To fully appreciate this book, we need to understand what "job shops" are and the role they play in our economy. A job shop is a kind of custom manufacturing business that specializes in a "make-to-order" product, usually for other manufacturers rather than directly for the consumer. Job shops make almost every kind of product, ranging from plastic injected molded parts to clothing.

While there are many different types of job shops, they share a few characteristics other than those mentioned above:

• Produce on an order-by-order basis
• Secure work through a bidding process
• Are highly specialized.

In Speed to Market, job shops are defined as "service companies" that also manufacture. The author tells us that those job shops that understand this concept will be in a better position to use speed as a competitive advantage. Job shops have seen a strong resurgence in the US manufacturing economy as more and more major manufacturers cut inventory and outsource in order to optimize their own business processes. They make the work of the larger manufacturers possible.

Most job shops tend to be small businesses – 50 people or less- with annual revenues of less than $10,000,000. Since most manufacturers must maintain lean inventories, the most critical success factor for job shops, once quality is competitive, is speed to market. Many do not have the resources and expertise to meet these demands, and will likely fold. For the same reasons, there is very little written about them since they usually can’t afford to spend money or time on consultants.

Vince Bozzone has written this book specifically for the owners of job jobs and bases it on the following proposition "…an organized company-wide approach for reducing lead time is the single most effective strategy you can follow to strengthen your company’s competitive position, improve profits, and secure the future of your business." (Author’s introduction). In so doing, the author looks at the entire business process, not only the manufacturing component, identifying efficiency and effectiveness opportunities in administration, supply acquisition, manufacturing, and distribution that may not be apparent to small and medium-sized business owners.

The first chapter is a discussion of "horizontal management" and the importance of the process revolution that has changed business practices world-wide. Of course, Vince is referring to management of processes across functions and lines, derived from intense focus on the customer shepherded in by the Quality Movement. He describes the major processes of custom manufacturing as being: sales, estimating, bidding, order-entry, materials management, engineering, production scheduling, production, shipping and billing. He walks us through these processes, addressing each in a similar fashion. He analyzes the process component (e.g. estimating and bidding), describes its sub-components, and provides a flowchart showing us how we can cut lead time in each process area. He frequently clusters components that can be addressed with the same tools and analysis.

Each chapter in Speed to Market has a similar structure, starting with a description of the process component under discussion, common lead-time problems in each area, actions that can be taken, wrapped up by key points for managing that process component. A particularly useful process analysis occurs in the Estimating and Bidding Chapter, where he covers sales and administration along with estimating and bidding. In the chapter most focused on structure, (chapter 4 – Tools for the Shop Floor), he address both simple and complex manufacturing processes with case examples.

Once the author has completed his walk-through of each business process, he highlights the importance of management information, particularly the ability to compare actual costs against the estimates for each order. He provides us with ways to measure productivity in a way that is simple and accessible to everyone. In particular, he includes tools and methods for optimizing cash flow, another thing that sets Speed to Market apart from other process improvement how-to books. One nifty tool is something called the "Weekly Management Report"- a one-page overview of the critical measures for each job shop process component. He recommends that this be used as a basis for organization-level and team-level performance management, reminding us that productivity involves people, not just process.

The last chapter of the book gets us to a case study of a real client, described here under the fictional name of Integrated Fabrication Technology, Inc. While this chapter is a bit of an advertisement for the author’s workshop, it shows how profit improvement is reflected in a company’s income statement. The four Appendices are loaded with information and provide full descriptions of each tool and its application.

Bottom-line, this book is not for theorists. Rather, it assumes theory and takes practice down to its most usable level. It is loaded with useful information on every page, getting us into the day-to-day work of the job shop business. And, it’s not just for job-shop owners. Larger companies would find it profitable to distribute this book to their job shop suppliers as one strategy for strengthening their supplier base and improving their own performance. Those of us who do organization design and process improvement will find this book quite useful for its ideas and its tools. It’s easy to read and straightforward, very different from other popular books on organization design.

What didn’t I like about Speed to Market? While I would have appreciated more theoretical context, the primary market for this book- job shop owners and managers – probably would not. However, Vince might have included more information about how job shops can be most effectively structured, in addition to improving process, as a way to cut lead time. How do job shop structures differ, and why? Are there optimal structures and staffing models for such businesses? Does it matter, or does process matter most? While he touches on structure in one chapter, he does not address it head-on. Answers to these questions could help many of us address the design needs of other manufacturers, service and knowledge organizations. This is a small omission, considering the value provided by Speed to Market for job shop owners and managers.

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