Manufacturing Happy Hour

• 239: How to Build a "Customer Advisory Board" and Create a Frictionless Customer Experience with Mandy Dwight (Dwight & Co.) and Anthony Leo (IPR Robotics)

  Without customer buy-in, even the most innovative robotics automation products can fall flat. But the approach most manufacturers take with new products is to build them first, then get feedback. In this episode, you’ll hear how one company flipped the script and did robotics product development the other way around. Joining this episode is Anthony Leo, President of IPR Robotics, a robotics automation company, to explain how a customer advisory board became invaluable for uncovering exactly what customers need – before they even built the product. You’ll also hear Mandy Dwight, Founder of Dwight & Company, a marketing and sales company that works with automation companies to tell and sell their story to customers. While they come from different areas of the sales cycle, both Mandy and Anthony share great insights into how products are transformed from ideas to implemented solutions. We hear about how to avoid customer prevention and friction in the sales cycle, how larger companies can act like startups, and the secrets to selling based on value, not just technical specs. In this episode, find out: We talk about all the important food places and bars in the Boston and Detroit areas our guests come from How Anthony and Mandy first met and decided to start working together Why companies need to fully support those in R&D to drive product innovation How IPR’s Sawyer robot brought something new to the market at the time as a two-armed humanoid robot The different strengths that Mandy and Anthony bring to the manufacturing and product innovation space The top lessons they’ve learned from their previous experiences in the industry that they still use in their roles today Why the most important lesson Mandy learned as a marketing business founder is to listen to customers The importance of telling a company’s value story and selling beyond the tech spec sheets Why all stakeholders in the sales cycle need to understand the value story and how that can look different for each one Why Anthony built an advisory board of customers to get feedback and insights before starting development How large companies can use startup style tactics to fast-track product innovation What a “customer prevention team” does to remove friction from the buying process Why you sometimes need to build an ecosystem of partners to reduce friction The secrets to a great product innovation team and why silos in a company should be avoided Mandy explains more about what IPR Robotics does from her perspective as a marketer Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going! Tweetable Quotes: "Instead of burning a bunch of cash trying to go through development, let's go find three to five customers that we think fit in the wheelhouse of the problem we think we found and ask them if they wouldn't mind being involved in the development of the product." – Anthony "A lot of founders tell the technical story... But a customer wants to hear value. How is this automation going to show up in my facility and really be a game changer." – Mandy "People buy from people at the end of the day. Some people are willing to spend more money with people they trust and solve problems... compared to saving 10, 20% and dealing with headaches the whole way through." – AnthonyLinks & mentions:

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• 238: Scaling Smart: Warehouse Automation and Calculated Growth at Startups with Adi Dalvi, VP of Sales at OSARO

  How does a startup scale? It all starts with a great product that solves a real problem. And sometimes that means taking the slow and steady road to startup success.Recorded at Trillium Brewing in Boston, we sit down with Adi Dalvi, the VP of Sales at OSARO, a company that specializes in robot piece-picking and machine learning solutions to automate warehouse tasks. With minimal marketing in the early days, OSARO managed to grow and scale operations to deliver holistic systems to solve real warehouse challenges. The secret? Rather than rushing technology and products to market and hoping someone bites, OSARO spent years perfecting products before deploying. We hear about how its founders, with backgrounds in industry, achieved calculated growth and targeted the right customers from the beginning. Adi shares his view on the four types of people you need on your startup team, how OSARO set 3-step criteria for finding the right customers, and Adi’s approach to getting great case studies from customers. In this episode, find out:Adi gives a breakdown of what OSARO does – developing vision software and machine learning to integrate with articulating arm robots in the warehouseWhat “calculated growth” means at OSARO and the importance of taking the time to develop products before deploying Why Adi wouldn’t describe OSARO as a startup anymore and instead a company in early-stage growthWhy companies shouldn’t rush to get products out when they’re still in the research project stageThe benefits of having founders come from industry The three-step criteria OSARO used to pick the right customers in the beginningHow startups can extend their runway and keep investors updated with the progress Adi’s method for getting customer case studies in the early negotiation stages with customers What four types of founder backgrounds bring to a startup and why you benefit from having them allHow OSARO managed to achieve growth without marketing in the early days by focusing on perfecting the product Adi’s advice for startups just trying to get early customers so they can grow and scale successfullyThe best part about running this podcast and how things have changed since going down the entrepreneur routeEnjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!Tweetable Quotes:"Really testing your product, making sure it's robust with actual products that you're going to pick is very important as you move from very early company to somebody that can scale.""They wanted to have a deployable product before they actually deployed to a customer site... You don't want to deploy a research project into your customers’ warehouses where they're actually fulfilling orders for their customers.""What [someone with a VC background] brings is they’ve seen a lot of competing technologies and understand what those technologies are doing well and what they're not doing well."Links & mentions:OSARO, manufacturer of robot piece-picking and machine learning solutions to automate warehouse tasksAdi’s Pittsburgh brewery crawl, including Grist House, Dancing Gnome, Pittsburgh Brewing Co., and

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• 237: How Higher Education Is Shaping the Future of Manufacturing with MIT's Dr. John Liu

  What role does higher ed play in making sure manufacturing thrives? Universities and other higher ed hubs are playing a leading role in shaping the future of this industry. And MIT is a prime example of this, with specialist courses to help graduates and professionals get the skills they need to bring new innovations to life. We’re joined by the Principal Investigator of MIT’s LEAP Group (Learning Engineering and Practice), Dr. John Liu. As someone deeply involved in building much-needed programs, including the MicroMasters and TechAMP, we asked for his take on manufacturing today, what we can learn from history, and higher ed’s role in revitalizing the industry. We also talk about the hot topic of globalization and offshoring and what research says about the impact on the U.S. as an innovator economy. In this episode, find out:An introduction to LEAP Group and Dr. John’s role in researching and leading programs to help the future of manufacturing leaders How John’s career pivoted to the manufacturing side of techWhat people should know about MIT’s history in manufacturing, including innovative practices and technologies we still use todayWhat can we learn from history that applies to manufacturing in today’s AI-driven world? The impact of globalization and the conclusions that an MIT report came to about its impact on an innovator economy How manufacturing has changed since the report was published and what John would add that’s relevant today What is MIT doing to help educate and drive innovation across manufacturing and techDr. John explains his involvement in the MicroMasters program as its founder The four principles of manufacturing that remain universal and timelessHow MIT’s programs differ from trade or regular tech schools How the TechAMP program differs from MicroMasters as a program for professionals already in the industry Dr. John gives an overview of MIT’s collaborations with the DoD and Manufacturing USA The important role that higher ed plays in reindustrialization Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!Tweetable Quotes:"If we just continue to set up walls, we'll never learn and innovate. And so how do we, instead of setting up walls, reach across walls and learn from all the innovation that's happening?""We lose our ability to innovate if we produce elsewhere. Why? Because when you actually are forced to go from prototype to make a lot of these things, the design changes in all these sorts of ways... That's a whole type of innovation that is not as celebrated in our country today.""No matter what age, what company, you always have to be able to control four things: manufacturing processes, manufacturing systems, the supply, the people and finances. Always these four."Links & mentions:The Machine That Changed the World, a book written by MIT professors about finding success in automotive manufacturing, which led to the popularity of lean manufacturingMaking in America: From Innovation to Market, a book written by MIT scientists, engineers and social scientists about rebuilding the industrial landscape in the U.S.TechAMP, a 12-month program at MIT LEAP Group to bridge the gap between technicians and engineers

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• 236: The Power of Decisive Leadership in Modern Manufacturing with Paperless Parts' Co-Founder & CEO Jason T. Ray

  Sometimes indecision costs more than a wrong decision. Making decisions is a leader’s bread and butter, but during times of uncertainty or crisis, they often become more cautious and hesitant. The danger here is getting left behind while more confident, proactive leaders charge ahead. Jason T. Ray, Co-Founder and CEO of Paperless Parts, is a regular on Manufacturing Happy Hour, so we compare some of the insights he made when he was last on the show to what he’s seeing in the industry today. One of the big ones was on the skills gap – or “leadership gap” as Jason calls it. The good news is that this seems to be closing, with more manufacturing leaders taking advantage of the vast amounts of information and industry insights out there in the form of articles and podcasts. We hear Jason’s approach to great leadership in manufacturing and the positive changes he’s seen in the industry lately. We also chat about scaling effectively, complying with CMMC, and how to avoid getting lost in the AI hype cycle. In this episode, find out:The four pillars that are leading Paperless Parts to greatness and successful expansion Why the leadership gap (which Jason said last time was responsible for the skills gap) seems to be closing Positive changes Jason’s seeing when it comes to preparing younger professionals for leadership positionsHow to navigate through uncertain times and the important lesson he learned in the Navy that he still uses todayThe power of decisive leadership and what happens when leaders are overly cautious The leading indicators in the industry that Jason watches closely to help him make great long-term decisions The gap between data and information and why data alone is not enough to make good decisions How small to medium manufacturers can win government contracts and become CMMC compliantThe common mistake shop leaders make about AI and why leaders should start with the low-hanging fruit that we know AI is great for The easiest ways to scale in today’s market and how to get your team onboard with a growth mindset Jason’s thoughts on the opportunities of reshoring and why we need to meet the right balance between global collaboration without dependenceJason talks about the Cutting Through the Noise videos series and why he aims to highlight the truly important insights in the industry for busy manufacturing leaders Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!Tweetable Quotes:“I think they're putting young people in their organizations in positions of responsibility. I think more and more they're realizing that these young professionals are ready to take on that responsibility and those folks are bringing new ideas in.”“I think it is such an important understanding of what the right level of global collaboration is where you have not fallen into dependence.”“When you're leading through a period of uncertainty that tends to lead folks to indecision. And that can waste a lot of people's time and shatter your team's confidence in your ability as a leader. The folks that are most successful at leading through a crisis lead with very decisive action.”Links & mentions:Paperless Parts, quoting software for manufacturers to help part manufacturers streamline the quoting process Cutting Through the Noise, a new video series run by Jason that gets straight to the point on manufacturing...

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• 235: How to Find Automation Talent Anywhere with Kyle Mahan, VP & GM of Wauseon Machine

  What does it take to find the best talent in the manufacturing industry these days? When it comes to automation, you can use location (or lack of location) to your advantage. In this episode, Kyle Mahan of Ohio-based Wauseon Machine takes us through their approach to securing the best automation talent. We'll also hear some history on the organization, learn about Kyle's career, and share strategies for robotics and automation integrators.

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