WCMA members enjoy many home court advantages: manufacturers demand consistent quality from their suppliers. Inconsistent quality can disrupt normal production flows and cause expensive delays in shipments and deliveries.

Despite low-priced imports, North American woodworkers still have many advantages over their offshore competitors. Now more than ever, members of the Wood Component Manufacturers Association are working to strengthen those advantages.

A recent survey of furniture and cabinet makers by the WCMA yielded a diverse list of major "home court" advantages. They include:

* Faster Response Time: Fast-changing market conditions require today's manufacturers to quickly respond or else risk losing the business to someone else. Purchasing components from nearby suppliers allows furniture and cabinet makers to quickly produce a new product or make a last-minute change. Today's consumers are conditioned to immediate gratification and want their new products now. Foreign suppliers are unable to react quickly and require much longer lead times.

* Just-in-Time Deliveries: Manufacturers who purchase their components rely on just-in-time deliveries to meet their tight production schedules. Today's retailers are forcing their suppliers to deliver with much shorter lead times. This forces wood products manufacturers and their component suppliers to quickly respond and deliver on much shorter notices.

* Ability to Fill Smaller Orders: Many manufacturers do not want to order more of a supply than they need, and some are ordering less than they need, hoping to procure fill-in orders at the last minute if necessary. Offshore suppliers cannot meet the need for smaller, fill-in orders. In fact, most offshore suppliers require minimum container load orders, which can take up to six to eight weeks to deliver.

* Reduce Inventories: Tight operating margins do not allow inventory accumulations as everyone is trying to reduce inventories, from the retailers on down to their suppliers. The emphasis is on inventory turnover, not inventory build up. In order to meet their customers' lower inventory requirements, many North American component manufacturers have agreed to produce and inventory certain components for their customers in order to ship them at a moment's notice.

* Better Communications: Communications between buyer and seller are even more critical in today's highly volatile marketplace. Buyers need immediate access to their suppliers and this can be accomplished much better with suppliers that are nearby rather than those that are thousands of miles away. Also, settling claims or disputes is much easier when dealing with a local supplier. Claim settlement can be a serious problem when buying from offshore suppliers as many problems can occur during the prolonged shipping and handling process prior to delivery.

* Consistent Quality: Manufacturers demand consistent quality from their suppliers. Inconsistent quality can disrupt normal production flows and cause expensive delays in shipments and deliveries. Furniture, cabinet, millwork and related manufacturers demand components that meet their exact specifications. A serious problem can arise when an offshore shipment of components does not meet specifications as the entire shipment may have to be rejected and replacement parts will take too long.

* Wider Species Selection: North America is blessed with a wide variety of quality hardwood and softwood species. These species can be used to produce a wide variety of decorative wood products including furniture, cabinets, millwork, flooring, and gift and novelty items. North American consumers are not familiar with foreign wood species and prefer our domestic hardwoods and softwoods.

* Sustainable Forest Resources: The sustainable forestlands of the United States and Canada produce a wide range of desirable species for a number of applications in the building and decorative wood products industry. According to the recently released "State of the World's Forest Report 2001," published by the United Nations & Agriculture Organization, of the 12 largest forested countries in the world, the United States was one of only two that experienced a net increase in forest cover during the decade of the 1990s. Four countries, including Canada, reported no net change, while the remaining six countries experienced significant declines in forest cover. This indicates that the United States and Canada are rich in sustainable forest resources for the future while offshore competitors do not have this advantage.

* Political and Economic Stability: The United States and Canada have the most stable political and economic systems in the world. Our free enterprise system enables us to conduct business more efficiently and effectively compared to the rest of the world. This is especially important in these uncertain times when political or economic instability can wreak havoc on a country's ability to produce and deliver goods and services. Our stable political and economic environment is a major home court advantage over developing countries around the world.

These home court advantages are clearly worth paying for and need to be emphasized by North American wood products companies whenever competing with offshore suppliers. They are distinct competitive advantages that cannot be matched by foreign manufacturers and can make a huge difference in minimizing costly production delays and related problems.

SPEED is the ultimate key to competing in today's rapidly changing global marketplace. Those who can react faster, deliver on time and help their customers reduce inventories have a significant home court advantage over offshore suppliers.