New Balance Compliance Program Management

New Balance mission is like other shoemaking manufacturing company that is to be the premier shoe making manufacturer athletic and the lifestyle product. At the same time, they operates it in a socially responsible manner according to these main principles; integrity, fully customer satisfaction and teamwork. This core values brought New Balance business throughout the world. New Balance strives for nonstop development by implementing these core values in all processes and relationships.

Upon on this based, they have improved a comprehensive code of conduct, create an association to run and manage human right observance issues and included a sequence of programs to manage processing and sourcing activities into each day processes.

In 1990, New Balance entered new arena when China suppliers agreed to lunch an assembly plant in California producing New Balance product. This brought the production number increased to U.S shores. In between year 1996 and 2000, their United States factories production has increased by 61% adding together 500 distribution and manufacturing jobs in their plant, and at the same period, their overseas plant production also increased by 188%. 4 plants in China had been subcontracted by New balance, and 1 in Vietnam and 1 in their own land. Means, 75% of their shoes productions are not owned by New Balance.

The local manufacturing structure allows them to take advantage of the knowledge, innovation and specific skills. The factories average term is about 20 years of experience and must have stability. They believes that they are able to educate those new workers with these people who has this experience and allow their staff to share the knowledge and all the experience that they have gained.

NEW BALANCE COMPLIANCE PROGRAM

The corporation cares about each staff that makes the product and the conditions, in which they work, not considering the country they work. They have been aggressively promoting their value and correcting conditions and managing since many years.

New Balance program steers under the management of a Social Responsibility Steering Committee whose aims to identify with the issue and search creative solutions to upgrade working conditions and boost up the level of living for those that makes their products. There are 3 members of the senior executive and 5 senior managers in this team.

There are requirements defined in New Balance code of conduct to which all their overseas and United States subcontractors have to notice and hold on. The code applied through a procedure which includes guidance, establishing levels of performance, giving out of solutions and procedure of compliance, monitoring by New Balance and by an independent moderator. If an option is not being met, they have to strive together with the subcontracting partner to cure the problem in a timely fashion. The relationship will be terminated if the subcontractor fails to find solution on the situation. They believes any efficient Compliance Program have to be focused on nonstop step up consistence with their core values.

NEW BALANCE JOB DESIGN

The implemented job design that used in local New Balance factories is on being creatively adapting to the new technology on shoemaking and providing guidance to boost up the teamwork and technical expertise of its staff. As being close to consumer, they are able to serve superior design, quality development and innovative abilities. New Balance has been practicing a lean production that means, they start working from a perspective "customer who consumes a product or service". The perspective means customer willing to pay for any service and process.

Advantages ongoing international

Such like China, their production helps the market share by increasing 10%.

It helps by gaining even more market shares and worldwide exposures to new user

Compared to local production, the labours are cheaper.

Raw materials also cheaper compared to domestic production.

Disadvantages ongoing worldwide

They unable to prevent their footwear from being real illegal to unauthorised market

Unable to monitor its suppliers and manufactures

Problems due to the consideration of the countries cultures, economic, legal and demographics

Unable to get involved in all the processes

Heritage of innovation

1906,"Born from innovation"

An effort started to reduce worker's foot pain and assist them stay on their feet. Ever since, their commitment to both better shoes and the craftspeople who invent it has been unrivalled.

1938, "Comfort meets the performance"

Through their first running shoe, they served better comfort without forgetting the demand of the competitive runner performance -a money back guarantee package.

1960, "A new era of fit"

The first running shoe in the manufacturing offered in size, the trickster revolutionized the way of fit and galvanised their target to serve each person without matter their size or foot shape with the greatest possible fitting shoe.

1982, "A legend has born"

Challenge to invent the greatest footwear possible due to time or cost, the New Balance RND team spent 4 years perfecting the 990. They never before had running footwear served such stability, support and flexibility. A quality running footwear was born

1992, "An icon for America"

With all generation they constantly improve the performance and comfort, adding together their latest technologies to previous extraordinary structure. The 990 continued to proudly stand its "MADE IN THE USA" tag while other footwear companies were moving manufacture offshore.

2009, "New generation"

And now, their American classic has been remade once again. More lighter with more cushioning and better flexibility, it takes its predecessors' legacy of dependability, style and comfort to a whole new standard.

New Balance Quality Planning And Quality Control in Achieving High Performance

Current sustainability efforts of New Balance

They committed to operate their product in sensitively environmental manner. All the suppliers plant that producing completed products, suppliers of the materials and components have to be in full agreement with domestic rules and regulations regarding to product safety and environmental

All New Balance's footwear is made with no use of PVC, a material considered harmful to environment.

Shoe boxes of New Balance products are made from 100%recycled substance and its 100% recyclable. All the materials such like glue, varnish and ink used are environmentally friendly and non toxic. Each equipment that is used are in observance with the guiding principles for environmental safety prescribed by United States regulations. The box structure is calculated to make very little waste throughout manufacturing process. Each tissue wrap and stuffing is 100% recyclable and made from 100% recycled materials.

In order to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certificate certification for Existing Building, New Balance Local Facilities organizational target includes LEED design and also the operational elements.

New Balance undertook a business wide sustainability idea aiming three core areas that is PRODUCT - MANUFACTURING - FACILITIES. Within the United States partition targets have been recognized for every style below progress for Fall/Winter 2008 to include some Environmental Preferred Materials (EPMs). The EPMs is define by New Balance as; the material recycled content must be minimum of 20%, the materials should be made from renewable/sustainable resources, leather that made by tanneries that meet strict manufacturing levels for environmental administration, non-PVC synthetic leather with decrease energy/solvent use. The corporation has produced over 500 EPM items. Most of these will be used in their Fall/Winter 2008 line. They have challenged both of their associations and suppliers to boost up use of EPM towards their existing targets. By tracing the components percentage, they able to manage using Product Data Management System.

New Balance Quality Control

New Balance quality control procedure is a continuously development and client respond focused process. They start reviews of the design of previous styles to see at what they did right and wrong. They tested every material before approving for use and made lot tested to make sure continuous performance. The industrial procedures are improved and developed throughout the commercialization procedure until the final process is decided upon between the plant and New Balance. They audit these control key and processes variable such like times and temperatures.

In their local plant, they try to build quality into their process via the improvement of level job for their associates. The level job processes focus on creating the procedure to manufacture the shoe and then on making several that the procedure that has been made yields the target which meets the determined specifications. They continuously analyse their level work and how to meet their quality specifications. They perform an extreme robust auditing procedure that ensures that they are meeting their client's demand.

After the shoe completely manufactured they go through a check up step and some shoes are selected for wear, fit or destructive testing. Once the shoes out in the market, they use client, customer and retailer responds as for improving current and future designs and processes.

According to Rob DeMartini the CEO of New Balance

There are 3 important things to maintain local manufacturing base for New Balance.

It create their knowledge of the manufacturing procedure and in a manufacturing that is mainly focused on shared manufacturing they feel it produce them good perceptive and enable them to work with customer better.

It is important to the company's culture and gives a significant sense of pride to them. When manufacturers started to leave the United States market share in early 1980's they stick a presence in domestic industry and believes it's become main definition of their company.

The "MADE IN THE USA" tag makes a different to several customers. It is like brand differentiator from other brand and they took advantage of it.

Development in the shoe industry has evolved impressively over the path of the last century. While skills are developed and an economy grows, manufacture has been compulsory to increase to less urbanized regions worldwide. As for New Balance, they have their own business structure, the motive behind mature to dominance in this business is their capability to target on the main skills that they achieve than any other footwear companies. The outsourcing movement that conquer the industry today will only rise in the future. The serious issue encounter them today is working condition, human right and firms today, must be addressed in the short term. [a]

An Example New Balance Took As Quality Planning

Eco-friendly shoe has been launched by New Balance Corporation. Eco-preferred collection of footwear added to its outdoor group category that uses environmental friendly materials, manufacturing and production process. They footwear manufacturer mention 75% of the materials are made from recyclable preferred materials. In addition, they decrease the amount of rubber needed and thus reducing the use of petroleum. Rather than solvent based, water based are use to assemble the upper and the single unit and no paper wrapping or stuffing used. The shape of the shoe focuses on lessening of waste. The upper is made with minimal layers to decrease useless material usage, and the construction of the footwear is made to use as many of the original cutting substance as possible.