, an Australian and an American company, in order to establish rental operations and facilities that will service the expected demand for box pallets. Other "fruits" are being "gathered" in less expected directions, such as-. strategic changes at the plant, new and different products, new marketing policies. Many other ideas are waiting their turn. Dolav has yet to accept them. Most of the changes are needed here. Understandably Dolav's clients accept the explanations and new methods much more easily. Allow me a word of summation and goodbye to Dr. Ell Goldratt. We were informed at the last JonahSM Conference in Israel, that Eli decided to not continue as managing director of the Institute. I believe that I express the feeling of all of us when I say that we are very sorry to see him leave. The experience of reading The Goal is one I will not forget. Through this experience I was introduced to the "TOC". When using TOC, the most common reaction is: "It is so simple." Some confess: "How come we didn't think of it before. . ." Others say "Actually we always knew...... It was a wonderful experience "flying" in the Goldratt/Jonah "clouds". I am convinced that we shall still be hearing from Eli and we will still meet with him and enjoy an on-going process of improvement together. I would like to express my appreciation to you, Alex, and to Ayelet, for teaching us the TOC tools in such a professional and effective manner and for helping us to implement them successfully here at Dolav. Thank you,
Daniel Omri
Copyright © 1996-2007, Avraham Y. Goldratt Institute. All Rights Reserved.
TOC World® is a Registered Service Mark of The Goldratt Institute |
