10 Considerations For Choosing Suppliers

A supplier is an important element of every business. A supplier could be a provider of good and or services which the business in turn resells or adds value to. The quality of suppliers a business has directly impacts or affects the quality of service delivery. It is important to select your supplier for the right reasons. While you may have once-off suppliers from time to time, it is riskier as there is no definite service level guarantee and long term commitment. Such suppliers are to be avoided as much as possible. In some companies, procurement is only done from a list of vetted registered suppliers who would have met stringent criteria and scrutiny. It is easy to find any kind of supplier. When you put considerations and conditions you can easily sift and select those suppliers who meet the standards and status of your organization. There is a supplier for every size and class of business. Not every supplier that exists is a genuine partner to rely on and build your business on. Below are considerations and tips that will help you get the best suppliers to partner with your business.

1. Supplier Capacity and Reliability - In what way is the organization you are considering as a supplier capable of meeting your needs. How long have they been in operation? What is their production capacity and level of pressure they are already under from their existing customers? Consider the reliability and track record the company may have. You may need to speak to other customers who have already started using the services of this particular supplier to get a second or third opinion. Without traceable references you are left to assume that the supplier is reliable. Also consider the levels of stock that the supplier keeps at any given time. This will indicate to you whether your order will be fulfilled instantly the next time you order. Some suppliers do not even keep stock, they only order from their own suppliers once they get an order in which case delays are experienced which could affect how you offer services to your own clients. It is important to note that the reliability on lack of it on the part of your suppliers has a direct impact on the business’s reliability. You cannot support your customers fully with unreliable suppliers whom you are not sure to find in the same place the next time you visit them. Take time to cut out those who let you down constantly.

2. Corporate value system – The value system of a business tells you what they believe in and their general work ethic. Always study the value systems and choose suppliers who seem to live according to their value in real life. Values become the habits and character definition of the people serving you. However, some suppliers simply hang values on the wall and that is where it all ends. A company would rather have 3 values which they advocate for and live by than have ten flowery values which remain imaginary not real. Are the values in any way telling you anything about the service delivery, the customer focus etc? Find a supplier who matches your values and beliefs. A supplier who does not cut corners in a bit to make a sale. A supplier who would rather lose the order than supply imitations purporting to be supplying originals.

3. Quality of products - Most organizations thrive because they offer quality products. You may have sales people who are very jovial, with a positive attitude, smiling all the time but if the product range you are dealing with leaves a lot to be desired in terms of quality then your service mars the business growth totally. No one will ever want to resell products that are not tried and tested. One thing most customers avoid is having to deal with the comebacks or return as this impacts on profitability and reputation. I have noticed that each time I have provided good and services to a customer and there are some concerns and comebacks, I have had to work overtime to retain that customer than in cases where I have given a product or service of high quality. In such cases customers have gone out and spoken well of my business and in turn became my silent sales people.

4. Credit terms – The payment options that supplier provide help them to retain and serve their customers satisfactorily. Most customers are not keen on partying with cash on the very day they receive the goods or services. Customers require time to process payment and be able to strengthen their cash flows through these legal delays in payment. While credit terms are attractive, some customers tend to abuse such facilities by over extending their credit payments. If you are selecting a supplier, always agree on reasonable credit line such as 7 to 14 days which is not too short or too long. It gives a win-win scenario. Realize that you also may have customers who require the same credit facility. In cases where suppliers refuse to give you such terms, then you also need to tighten your cash-flow position by ensuring that your customers pay as you deliver the goods. I have seen companies collapse at the weight of having to finance other businesses all because they simply wanted orders and debtors. You rather not have the order if you are not getting terms and your customers are putting pressure for terms. You can only give away what you have been given.

5. Proximity and Distance - This is an important consideration. You could have suppliers on other continents outside of your own. Realize that there is a delay in shipment that occurs between the time of placing an order and getting the order into your own stock room. You may need to keep contact with suppliers that also close in case you run out and receive urgent orders. In you manage your imports properly you may be able to get all your material from other continents. In that scenario distance ceases to be an issue. The advantage however of dealing with smaller local suppliers is that you have a backup plan and in the event of returns, it is an easier process to get product back to the supplier without huge transportation costs

6. Competitive Pricing – Businesses desire to be profitable. After all, the reason why businesses exist is to make a solid consistent profit for the benefit of the investor and all stakeholders. One way to increase on profits is to ensure that you do not unnecessarily purchase your inputs from expensive suppliers. Having registered suppliers and also a consistent relationship with existing suppliers allows the customer to leverage on pricing. They can negotiate for bulk purchase discounts. In most companies, even after selecting a pool of suppliers to deal with both locally and abroad, there is a policy for procurement staff to get 3 quotations for the same product from different suppliers. The $5 difference in price does make a difference in your pricing of the same product. The goal is to ensure they get the best pricing possible so as to forward the same benefit to the end user.

7. Warranty Issues – It is one thing to supply a product and it is a totally different ball game to ensure that there is valid warranty on it. Make it clear as you purchase the product that you want warranty card or certificate. You can only give warranty to your clients based on the warranty given to you by the supplier. This is where paying attention to detail is of paramount importance. You must be able to return the product if it fails to deliver what the manufacturer claims to be the proper life and performance capacity. The warranty must not be assumed but be in writing. If you have bought from the local channel, it is easier to process your warranty than in situations where you go to alternative channels or markets. I had a rude awakening once when I established a supplier in United States of America while running a business in Zimbabwe. It took 2 weeks for the huge machine to get to my office. The machine was delivered to the client immediately. After two weeks the huge machine failed and had to come back to my office. Because I had not bought the machine through the established channels, I had to ship the machine back to America. The cost of shipping alone equated to the profit I had received a few weeks earlier. It is not worth it; rather focus on a channel that honors international warranty.

8. After Sales Support - Depending on the nature of product you intend to be procuring from a supplier, you need to establish what happens in the event that they have sold you the items and you now need support and technical assistance. Always assess the capacity to support you after the sale has been done. Likewise you also need to develop or hire skills to ensure they offer the first level of support and maintenance of the equipment you are selling.

9. Up to date Product Range – How up to date is the product range that your supplier is giving you. There are always new products being developed daily if your supplier sticks to the old range, soon enough your company will be left behind. Technology advancements have ensured that new releases of better, faster, more efficient and cost effective products come on the market. The goal is to make more modern products available to the market at competitive pricing. This is made possible as companies invest in research to ensure they make the same products if not better at a lower cost all the time. Sometimes it is good to partner with a supplier who has a broader range of choices than where one range is being marketed. The broader the range the more the choice you have available to yourself to choose from.

10. Lower Lead times – systems efficiency - When choosing suppliers you have to consider how much longer you normally have to wait for your order or for queries to be responded to. Some companies grow to levels where they can no longer give individual promises to customers and stick by them. You are left unsure about whether upon placement of an order you will get it instantly, after 3 days or 3 weeks. Your own customers usually dictate the lead times they need from you. In the event that you are experiencing delays in your service, endeavor to communicate with the customer as much as possible to ensure that lead time issues do not affect their loyalty to your services. Partner with suppliers who have efficient systems. I usually get annoyed when I have to wait for 20 minutes as the red tape in a company is laid out. All I want in most cases is to pay, get a product with my receipt or invoice. If the supplier’s internal processes are that you

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02 2012

Loonie Tunes Show

The fourth in a series of mini art show/sales where Toronto artists congregate for fun and good compamy. We set up our tables at The Central on Markham St. in Toronto and had a great time while selling custom artwork for the incredible price of ONE DOLLAR. Madeleine Lucy Hellmers Barrios organized this event and we all thank her. For sceduling of upcoming events, find Mady on Facebook. Myphotos, art and videos are now available from my website for use as royalty free stock for advertising, movies, or many other applications. ronzig@rogers.com View my Portfolio, References and Upcoming Shows www.ronzigsgallery.com If you have an event to record or need other photography or video services or would like to purchase a one of my works please contact me. Order Clips to insert in your movies in the format of your choice. Simple to use because I do all the work of formatting and editing to your specifications. Instructions for Ordering Video Clips: Select the clip you need from my YouTube site or Vimeo site and record the EXACT filename. You can order the complete file or select the section you need and only pay for what you order. Also, if there are titles or Picture In Picture or other features such as sound in the video, you can request that they be removed from your clip if you don’t need them. Pricing is $25.00 for the first 3 seconds and $5.00 for each additional second up to 30 seconds you require, so it is wise to determine the start and end points before making your

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07

02 2012

RV Buyer Beware

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02 2012

Brand Positioning – Brand Image

That cross-trainer you’re wearing — one look at the distinctive swoosh on the side tells everyone who’s got you branded. That coffee travel mug you’re carrying — ah, you’re a Starbucks woman! Your T-shirt with the distinctive Champion “C” on the sleeve, the blue jeans with the prominent Levi’s rivets, the watch with the hey-this-certifies-I-made-it icon on the face, your fountain pen with the maker’s symbol crafted into the end …

You’re branded, branded, branded, branded.

It’s time for me — and you — to take a lesson from the big brands, a lesson that’s true for anyone who’s interested in what it takes to stand out and prosper in the new world of work.

Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.

It’s that simple — and that hard. And that inescapable.

Behemoth companies may take turns buying each other or acquiring every hot startup that catches their eye — mergers in 1996 set records. Hollywood may be interested in only blockbusters and book publishers may want to put out only guaranteed best-sellers. But don’t be fooled by all the frenzy at the humongous end of the size spectrum.

The real action is at the other end: the main chance is becoming a free agent in an economy of free agents, looking to have the best season you can imagine in your field, looking to do your best work and chalk up a remarkable track record, and looking to establish your own micro equivalent of the Nike swoosh. Because if you do, you’ll not only reach out toward every opportunity within arm’s (or laptop’s) length, you’ll not only make a noteworthy contribution to your team’s success — you’ll also put yourself in a great bargaining position for next season’s free-agency market.

The good news — and it is largely good news — is that everyone has a chance to stand out. Everyone has a chance to learn, improve, and build up their skills. Everyone has a chance to be a brand worthy of remark.

Who understands this fundamental principle? The big companies do. They’ve come a long way in a short time: it was just over four years ago, April 2, 1993 to be precise, when Philip Morris cut the price of Marlboro cigarettes by 40 cents a pack. That was on a Friday. On Monday, the stock market value of packaged goods companies fell by $25 billion. Everybody agreed: brands were doomed.

Today brands are everything, and all kinds of products and services — from accounting firms to sneaker makers to restaurants — are figuring out how to transcend the narrow boundaries of their categories and become a brand surrounded by a Tommy Hilfiger-like buzz.

Who else understands it? Every single Website sponsor. In fact, the Web makes the case for branding more directly than any packaged good or consumer product ever could. Here’s what the Web says: Anyone can have a Website. And today, because anyone can … anyone does! So how do you know which sites are worth visiting, which sites to bookmark, which sites are worth going to more than once? The answer: branding. The sites you go back to are the sites you trust. They’re the sites where the brand name tells you that the visit will be worth your time — again and again. The brand is a promise of the value you’ll receive.

The same holds true for that other killer app of the Net — email. When everybody has email and anybody can send you email, how do you decide whose messages you’re going to read and respond to first — and whose you’re going to send to the trash unread? The answer: personal branding. The name of the email sender is every bit as important a brand — is a brand — as the name of the Web site you visit. It’s a promise of the value you’ll receive for the time you spend reading the message.

Nobody understands branding better than professional services firms. Look at McKinsey for a model of the new rules of branding at the company and personal level. Almost every professional services firm works with the same business model. They have almost no hard assets — my guess is that most probably go so far as to rent or lease every tangible item they possibly can to keep from having to own anything. They have lots of soft assets — more conventionally known as people, preferably smart, motivated, talented people. And they have huge revenues — and astounding profits.

They also have a very clear culture of work and life. You’re hired, you report to work, you join a team — and you immediately start figuring out how to deliver value to the customer. Along the way, you learn stuff, develop your skills, hone your abilities, move from project to project. And if you’re really smart, you figure out how to distinguish yourself from all the other very smart people walking around with $1,500 suits, high-powered laptops, and well-polished resumes. Along the way, if you’re really smart, you figure out what it takes to create a distinctive role for yourself — you create a message and a strategy to promote the brand called You.

What makes You different?

Start right now: as of this moment you’re going to think of yourself differently! You’re not an “employee” of General Motors, you’re not a “staffer” at General Mills, you’re not a “worker” at General Electric or a “human resource” at General Dynamics (ooops, it’s gone!). Forget the Generals! You don’t “belong to” any company for life, and your chief affiliation isn’t to any particular “function.” You’re not defined by your job title and you’re not confined by your job description.

Starting today you are a brand.

You’re every bit as much a brand as Nike, Coke, Pepsi, or the Body Shop. To start thinking like your own favorite brand manager, ask yourself the same question the brand managers at Nike, Coke, Pepsi, or the Body Shop ask themselves: What is it that my product or service does that makes it different? Give yourself the traditional 15-words-or-less contest challenge. Take the time to write down your answer. And then take the time to read it. Several times.

If your answer wouldn’t light up the eyes of a prospective client or command a vote of confidence from a satisfied past client, or — worst of all — if it doesn’t grab you, then you’ve got a big problem. It’s time to give some serious thought and even more serious effort to imagining and developing yourself as a brand.

Start by identifying the qualities or characteristics that make you distinctive from your competitors — or your colleagues. What have you done lately — this week — to make yourself stand out? What would your colleagues or your customers say is your greatest and clearest strength? Your most noteworthy (as in, worthy of note) personal trait?

Go back to the comparison between brand You and brand X — the approach the corporate biggies take to creating a brand. The standard model they use is feature-benefit: every feature they offer in their product or service yields an identifiable and distinguishable benefit for their customer or client. A dominant feature of Nordstrom department stores is the personalized service it lavishes on each and every customer. The customer benefit: a feeling of being accorded individualized attention — along with all of the choice of a large department store.

So what is the “feature-benefit model” that the brand called You offers? Do you deliver your work on time, every time? Your internal or external customer gets dependable, reliable service that meets its strategic needs. Do you anticipate and solve problems before they become crises? Your client saves money and headaches just by having you on the team. Do you always complete your projects within the allotted budget? I can’t name a single client of a professional services firm who doesn’t go ballistic at cost overruns.

Your next step is to cast aside all the usual descriptors that employees and workers depend on to locate themselves in the company structure. Forget your job title. Ask yourself: What do I do that adds remarkable, measurable, distinguished, distinctive value? Forget your job description. Ask yourself: What do I do that I am most proud of? Most of all, forget about the standard rungs of progression you’ve climbed in your career up to now. Burn that damnable “ladder” and ask yourself: What have I accomplished that I can unabashedly brag about? If you’re going to be a brand, you’ve got to become relentlessly focused on what you do that adds value, that you’re proud of, and most important, that you can shamelessly take credit for.

When you’ve done that, sit down and ask yourself one more question to define your brand: What do I want to be famous for? That’s right — famous for!

What’s the pitch for You?

So it’s a cliché: don’t sell the steak, sell the sizzle. it’s also a principle that every corporate brand understands implicitly, from Omaha Steaks’s through-the-mail sales program to Wendy’s “we’re just regular folks” ad campaign. No matter how beefy your set of skills, no matter how tasty you’ve made that feature-benefit proposition, you still have to market the bejesus out of your brand — to customers, colleagues, and your virtual network of associates.

For most branding campaigns, the first step is visibility. If you’re General Motors, Ford, or Chrysler, that usually means a full flight of TV and print ads designed to get billions of “impressions” of your brand in front of the consuming public. If you’re brand You, you’ve got the same need for visibility — but no budget to buy it.

So how do you market brand You?

There’s literally no limit to the ways you can go about enhancing your profile. Try moonlighting! Sign up for an extra project inside your organization, just to introduce yourself to new colleagues and showcase your skills — or work on new ones. Or, if you can carve out the time, take on a freelance project that gets you in touch with a totally novel group of people. If you can get them singing your praises, they’ll help spread the word about what a remarkable contributor you are.

If those ideas don’t appeal, try teaching a class at a community college, in an adult education program, or in your own company. You get credit for being an expert, you increase your standing as a professional, and you increase the likelihood that people will come back to you with more requests and more opportunities to stand out from the crowd.

If you’re a better writer than you are a teacher, try contributing a column or an opinion piece to your local newspaper. And when I say local, I mean local. You don’t have to make the op-ed page of the New York Times to make the grade. Community newspapers, professional newsletters, even inhouse company publications have white space they need to fill. Once you get started, you’ve got a track record — and clips that you can use to snatch more chances.

And if you’re a better talker than you are teacher or writer, try to get yourself on a panel discussion at a conference or sign up to make a presentation at a workshop. Visibility has a funny way of multiplying; the hardest part is getting started. But a couple of good panel presentations can earn you a chance to give a “little” solo speech — and from there it’s just a few jumps to a major address at your industry’s annual convention.

The second important thing to remember about your personal visibility campaign is: it all matters. When you’re promoting brand You, everything you do — and everything you choose not to do — communicates the value and character of the brand. Everything from the way you handle phone conversations to the email messages you send to the way you conduct business in a meeting is part of the larger message you’re sending about your brand.

Partly it’s a matter of substance: what you have to say and how well you get it said. But it’s also a matter of style. On the Net, do your communications demonstrate a command of the technology? In meetings, do you keep your contributions short and to the point? It even gets down to the level of your brand You business card: Have you designed a cool-looking logo for your own card? Are you demonstrating an appreciation for design that shows you understand that packaging counts — a lot — in a crowded world?

The key to any personal branding campaign is “word-of-mouth marketing.” Your network of friends, colleagues, clients, and customers is the most important marketing vehicle you’ve got; what they say about you and your contributions is what the market will ultimately gauge as the value of your brand. So the big trick to building your brand is to find ways to nurture your network of colleagues — consciously.

What’s the real power of You?

If you want to grow your brand, you’ve got to come to terms with power — your own. The key lesson: power is not a dirty word!

In fact, power for the most part is a badly misunderstood term and a badly misused capability. I’m talking about a different kind of power than we usually refer to. It’s not ladder power, as in who’s best at climbing over the adjacent bods. It’s not who’s-got-the-biggest-office-by-six-square-inches power or who’s-got-the-fanciest-title power.

It’s influence power.

It’s being known for making the most significant contribution in your particular area. It’s reputational power. If you were a scholar, you’d measure it by the number of times your publications get cited by other people. If you were a consultant, you’d measure it by the number of CEOs who’ve got your business card in their Rolodexes. (And better yet, the number who know your beeper number by heart.)

Getting and using power — intelligently, responsibly, and yes, powerfully — are essential skills for growing your brand. One of the things that attracts us to certain brands is the power they project. As a consumer, you want to associate with brands whose powerful presence creates a halo effect that rubs off on you.

It’s the same in the workplace. There are power trips that are worth taking — and that you can take without appearing to be a self-absorbed, self-aggrandizing megalomaniacal jerk. You can do it in small, slow, and subtle ways. Is your team having a hard time organizing productive meetings? Volunteer to write the agenda for the next meeting. You’re contributing to the team, and you get to decide what’s on and off the agenda. When it’s time to write a post-project report, does everyone on your team head for the door? Beg for the chance to write the report — because the hand that holds the pen (or taps the keyboard) gets to write or at least shape the organization’s history.

Most important, remember that power is largely a matter of perception. If you want people to see you as a powerful brand, act like a credible leader. When you’re thinking like brand You, you don’t need org-chart authority to be a leader. The fact is you are a leader. You’re leading You!

One key to growing your power is to recognize the simple fact that we now live in a project world. Almost all work today is organized into bite-sized packets called projects. A project-based world is ideal for growing your brand: projects exist around deliverables, they create measurables, and they leave you with braggables. If you’re not spending at least 70% of your time working on projects, creating projects, or organizing your (apparently mundane) tasks into projects, you are sadly living in the past. Today you have to think, breathe, act, and work in projects.

Project World makes it easier for you to assess — and advertise — the strength of brand You. Once again, think like the giants do. Imagine yourself a brand manager at Procter & Gamble: When you look at your brand’s assets, what can you add to boost your power and felt presence? Would you be better off with a simple line extension — taking on a project that adds incrementally to your existing base of skills and accomplishments? Or would you be better off with a whole new product line? Is it time to move overseas for a couple of years, venturing outside your comfort zone (even taking a lateral move — damn the ladders), tackling something new and completely different?

Whatever you decide, you should look at your brand’s power as an exercise in new-look résumé; management — an exercise that you start by doing away once and for all with the word “résumé.” You don’t have an old-fashioned résumé anymore! You’ve got a marketing brochure for brand You. Instead of a static list of titles held and positions occupied, your marketing brochure brings to life the skills you’ve mastered, the projects you’ve delivered, the braggables you can take credit for. And like any good marketing brochure, yours needs constant updating to reflect the growth — breadth and depth — of brand You.

What’s loyalty to You?

Everyone is saying that loyalty is gone; loyalty is dead; loyalty is over. I think that’s a bunch of crap.

I think loyalty is much more important than it ever was in the past. A 40-year career with the same company once may have been called loyalty; from here it looks a lot like a work life with very few options, very few opportunities, and very little individual power. That’s what we used to call indentured servitude.

Today loyalty is the only thing that matters. But it isn’t blind loyalty to the company. It’s loyalty to your colleagues, loyalty to your team, loyalty to your project, loyalty to your customers, and loyalty to yourself. I see it as a much deeper sense of loyalty than mindless loyalty to the Company Z logo.

I know this may sound like selfishness. But being CEO of Me Inc. requires you to act selfishly — to grow yourself, to promote yourself, to get the market to reward yourself. Of course, the other side of the selfish coin is that any company you work for ought to applaud every single one of the efforts you make to develop yourself. After all, everything you do to grow Me Inc. is gravy for them: the projects you lead, the networks you develop, the customers you delight, the braggables you create generate credit for the firm. As long as you’re learning, growing, building relationships, and delivering great results, it’s good for you and it’s great for the company.

That win-win logic holds for as long as you happen to be at that particular company. Which is precisely where the age of free agency comes into play. If you’re treating your résumé as if it’s a marketing brochure, you’ve learned the first lesson of free agency. The second lesson is one that today’s professional athletes have all learned: you’ve got to check with the market on a regular basis to have a reliable read on your brand’s value. You don’t have to be looking for a job to go on a job interview. For that matter, you don’t even have to go on an actual job interview to get useful, important feedback.

The real question is: How is brand You doing? Put together your own “user’s group” — the personal brand You equivalent of a software review group. Ask for — insist on — honest, helpful feedback on your performance, your growth, your value. It’s the only way to know what you would be worth on the open market. It’s the only way to make sure that, when you declare your free agency, you’ll be in a strong bargaining position. It’s not disloyalty to “them”; it’s responsible brand management for brand You — which also generates credit for them.

It’s this simple: You are a brand. You are in charge of your brand. There is no single path to success. And there is no one right way to create the brand called You. Except this: Start today. Or else.

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25

01 2012

The Importance of Imaginative Play For Children

It is important that you encourage your child to be creative in their play. When children use their imaginations they can learn to play by themselves, play cooperatively with others and improve their language and cognitive abilities. When your child plays dress up and pretend games they can live out their dreams and fantasies.

You can find many different kinds of toys and games that will encourage your child to be imaginative in their play. Some of the popular items include pretend kitchens with pretend food, gardening toys, toys that allow them to pretend to clean, cash registers and other toys dealing with money, puppets, dolls and spy toys. Your child is probably right there in the kitchen with you when you are cooking meals every day. You can find a lot of toys that will allow your child to cook right along with you. The list of toys available is almost endless and includes pretend picnic sets with food and condiments, baking sets, complete tea party sets, pots and pans, complete sets of dinnerware (these usually include cups, plates, bowls and silverware) and pretend coffee makers.

They make amazing play kitchens these days that have realistic microwaves, fridges, stoves, dishwashers and more. These play kitchens often include sounds and lights to make them appear even more realistic. You can also find real ovens and microwaves that will allow your children to cook along with you. Another great toy your children would love is a pretend grocery store with a cash register so they can check out with their groceries. There are endless possibilities for kitchen pretend play.

All young children like to play dress up with their mom and dad’s clothes. You can find a lot of dress up clothing kits that have clothes, accessories and more to keep your children busy for hours and hours. You can find costume specific to the interests of your children including police costumes, fireman costumes, nurse and doctor costumes, princess costumes, ballerina costumes, fairy tale costumes, animal costumes, witch costumes, waitress costumes, bus driver costumes, magician costumes, teacher costumes, secretary costumes, superhero costumes, animal trainer costumes and many many more. These costumes often come with fun accessories like wands, hats, ballet slippers, boas, capes and tights, stuffed animals, baby dolls, serving trays and food, princess tiaras and anything else you can think of. Your child and their friends will love dressing up in these costumes and acting out their very own stories.

If your child is interested in gardening and likes to help you work in the garden you can get them their own play garden tools. You can find cute child sized wheelbarrows for them in a variety of colors and patterns that will let them help you move dirt and rock with you. Kids love this kind of thing. You can also find child size toy versions of an endless list of garden tools including water cans, trowels, shovels, seeds, bulbs, gardening clothes, gloves, rakes, and almost anything else you can think of. If your children are old enough and want to grow their own garden you can find garden kits with seeds, dirt and planters that allow them to grow and tend their own miniature garden.

That would be both fun and educational.When your kids are little they will love to help you clean up around the house. This won’t last long though so enjoy it while you can. There are a lot of different housekeeping toys out there including toy brooms, mops and vacuums, toy cleaning products, toy irons and ironing boards, toy sewing machines and even cute toy washers and dryers. It can be both fun and educational for your children to play with money by using cash registers or pretend ATM’s. This is a good way for them to get an understanding of how to use money. Some of the toy cash registers available let children scan items, pay with cash or a pretend credit card, give change back, and even more. These toys will help your children improve their small motor skills and learn about money, math and shopping.

Another fun kind of pretend play for children is pretending to be spies. You’ll be amazed at the variety of realistic and working spy toys out there. Some of the things you can find including listening devices so the children can overhear conversations in the next room, cameras you wear on your wrist or can fit in your pocket, spy glasses for seeing what is going on far away, motion sensors that actually work and radios that let them stay in contact even if they are not in the same place. Children can have hours of fun playing spy games with these toys and will be exposed to electronics which is educational and can lead to a future interest in electronics as they get older. Play tools are another popular item that allow children to use their imagination and be like their mom or dad.

There are many pretend tool sets for children that include all the tools their mom or dad have like saws, hammers, wrenches, drills and levels. There are also cute tool benches where the children can pretend to build and fix things with all their play tools. There are also lawn and garden tools for children to be like mom and dad as well. Your child can pretend to mow the lawn, blow the leaves away, trim the hedges, cut down trees, carry rock and dirt around in their wheelbarrows and even more.

There is even pretend safety gear so they can do this all safely. Puppets are a fun way for children to use their imaginations and make up stories to act out. Children love playing with puppets. Puppets come in many different forms including finger puppets, hand puppets, bath tub puppets, marionettes with strings and a few others as well. You can also find accessories like clothes for puppets and puppet theaters so your children can put on a show for you. Puppets come in every design you can imagine including dogs, cats, lions, tigers, frogs, bears, fish, and many more animals.

Other puppets can be found that are famous people, babies, small children, moms and dads, teachers, policeman and fireman, and fairy tale characters. The possibilities are endless. Puppet theaters can be found to fit in any home and can include small theaters that fit on the table, ones that fit in a doorway, floor ones that are a little larger and more. You and your children will have a great time playing with puppets together. Children need to express themselves through playing and be encouraged to use their imaginations. They love pretending to be other people that they know or have seen in their lives. It is important to have a variety of toys and accessories in your home so your children can act out stories and scenes from their imaginations.

Laminating Film

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01 2012

Clip on sunglasses from Eyewear Accessories

Buying clip on sunglasses from Eyewear Accessories in the UK. We sell polarized clip on sunglasses of an ergonomic modern design with a spring bridge and clips that secure easily over your prescription glasses. A range of sizes and shapes are available to fit different eyewear. The product includes a quality hard case in which to keep your clipons.

Domain Cheap Wireless Stereo Speakers

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01 2012

Impact Of Technology In Banking

In the world of banking and finance nothing stands still. The biggest change of all is in the, scope of the business of banking. Banking in its traditional from is concerned with the acceptance of deposits from the customers, the lending of surplus of deposited money to suitable customers who wish to borrow and transmission of funds. Apart from traditional business, banks now a days provide a wide range of services to satisfy the financial and non financial needs of all types of customers from the smallest account holder to the largest company and in some cases of non customers. The range of services offered differs from bank to bank depending mainly on the type and size of the bank.

RESERVE BANK’S EARLY INITIATIVES

As a central bank in a developing country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has adopted development of the banking and financial market as one of its prime objectives. “Institutional development” was the hallmark of this approach from 1950s to 1970s. In the 1980s, the Reserve Bank focused on “improvements in the productivity” of the banking sector. Being convinced that technology is the key for improving in productivity, the Reserve Bank took several initiatives to popularize usage of technology by banks in India.

Periodically, almost once in five years since the early 1980s, the Reserve Bank appointed committees and working Groups to deliberate on and recommend the appropriate use of technology by banks give the circumstances and the need. These committees are as follows:

-Rangarajan committee -1 in early 1980s.

-Rangarajan committee -11 in late 1980s.

-Saraf working group in early 1990s.

-Vasudevan working group in late 1990s.

-Barman working group in early 2000s.

Based on the recommendations of these committees and working groups, the Reserve Bank issued suitable guidelines for the banks. In the 1980s, usage of technology for the back office operations of the banks predominated the scene. It was in the form of accounting of transactions and collection of MIS. In the inter-bank payment systems, it was in the form of clearing and settlement using the MICR technology.

Two momentous decisions of the Reserve Bank in the 1990s changed the scenario for ever there are:

a) The prescription of compulsory usage of technology in full measure by the new private sector banks as a precondition of the license and

b) The establishment of an exclusive research institute for banking technology institute for development and Research in Banking Technology.

As the new private sector banks came on the scene as technology-savvy banks and offered several innovative products at the front office for the customers based on technology, the demonstration effect caught on the reset of the banks. Multi channel offerings like machine based (ATMs and pc-Banking), card based (credit/Debit/Smart cards), Communication based (Tele-Banking and Internet Banking) ushered in Anytime and Anywhere Banking by the banks in India. The IDRBT has been instrumental in establishing a safe and secure, state of the art communication backbone in the from of the Indian Financial NETwork (INFINET) as a closed user group exclusively for the banking and financial sector in India.

CHANGING FACE OF BANKING SERVICES

Liberalization brought several changes to Indian service industry. Probably Indian banking industry learnt a tremendous lesson. Pre-liberalization, all we did at a bank was deposit and withdraw money. Service standards were pathetic, but all we could do was grin and bear it. Post-liberalization, the tables have turned. It’s a consumer oriented market there.

Technology is revolutionizing every field of human endeavor and activity. One of them is introduction of information technology into capital market. The internet banking is changing the banking industry and is having the major effects on banking relationship. Web is more important for retail financial services than for many other industries.

Retail banking in India is maturing with time, several products, which further could be customized. Most happening sector is housing loan, which is witnessing a cut-throat competition. The home loans are very popular as they help you to realize your most cherished dream. Interest rates are coming down and market has seen some innovative products as well. Other retail banking products are personal loan, education loan and vehicles loan. Almost every bank and financial institution is offering these products, but it is essential to understand the different aspects of these loan products, which are not mentioned in their colored advertisements.

PLASTIC MONEY

Plastic money was a delicious gift to Indian market. Giving respite from carrying too much cash. Now several new features added to plastic money to make it more attractive. It works on formula purchase now repay later. There are different facts of plastic money credit card is synonyms of all.

Credit card is a financial instrument, which can be used more than once to borrow money or buy products and services on credit. Banks, retail stores and other businesses generally issue these. On the basis of their credit limit, they are of different kinds like classic, gold or silver.

Charged cards-these too carry almost same features as credit cards. The fundamental difference is you can not defer payments charged generally have higher credit limits or some times no credit limits.

Debit cards-this card is may be characterized as accountholder’s mobile ATM, for this you have to have account with any bank offering credit card.

Over the years, the banking sector in India has seen a no. of changes. Most of the banks have begun to take an innovative approach towards banking with the objective of creating more value for customers and consequently, the banks. Some of the significant changes in the banking sector are discussed below.

MOBILE BANKING

Taking advantages of the booming market for mobile phones and cellular services, several banks have introduced mobile banking which allows customers to perform banking transactions using their mobile phones. For instances HDFC has introduced SMS services. Mobile banking has been especially targeted at people who travel frequently and to keep track of their banking transaction.

RURAL BANKING

One of the innovative scheme to be launched in rural banking was the KISAN CREDIT CARD (KCC) SCHMME started in fiscal 1998-1999 by NABARD. KCC mode it easier for framers to purchase important agricultural inputs. In addition to regular agricultural loans, banks to offer several other products geared to the needs of the rural people.

Private sector Banks also realized the potential in rural market. In the early 2000’s ICICI bank began setting up internet kiosks in rural Tamilnadu along with ATM machines.

NRI SERVICES

With a substantial number of Indians having relatives abroad, banks have begun to offer service that allows expatriate Indians to send money more conveniently to relatives India which is one of the major improvements in money transfer.

E-BANKING

E-Banking is becoming increasingly popular among retail banking customers. E-Banking helps in cutting costs by providing cheaper and faster ways of delivering products to customers. It also helps the customer to choose the time, place and method by which he wants to use the services and gives effect to multichannel delivery of service by the bank. This E-Banking is driven by twin engine of “customer-pull and Bank-push”.

CONCLUSION

Technology has been one of the most important factors for the development of mankind. Information and communication technology is the major advent in the field of technology which is used for access, process, storage and dissemination of information electronically. Banking industry is fast growing with the use of technology in the from of ATMs, on-line banking, Telephone banking, Mobile banking etc., plastic card is one of the banking products that cater to the needs of retail segment has seen its number grow in geometric progression in recent years. This growth has been strongly supported by the development of in the field of technology, without which this could not have been possible of course it will change our lifestyle in coming years.

Ergonomic Ball Chair

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01 2012