The Rise and Rise of Industries
After Second World War (1939 – 1945), the world’s economy was at its worst. All the industries were fighting for their survival. It was due to the reason that the Second World War stretched for so many years and almost all the countries contributed their best to win this war. If we turn back the history pages, most of us should be aware with this fact that this World War was a not the “War of Issues”. I would say it was the “War of Egos”. And since ego was their in between, no body thought about what they were doing and what will be the implications after this.
This “War of Egos” gave a new direction to the World which has changed the face of the World’s economy. And that direction was “Darkness”. No one was aware of what to do next. All the industries have to invent the wheel again. And that brought a revolution in the industry. Most of the countries took this as a major challenge for them and start exploring the best way to keep the industrial spirit high and business speed maximum.
How it all started? It all started with a new term that hit the market in late 1940s. And that was LPG which is Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization.
· Liberalization means the act of making less strict.
· Privatization means changing something from state to private ownership or control.
· Globalization means growth to a global or worldwide scale.
So, let’s start our journey decade wise and I am sure you will get a clear picture of the “Rise and rise of Industries”.
Decade of 1950 – 1960.
It was the time when industries only targeted on Production. It was due to the reason that there was a huge demand and supply gap. The demand was at his best due to the repercussions of the World War. The demands were hitting from almost each and every area of the World and the industries were trying their best to supply at each and every corner of the World. Most of the countries in this decade started creating their base for future.
Decade of 1960 – 1970.
This was the time of Processes and their implementations. All the process and quality gurus like Demming, Juran, Pareto came into the limelight in this era. Since the industry was at its peak in the production, it has been observed that there were numerous issues that could be resolved if there will be proper processes on place and most important is their best implementations. Processes gave a steep upward direction to the industrial development and most of the companies found their production level at its best after implementing the proper processes as per their needs and requirements.
Decade of 1970 – 1980.
Welcome to Technology era. This decade was the golden decade for all the technology hungry companies. After producing the mass production and implementing the processes to improve the production, it has been felt that technology area was lacking. Industries spent lot of money for research and development of the new technologies so that they could become the market leaders. The rise and rise of Japan is the best example in this decade.
Decade of 1980 – 1990.
Now till this decade, Production + Processes + Technologies were at their best. So industry experts targeted to acquire the Customers. Almost all the industries tired and succeed to create a huge base of customers for their individual areas and this is the time when most of the industries (or better to say companies) take on a huge base of customers. In India, the rise and rise of Maruti-Suzuki and Reliance Industries are the best examples of this decade. Decade of 1990 – 2000.
Welcome to the golden time of the customers. This decade was dedicated to the research and development department, neither of technology nor or processes, but of Needs of the Customer. It was difficult for any organization to retain the customers. This was because of the fact that customers have numerous options available in the market. Industries worked hard to retain the customers and separate department have made to perform research about “What the customer wants?” Customers demands went like a rocket in this era and industry worked hard to fulfill them.
2000 – till date.
This is the time of Customer Satisfaction which is due to the previous decade (1990 – 2000). Since previous decade was the golden time for the customers, this is more than golden time (I would say Diamond time) for the customers. The customers have numerous options in the market with all kind of services and comfort. Customer can switch to any product any time if the product is not satisfying their needs. The most difficult fact for the industry is that Customer satisfaction cannot be measured (or evaluated), it can only be monitored. The major challenge that is standing as tall as Mount Everest in front of all industries is how to satisfy the customers. In fact, some modern process gurus (better to say Quality Gurus) redefine the definition of Quality i.e. “Customer Satisfaction is Quality”.
In fact I am also trying to climb the Mount Everest of Customer Satisfaction. But I promise to all my readers (or better to say Customers) that you would be more than satisfied after spending your precious time to read my articles. Thanks a lot for your time, I valued that the most.
-- Sanat Sharma
