[Leica] Re: outsourcing components

[Jim Brick <jim@brick.org>]

To reiterate...

Thank you Erwin for explaining how it is that we can still, today, purchase
new and better Leica products. New and better Leica lenses. And at prices
that, because of these production techniques, are affordable. Can you
imagine what a Leica would cost if produced the same way it was produced 30
years ago? What I can imagine, is that Leica would no longer exist.

Nostalgia indeed, gets in the way of common sense.

Jim


At 09:18 PM 8/1/99 +0200, Erwin wrote:
>Someone wrote at least in part that a company that does outsourcing 
>is per definition an assembler, not a manufacturer. This person has a 
>queer and completely outdated view of modern industrial manufacturing 
>and the workings of the market for specialized products.
>
>Wish this person would look at a company report from BMW, 
>Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche, Volvo, Saab, Nikon, Honda, Apple, 
>IBM, etc and try to find the description about the logistics and the 
>amount of buying in from outside companies. Most modern companies in 
>the western world do the three things that they know best: design a 
>product, find suppliers for many components and assemble the product 
>to their specification and design/production philosophy.
>If E. Leitz had understood the signs of the time you would be able to 
>buy E.Leitz Wetzlar products today. Leitz went down in my view 
>because they had committed themselves to a production quality that 
>was impossible to guarantee within economical means. Too much manual 
>adjustments to counter production defects. This is documented by a 
>British report.  The myth of superior production quality at Leitz is 
>easily blown apart by looking at the numerous adjustment screws, the 
>many subassemblies to make tolerance adjustments during assembly etc.
>It is a pity that nostalgia still  produces such a a strong filter to 
>reality that the past is viewed as heaven. A realistic assessment of 
>current performance and capabilities of any company  is the least one 
>should try.
>
>Erwin
>