New Zealand Trade Enterprise has targeted exporters with a new high-tech software tool designed to make companies more efficient by identifying their weaknesses.

The Microsoft-based QLBS.com system operates in conjunction with the international Baldrige classification model, which measures and rates capability and performance of companies and industries sectors worldwide.

NZTE sector director for specialized manufacturing David Penny said QLBS.com provided the engine to record the Baldrige scoring electronically and included industry profiles pointing out strengths and weaknesses.

“It enables us to plan interventions such as grants, mentoring or access to services with the aim to strengthen weaknesses so a company or industry can become more efficient and competitive – and export more.”

“It helps us raise the average performance level across a range of areas, from R&D and manufacturing processes to marketing.”

“Companies interested in developing their capabilities need to recognize what drives improvements and although it is easy to get an opinion, without a solid foundation it is only an opinion. They have to know they are making the right type of valid judgments.”

Mr. Penny said the systems helped companies return to the fundamentals of management rather than relying on people making assessments based on their limited knowledge. He said the government was putting resources into companies under grant programmes to build their export capabilities and was using Baldrige and QLBS.com to gain a lateral, balanced approach to decision-making.

NZTE has been running QLBS.com over several sectors, including manufacturing, service companies, ICT and the marine industry, which it found was weak in forward vision with many companies lacking an idea of where they were heading while others had a real sense of future purpose.

“Many contract work industries, including marine, usually look to the short-term – with one contract at a time it is very hard to develop long-term industry goals,” Mr. Penny said.

Companies were better able to penetrate markets, lift performance and grow once they identified weaknesses and got help to overcome them.