This problem occurs most often because of a constraint.  A constraint is anything that prevents you from achieving your objective.  In this case it is a bottleneck of some sort which restricts throughput.

Solution

1. We must find the constraint.  On the surface this may seem quite easy, but often it is not so obvious.  In a physical process we can often see parts piled up before the constraint.  That's a good clue that we may have found the constraint.  However, sometimes parts pile up because we are not managing a process well, thus creating a constraint where there really should not be one.  Many times the constraint is not in the physical factory at all, but making itself felt there.  Such constraints may be policy constraints, such as how we schedule work.  They may also be in a supplier or our logistics.  Finding the true constraint is vital, so we don't waste our time chasing the wrong solution!
    
2. We must decide what to do about the constraint.  There are many choices available – the choice is driven by the nature of the constraint and your business realities.  Some of these choices include:

• Managing the constraint to make sure it is always working for us making good parts
• Breaking the constraint by either adding capacity for better work distribution

This approach is based on the Theory of Constraints (TOC).

Customers are becoming more demanding.  Among their expectations is fast responses to their requests, whether they be quotes, changes, orders or information request.  Inability to respond quickly can not only damage relationships with customers, but can leave you vulnerable to competitive assault.  Fortunately it is often possible to respond quickly without working harder or spending a lot of money.

Solution

1. We must clearly understand expectations and how we are performing to those expectations.  This will give us a feel for the amount of improvement needed.
    
2. We document the entire process from receipt of the customer request to satisfactory fulfillment.  This is typically done by creating a detailed process map with the assistance of people who actually work the process.  It is critically important to document the real process, which is often different that the descriptions found in procedure manuals, or the beliefs of management.
    
3. We identify the steps in the process which are crucial to achieving the process output (fulfilling the request).  These steps are called value-added steps.  These steps typically make up a small percentage of the total steps.
    
4. We determine how to streamline the process, keeping the value-added steps while eliminating as many other steps as possible.  In doing so we give particular attention to steps which consume the most time as well as those steps that create rework.
    
5. Considering the various streamlining opportunities, a new process is designed.
    
6. The new process is tested, typically by physical pilot
    
7. Based on the pilot, improvements are made and an implementation plan is created.
    
8. The new process is implemented along with measures which will track ongoing performance.

This approach is based on Business Process Redesign (BPR), Lean Business Practices and the Toyota Production System (TPS).

While it is common to occasionally make a shipment late, doing so regularly signals a fundamental problem which must be solved before it damages your reputation and costs you business.  While there are a variety of reasons for chronic late shipments, most often there are a variety of reasons, with a common root cause:  leadership has not taken decisive action to solve the problem.  This is much more than wishing, but rather adopting a positive set up steps that will achieve results.

Solution

1. We must signal the organization that it is not acceptable to ship late.  While this may seem obvious, if you have been consistently shipping late your organization is probably beginning to accept it as normal (perhaps undesirable, but just a part of doing business).  It is vitally important to send a clear message that failure is not an option: our future is at stake here!  It is best to immediately implement a highly visible scorecard showing daily performance.
    
2. We must begin to understand why late shipments are happening.  It is important to get close to the action and find the real story – not just what people are commonly saying.  This is important because chronic problems often defy solution because there are may honest wrong beliefs about the causes.  We select specific recent late shipments and trace back what happened throughout your process.  In tracing this history it is important to:

• look for facts and evidence, not opinion
• avoid blaming anyone (people are usually doing the best they know how)

As causes are identified, they might be posted along with daily performance information.  Late shipments often have numerous causes, which might include:

• scheduling production in a manner that does not support shipping requirements
• moving up delivery dates without the ability to make the change
• needed parts or materials not on hand
• measures or incentives (monetary and otherwise) that promote failure

1. We must decide what to do about this situation, and how to transition to the improved condition.  It is important to validation that the suspected cause is the real cause.  Otherwise much time, money and effort may be wasted chasing the wrong solution.  The validation approach will vary, based on the situation, but might include proof by data gathering, turning the solution on and off, piloting the solution or rigorous logic.
    
2. We must consider the consequences of the change.  While we may be satisfied that the change will solve the problem, what other consequences might there be.  By identifying the negative consequences they can be dealt with before the implementation.

A wide range of solution approaches might apply to this problem, the most likely would include Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Theory of Constraints (TOC).

It is important to clearly understand if promises are being made knowing that they cannot be fulfilled, or if you simply can't seem to fulfill them, despite the best intentions.  I wouldn't want to accuse you of lying, but lets be real – when a salesperson is within sight of closing, some will say nearly anything to make the sale.

Solution for knowingly making impossible promises

1. We must determine why such promises are being made.  Resist the temptation to simply blame the salesperson.  Look beyond that, to the system in which they operate.  How are they compensated?  Are they incented to sell things that are difficult to make?  Why?  Are they paid based on sales booked, or sales delivered?  Do they believe they must say "yes" to all customer requests?  How important is their relationship to the customer?
    
2. We must decide what to do about this situation, and how to transition to the improved condition.  It is important to consider the response to the changes?  Will you be trading one problem for another?  It is vital to think through the solution and implementation thoroughly.

This approach is based on the Theory of Constraints (TOC).

Solution for inability to keep promises

1. We must understand the nature of the broken promise.  This is often done by diagnosing recent failed promises, digging for the fundamental causes (often called root causes).

In doing so, we would like to discover if promises were made that should not have been.  This can occur when:

• our organization's capabilities are not understood by salespeople
• customer requirements are not clearly understood
• we bet on capabilities expected to be available (especially common for new products and services)

Alternatively, we might find that we simply were unable to fulfill a perfectly reasonable promise.  This can occur when:

• information is lost or delayed
• demand for parts or materials are not communicated to suppliers quickly enough
• suppliers unable to respond quickly enough
• overbooking (either capacity or materials)
• frequent equipment failures
• failure to understand lead time and capacity drivers
• poor process yield (such as quality problems)

2. We must decide what to do about this situation, and how to transition to the improved condition.  It is important to validation that the suspected cause is the real cause.  Otherwise much time, money and effort may be wasted chasing the wrong solution.  The validation approach will vary, based on the situation, but might include proof by data gathering, turning the solution on and off, piloting the solution or rigorous logic.
    
3. We must consider the consequences of the change.  While we may be satisfied that the change will solve the problem, what other consequences might there be.  By identifying the negative consequences they can be dealt with before the implementation.

A wide range of solution approaches might apply to this problem, the most likely would include Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Theory of Constraints (TOC).

With all of the effort and investment that goes into bringing a new product to market, it can be very disheartening to find that customers don't see the value you have sought to provide.  This problem tends to occur in two forms

• the product may be very desirable, but the customer simply doesn't recognize it
• the products have failed to achieve the capabilities that will satisfy customers

This can best be determined by directly interviewing customers.  Do not rely on internal opinions alone, since that is how you got to your current dilemma.  Review the capabilities of your product and confirm that no "must have" customer expectations have been omitted.  Assess how your key competitors perform in providing those capabilities.

Solution for customer not recognizing product capabilities

1. We must first identify the specific capabilities that are not being recognized.  For each capability, what specific value does that bring the customer?  If you were the customer, what would make it extremely obvious to you that the capability exists?
    
2. Design sales aids and redirect your marketing efforts to focus on the formerly unrecognized capabilities.

This approach is based on Quality Function Deployment (QFD).

Solution for products failing achieve needed capabilities

Unfortunately, products that fail to meet customer expectations are often very expensive to correct.  It if far better to prevent such a shortfall.  The following steps outline the basic approach for assuring that new products meet their intended objectives.  To some extent, some of these steps can be used to rework products which miss their objectives.

1. Obtain a thorough understanding of customer expectations for the products being developed.  Document this using actual customer language (rather than internal technical jargon) and determine priority (high - medium - low) for each expectation.
    
2. Identify the key competitive products and determine how customers perceive your current product offering versus those competitive products.  In doing so, give particular emphasis to performance of high priority customer expectations.
    
3. Based on the above information, identify a small number of customer expectations for which you plan to excel.  These sales points will be used to establish a competitive advantage, and will be the basis for marketing the new product.
    
4. For each sales point, translate the essence of the related customer expectation into internal product performance specifications.  For each of these specifications, determine the performance levels needed to create the desired competitive advantage.
    
5. Engineer the product to meet the needed performance levels while keeping costs within needed bounds.  In some cases, new innovations may be required in order to achieve need performance or cost.  At each major product development milestone, take whatever actions may be needed to assure that needed performance is being achieved.
    
6. Direct marketing efforts to position the product in a manner that makes the competitive advantage clear to customers.

This approach is based on  Quality Function Deployment (QFD).

These problems are related and have similar solutions.  Product success is typically evaluated in terms of sales levels as well as profit generated.    Within the context of competing products sales and profit are directly driven by:

1. The degree to which customers value product capabilities
2. The price of the product
3. The cost of the product

(Follow the links for (a) or (c) to pursue those issues)

Pricing should be set in order to position the product as desired.  Such decisions typically require a thorough understanding of:

• how customers values the product
• performance and pricing of competitive products

With this in mind, pricing is determined.  Many companies attempt to set prices in this manner, but find that product cost escalates during development.  Holding price causes reduced margins, so, after some degree of rationalization, prices are raised in order to preserve margin.  When the product is introduced, all too often the price is higher than many customers are willing to pay, thus depressing sales.  Ironically, while the increased price was intended to maintain margins, the opposite often occurs, as the are no margins earned on missed sales.

The solution is to establish price independent of cost, and then strive for the lowest cost implementation of the needed product.

When new products are too costly there tends to be two primary drivers, often acting in concert:

• products are over designed, offering features or performance levels inappropriate for their price point
• the product implementation is too costly for the features and performance achieved

Solution for product being over designed

They key is to understand the specific product features and performance levels needed in order to be competitive.  This necessitates a deep understanding of the customer's expectations and the competitive landscape.  This can be accomplished by the following:

Unfortunately, products that fail to meet customer expectations are often very expensive to correct.  It if far better to prevent such a shortfall.  The following steps outline the basic approach for assuring that new products meet their intended objectives.  To some extent, some of these steps can be used to rework products which miss their objectives.

1. Obtain a thorough understanding of customer expectations for the products being developed.  Document this using actual customer language (rather than internal technical jargon) and determine priority (high - medium - low) for each expectation.
    
2. Identify the key competitive products and determine how customers perceive your current product offering versus those competitive products.  In doing so, give particular emphasis to performance of high priority customer expectations.
    
3. Based on the above information, identify a small number of customer expectations for which you plan to excel.  These sales points will be used to establish a competitive advantage, and will be the basis for marketing the new product.
    
4. For each sales point, translate the essence of the related customer expectation into internal product performance specifications.  For each of these specifications, determine the performance levels needed to create the desired competitive advantage.
    
5. Engineer the product to meet the needed performance levels while keeping costs within needed bounds.  In some cases, new innovations may be required in order to achieve need performance or cost.  At each major product development milestone, take whatever actions may be needed to assure that needed performance is being achieved.
    
6. Direct marketing efforts to position the product in a manner that makes the competitive advantage clear to customers.

This approach is based on  Quality Function Deployment (QFD).

Solution for product implementation too costly

This approach is based on Design for Assembly (DFA), Value Analysis / Value Engineering (VAVE) and the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ).