The Meaning Of N = 1 And R = G

An interesting post on Mass Customization from Information Week

The power of digitization and imagination is enabling this evolution of new business models. It is not about a myopic cost-based argument for outsourcing to the Far East. It's about building clarity on what N = 1 and R = G mean for my business. Managers need to build internal capabilities in their business processes through social and IT architectures to progress in this New Age of Innovation.

I followed the thread and discovered an interesting site: New Age of Innovation, I'll be reading it more in depth and reporting back.

CNC Machining Ice

CNC machining ice may not seem like it makes much sense, because the stuff melts... But consider that flowers wilt, and we buy them for a whole host of reasons. Ice carving is a growing industry, and automation is helping build it. Disclaimer; the company I work for builds "Ice Bulldogs", a CNC router for carving ice sculptures.

Link to video
Link to photos of carved ice
Link to Companies that carve ice; Ice Culture, Frozen Memories, The Party Concierge, Golden Chefs

Chinese firms bargain hunting in U.S.

I'm building my case bit by bit; in Spring for Manufacturing in North America I posted an article that talked about how dimishing costs (lowering dollar, tax incentives, lots of spare infrastructure) in the US would bring back manufacturing. This post is more evidence for the brief.

Liu spent about $500,000 for seven acres in Spartanburg -- less than one-fourth what it would cost to buy the same amount of land in Dongguan, a city in southeast China where he runs three plants. U.S. electricity rates are about 75% lower, and in South Carolina, Liu doesn't have to put up with frequent blackouts.

Access to US markets, lower transportation costs, better educated workforce, better infrastructure (power, roads), better protection for investments (a stronger legal system), paired with costs in China that keep going up. All of these factors coupled with advances in CNC technology that level the "cheap labour cost" playing field (ie if your employee is 10x more productive than a counterpart in China, you can pay him/her 10x as much and still have a level playing field). Link