Reduce Unique ICDs by Redesigning the Product or the Process

The objective of this activity is to reduce the number of ICDs by reducing the occurrence of an ICD in producing a unit of Output, or by reducing the number of separate ICDs used in the Output. A unique ICD is one of the key activities in the work center's contribution to the final product (O). It is separate and distinct from any other activity in the work center. For example, the fastening of a part onto a subassembly and a quality control check of the subassembly would be unique ICDs.

A. Redesign the product

Reduce ICDs by redesigning the product or the components of the product. Any redesign of the product or its components implies that the resulting product, after the redesign, would be acceptable to customers.

2. Reduce Performance Standards

Overall product: Lessen the quailty of the experience the customer has with the product:
Security or risk in purchase

No.	Industry SIC	Year	Notes
1	3200	2006	In industries from airlines to glass-making, companies are curbing usage, revamping machinery, and shifting production schedules to offset energy costs. Pinehall Brick Co., for example, has started putting slightly larger holes in its bricks because lighter bricks take less power to produce.
2	4512	2004	America West has been quietly testing the new fares over the past 15 months with temporary markdowns on first class tickets in a variety of markets. Those tickets which were all nonrefundable boosted the airline's revenue by $1 million to $2 million a week, the company says, though it doesn't expect the long-term financial effect to be that robust.
3	4512	2005	Northwest Airlines is looking to outsource flight attendants as a way to cut costs. Northwest is also seeking to move all the flight-attendant jobs on planes with 77 to 100 seats that fly in North America to attendants not on the Flight Attendants Association Union seniority list, and to cut the number of U.S. flight attendants allowed to work on flights from Japan to the rest of Asia to one from two. The seniority list ranks attendants according to hire date, and the ranking affects pay, assignments and other quality life issues. Northwest is seeking cost savings of $195 million a year from the flight attendants through 2010.
4	5331	2007	Costco revamped return policies in its warehouses, limiting the period in which customers can return electronics for a full refund to 90 days. To compensate, Costco extended the manufacturers' warranties on TVs and computers from one year to two. Previously, the company allowed an unlimited return period for its members. Margins were hit when consumers returned flat-panel televisions when they faced difficulty in installing them or when prices dropped significantly.
5	5411	2004	Germany's discount retailing giant, Aldi, keeps its expenses low in a market with high labor costs by keeping services to a minimum. The stores usually have no baggers and no parking spaces. Aldi doesn't waste time or money arranging products on shelves. Boxes of products are ripped open and stacked in the same categories, and the prices are on boards hung from the ceiling. Aldi also doesn't restock goods often – just once or twice a week. It's first come, first served for the customers. Aldi also offers a limited range of goods, keeping its display simple. 95% of its goods are private label, and it often stocks just one product type per category. Aldi stores typically carry around 700 – 1,200 different products, compared with as many as 20,000 for a typical supermarket. Aldi also doesn't bother with flashy advertising, just simple print ads.
6	5411	2004	German hard-discounter grocer, Aldi, is growing to be the next Wal-Mart. Aldi's amazing success is due to building a strong foundation with the simple strategy of selling at the lowest price. The chain sells few products, thus it can exert strong control over quality and price, and can simplify shipping and handling. A typical Aldi store has an assortment of only about 700 products, compared with more than 20,000 at Albert Heijn and 150,000 at Wal-Mart. Aldi stores also don't bother with established name brands, but pick products to sell based on quality and private name brands, Other reasons Aldi is so successful is that it finances its expansion with cash to avoid debt, shuns publicity, and moves quietly into new markets before the competition catches on.
7	5411	2004	Trader Joe boasts success with its stocks of eclectic and upscale food products. Part of the reason the chain is so successful is that there is no competition. It sells products that are healthy, organic, and non-controversial at low prices. TJ also develops or imports many of its own products from sources it has developed over decades and sells more than 80% of them under the Trader Joe's brand or a variant. To save money, it moves into abandoned retail stores in second-rate locations and sells upscale products at low prices.
8	5411	2005	To find growth, Save-A-Lot is setting up shops in inner cities. The founder of Save-A-Lot started making his own labels from low-quality paper. He named the cream cheese Coburn Farms after his mother-in-law's last name, and asked employees to invent brands. New suppliers stuck the labels on generic goods. He opened up shop in vacant groceries with dirt-cheap rent. Deliveries were packed onto one truck so workers wouldn't have to move multiple loads. Having nonunion workers also lowered costs. To get suppliers to offer cheaper goods, the store didn't charge so-called slotting fees, which many stores levy on manufacturers to put their products on shelves. Instead of asking food makers to take back damaged goods, the prices were marked down.
9	5600	2007	Fraud and the associated costs has forced some retailers to modify their return policy. Even honest customers are facing more stringent policies. Returns at the Gap made without a receipt are given a merchandise certificate which is only for the current sale price.
10	5942	2007	Fraud and the associated costs has forced some retailers to modify their return policy. Even honest customers are facing more stringent policies. Amazon allows 30 days for returns. After this period, a partial refund was available.
11	5945	2007	Fraud and the associated costs has forced some retailers to modify their return policy. Even honest customers are facing more stringent policies. Toys "R" Us offers refunds within 90 days for most products, excluding electronics, software and DVDs. No exchanges can be made without a receipt and if the customer does not have the original packaging, they must exchange it for the exact same item.
12	6211	1996	Internet brokers keep their overhead low by having no brokers and few offices, w/ the Internet allowing customers to trade on weekends and after work when brokers aren't available.
13	6324	2005	Some doctors are protesting a United Healthcare program that enables employers to provide financial incentives for workers to choose from a list of physicians selected by the company. Some physician groups see the program as an imprecise money-saving effort that emphasizes cost far more than quality and limits access to care. They are questioning the company's criteria for determining both quality and efficiency. They add that United Healthcare has excluded certain doctors from the programs because there aren't established evidence-based criteria for their specialties.
14	7372	1997	Intuit said yesterday it will lay off 420 workers–about 10% of its global workforce. The bulk of the layoffs will come from shutting down the company's telephone support center in N. M.
15	7822	2006	Within months, consumers may be able to download full-length feature films on Amazon.com Inc.'s and Apple Computer Inc.'s Web sites, and through big retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and even cable companies such as Comcast Corp. The foot-dragging over digital movies has turned into a sprint for several reasons. The studios have become more comfortable with online safeguards against piracy. DVD sales growth has been slowing, underscoring the need to foster new sales channels. And electronic distribution, which does not require packaging and shipping, has the potential to create fat profit margins. For the most part, studio agreements with online distributors allow consumers to download the movies, but not to burn them on discs that work in DVD players.

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