Did you like the last one? Well, check this bad boy out.

But first, a question ...

Do you share or otherwise exchange spreadsheets with your customers or prospects? If you do, you gotta push a click at www.Sheetster.com.

Look at what this rich app does (from the Sheetster Web site):

• Featuring R3S(tm) (Really Simple Spreadsheet Syndication) Technology. Subscribe to Spreadsheet Cells using RSS!
• Exports to true Excel files
• Supports 180+ Excel Formulas
• No more emailing Spreadsheets
• Securely track and share lists
• Upload and share existing Excel files
• Embed Spreadsheets in BLOGs and Websites
• Free BLOG and RSS Reader

It seems the Chinese are taking customer service and the user experience seriously these days.

A friend sent this picture to me yesterday from Shanghai. He said he'd encountered this contraption at the airport immigration booths when entering the country last week, around town at various businesses during his visit, and again at the airport when leaving.





It really gets me to thinking ... how serious are the Chinese to develop and maintain a focus on the customer? This is a remarkable thing - watching a society focus on others by soliciting feedback from customers.

At immigration. In the airport. In China.

Say, here's another thought - when do you think we'll see U.S. Immigration or Customs add these bad boys in L.A., New York or any other point of entry? And even if they installed them, do you think they'd use them?

And what about your business? In the face of dramatic, global competition and shifting price points within the supply chain, what rating would your business get from customers and prospects that visit your Web site?

Maybe the China syndrome for manufacturers has had a lot to do with price to this point. But if these little machines catch on, manufacturers in mature markets are gonna have a whole lot more to worry about than competing against China on just price.

The past month has been a tough one for China's trade and manufacturing policies.

First, the World Trade Organization (WTO) issued a preliminary ruling against China in a dispute filed by the U.S. over duties on imported auto parts. The official ruling is months away, but sources confirm that decisions by the WTO are rarely, if ever, changed between the issuance of preliminary and official rulings.

See this coverage online:

• Chinese Duties on Car Parts Break Trade Law, WTO Says
• U.S. wins auto parts case against China: official
• WTO China ruling could save Canada auto parts sector: official

It appears as though the U.S. Air Force is shifting its intentions regarding who will get the massive $40-billion (USD) aerial tanker contract, reports Aero-News Network.

Originally, it was seen as a winner-take-all award between Boeing and Airbus.

But in Air Force Could Split Tanker Deal, Says Official (from Aero-News Network; document removed 02/26/08), USAF sources are quoted contradicting each other in a span of 6 months. They now indicate that in the 3 phases of the contract, the winner of the first phase may not win the second - or the third.

In August of '07, Sue Payton, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, was quoted:

"Because we are trying to do so much, we don't have the money upfront that it would take to carry two or three (tankers) through development and then into procurement."

"They can say whatever they want, but we have three separate buys as our acquisition strategy at this point."

President Bush made it official on Wednesday (02/23/08), signing into law "The Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008," intended to, er, provide relief to the American people. Certainly, proponents and detractors will argue its merits in the coming months.

This'll add a twist to the "my daddy can whip your daddy" rhetoric of an election year, donchathink?

But manufacturers do get rather significant stimuli from this legislation through tax incentives for their businesses. The following links offer thorough explanations of them, and how they relate to manufacturers - in simple terms.

• Analyzing the Economic Stimulus Package - U.S. News & World Report offers this succinct but high-altitude overview of the impact of the stimulus package.


• Economic Stimulus Package Includes Powerful Tax Incentives for Investment - This PDF from the National Association of Manufacturers and Deloitte provides a tighter explanation of the advantages for manufacturers, including specific examples of how the tax incentives and accelerated depreciation aspects of the bill may affect you.


• AMT President praises new Economic Stimulus Package ... Another succinct but even tighter explanation of how the bonus depreciation and other aspects of the bill can help manufacturers, especially in terms of purchasing new or used capital equipment.

Takin' a spin around the textiles manufacturing Web, we present for your edification ...

India's Plan to Challenge China as Textiles Giant
A report published yesterday from UPI Asia Online titled "India to challenge China in textiles," paints a remarkable picture - but not just of India's strategy and tactics to take on China as a textile powerhouse. It's also a well-written, succinct piece that describes the events leading to India's opportunity in the global textiles supply pecking order.

2008 Textiles Predictions
Around this time, everyone with a voice - much less a blog - professes their predictions for the coming year. Most are repurposed expectations or interviews with industry or otherwise specific experts. But "Eight apparel industry issues to watch in 2008 from just-style.com presents a compelling world-view of events that will likely affect not just the textiles industries - but many other manufacturing industries, as well.

U.S. Retailers Singin' Post-Holiday Blues
The impact of the U.S. economic uncertainty on textiles retailers is reviewed in "January chill ruffles retailers," also a published piece from just-style.com. Here, the actions several retailers including Talbots, Charming Shoppes, AnnTaylor Stores, Eddie Bauer and others suggest rough waters ahead for suppliers to U.S. textiles buyers.
MFG.com Launches Textiles Platform
MFG.com has launched a platform to serve the sourcing and supply chain needs of textile manufacturers and buyers. MFG.com Textiles went live earlier this month.

Some say it's too little, too late. Others applaud the latest economic stimulus package that passed in Congress last week It's expected that President Bush will sign the bill into law in the coming days (barring a meltdown in the Senate).

Much has been written about the rebates to individuals and couples. But what about manufacturers - is there any meaningful relief in this legislation for us?
Should the bill pass into law as written, there is a somewhat meaningful allowance to double the immediate write-off for capital equipment purchases (from $125,000 US to $250,000 US).

But maybe it's a little like trying to put a forest fire out with a squirt gun. This report from NAM paints a balanced picture of the US economy through the first two quarters of 2008, with the housing downturn capturing much of the negative ink.

But what's missing is any consideration of an unforeseen event - economic crises in another industry, the status of the US dollar, or (God forbid) another Katrina.

Manufacturers could indeed reap some rewards from this package (in the form of tax breaks and their positive impact on employment in the sector).

But it's best to keep our eyes on these developments and be prepared to contact our representatives should we find the tax break numbers begin to creep southward, as they often do after initial "happy talk."

If you went into a store and approached a salesperson with a question, what would you do if she didn't answer? How long would you wait?

If you called a potential business partner on the phone with a critical concern, how long would you wait for an answer before moving on?

A recent survey from Lifestyles Online shows that when we submit a question or message through a company's Web site, we expect an answer - pronto.

According to the survey of 7600+ consumers regarding their expectations of response rates to online inquiries, we are not so patient as you might think.

Some quick findings:

• In response to a specific product request submitted online, 49% expect an answer within 24 hours. 36% expect an answer in less than an hour.
• 44% of those surveyed said they would wait 24 hours for a response before contacting a competing business with the same request. 42% said they would wait an hour or less before contacting someone else with the same enquiry.
• 85% said if they didn't receive an answer to an online enquiry, they would not contact that business again.

How do employees buy things for your manufacturing business? Odds are good that there are approval processes that must be followed before someone can spend the company's money.

And the larger the value or more stress the purchase would put on the organization, the more stringent the justification process is to support that purchase.

In short, you gotta prove it's worth the cost or stay home.

But manufacturers face unique challenges to justify purchases or partnerships. Large expenditures like capital equipment or software can be both expensive and extremely stressful to the company.

So why is it that nearly every manufacturer's Web site I see offers up the same vacuous, lame, useless blather?

Once a prospect is on your site, they are looking for JUSTIFICATION to present to their bosses, supervisors, or to satisfy their own demands. They want a good reason to present that'll get your company on the short list.

But you probably don't give them one.

Instead, think about making your Web site an advocacy toolkit - one that offers prospects in the industries you serve good reason to pick you as a partner or supplier.

• Brief, easy-to-read explanations of projects, processes and products you've made better or improved.


• Detailed descriptions of services and logistical support aside from the actual product that your company offers, and examples of how they've translated to success for your customers.


• Include all contact information for your company on each page and in each area.