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huge potential of the knowledge age. He concluded: ‘I’m deeply convinced that everybody can release energy far beyond our expectations if we really understand the sense behind an activity, are ready to dedicate the time and effort required, deeply believe in it, act according to real principles, and do so with passion.’
PANEL DISCUSSION
WINE TASTING
In the early evening, the party drove to enjoy a wine tasting and dinner at Karpatska Perla winery, a family-run Slovak business which has earned a number of international awards for its wines. Accompanied by live music, the event offered plenty of opportunity for networking.
INNOVATION WORKSHOP
Next morning, innovation was the keyword. Dr Jozef Kristak, deputy director of management consultancy IPA Slovakia, defined a ‘thin’ company, and the challenges achieving leanness involves – like experiencing the changes in customer requirements; attacks on costs, variability in order volumes and delivery times, etc., which complicate forecasting of customer needs and wants and require supplier flexibility. To make the point very clear, Dr Kristak showed pictures of an obese man and a svelt one, and asked the leading question: in a running race, who will win? He underlined again how time has speeded up change, creating new requirements and possibilities for operational efficiency and speed as well as a achieving a satisfactory result. The innovation workshop was built on the Franklin Covey principles.
‘ONE-PIECE FLOW’
‘One-piece flow is the way to go’, said Dr Kristak. The most effective way of achieving all-round satisfaction in a production environment is to focus on putting a single item through its production/delivery process. Such an approach, he emphasised, ‘delivers shorter leadtimes, lower inventory, and better reaction to any quality problems, and enables you to strive continuously for flow of value to one customer.’ The result is a happier customer and a more profitable product provider. Fulfilling customer requirements without waste can for certain be achieved. It means thinking creatively and experimentally, changing the rules, and, of course, innovation.
Could delegates, Dr Kristak challenged, identify changes needed in their own companies, pinpointing any gaps between
After this inspirational workshop, Dana Kilarska brought together three panellists from end user and graphic design disciplines for a question and answer and discussion session: Péter Nagy, sales and marketing manager at award-winning Hungarian winery Nyakas Pince, clients of Purgina, who stated ‘labels must not appeal to the mind, but to the heart’; Christian Petersen of specialist synthetic substrate suppliers Synthogra; Mr. Jiri Cabicar from design studio Fiala; and Šebek and Marian Hains of Slovak magazine group Veldan, who publish ‘PrintProgess’. Continuing the thread of wine labelling, discussion covered such topics as personalised products, consumer protection, catching the prospective buyer’s eye, using QR codes, RFID, and other NFC devices, and the importance of brand strength and image, as well as end users’ practical requirements such as price and delivery.
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FINAT YEARBOOK 2015 |