MicroBlend Is a Great Business Concept That Benefits the Environment

Three times in as many decades I have functioned as a marketing consultant to enterprises run by my “serial client” and close friend, business titan John Tyson.  John sits on the board of half a dozen large corporations, and currently serves as CEO of MicroBlend Technologies, a company that is redefining the paint industry.

John’s current gig is benefiting the world around him in many ways, and I’m sure he’s quite proud of the role of environmental stewardship he’s playing.

For hundreds of years, paint has been mixed at factories and shipped via distribution centers to its ultimate point of sale, perhaps a factory-owned retail shop or franchise, e.g., our Sherwin Williams stores in the U.S.  (Yes, founded in 1866, the year after the American Civil War ended, they still exist.  How they’re still here today is a mystery to me, but it’s a fact.)  But more likely, that point of sale is a local hardware store, or maybe a do-it-yourself superstore like Home Depot or Lowe’s.

But what happens when IT and process manufacturing technology mature into the 21st Century?

Imagine paint, in an unlimited number of colors, tints, and hues that can be made on the spot from a computer-controlled mix of pigments with water added at the last minute, mixed exactly to a customer’s specification, and sold when the customer wants it.

I call it “paint on demand.”  John should too; not to sound immodest, but it’s a great three-word phrase that John’s industry seems not to have yet twigged on — a cute little play on “print on demand.”

Not only is the paint of higher quality due to its freshness, but the business results are profound, both economically and ecologically:

• No dealer costs of paint inventory that may not be sold for months.
• No need to transport huge volumes of paint around the planet.
• No expensive retail space (that needs to be heated or air-conditioned) that is consumed to store the paint waiting to be sold.  Next time you’re in your local Home Depot, try to remember to notice the size of the paint department, then realize that 90% of this could be used to sell something else — or, better yet — eliminated.

In essence, John presides over a great reduction in the total footprint associated with a product whose supply chain has never once been rethought.  Until now.

Thanks for your superlative  job here, my friend.  Keep up the good work.